ROCK SPRINGS – The Community Fine Arts Center is featuring local artist Fred Pickett’s hand crafted boats and other fine wood crafted projects from February 2 to 28. A gallery talk and reception is scheduled on Wednesday, February 4th from 5 – 7 p.m. for the public.

Fred Pickett, a Wyoming native, has been drawn to woodworking because of his other interests. Floating the river was the first step to making canoes and kayaks. Recently he has begun to make cross country skis to use on his own trips out on the snow.

Boatbuilding became a passion for Pickett early in life. He remembers reading Mark Twain‘s “Huckleberry Finn” in the 5th grade and all that spring he dreamed of floating down a river in a canoe. When summer arrived, he actually built a boat in his attic and painted it bright blue. Due to using some thick lumber, he needed his mother’s help to take it down to a canal near their home in Riverton. It sank immediately. Pickett said it was a start to bigger and better designs.

An interesting fact Picket shared concerned his family heritage. A cousin was working on their shared genealogy and discovered that some of the Pickett ancestors were boat builders from England.

“I have always been building something,” Pickett said, “If I wanted a skateboard, I would get an old pair of skates and a board, and oh, the number of treehouses in our neighborhood. Didn’t matter whose house it was, if there was a decent tree, I was figuring out a treehouse to put in it!”

Eventually, Pickett finished college and got married, and they needed a home. Learning as they went, his wife and he built a house from the foundation up. His woodworking is more refined now, but still following in the direction of need. His interest in cross country skiing has led to crafting several pairs to his specifications.

Handcrafted fly fishing rods are becoming a forgotten art but Pickett has learned by trial and error what works and now makes each component of his bamboo fishing rods.

“Somewhere around the age of 50 I decided to take up fishing as a hobby for my retirement years. Being a woodworker it only seemed natural I should make my own bamboo fly rod,” said Pickett. “It took approximately 3 years to put together all the tools and equipment I needed before I could actually start making fly rods.”

Along with a canoe, Pickett has on display a kayak which he takes out on the river regularly. He has also completed a couple of drift boats which he has photographed to include in the exhibit.

Pickett is enthusiastic about creating these different objects to make his outdoor experiences more enjoyable. He also believes everyone would benefit from doing the same.

Pickett has had a long career in television production working at first in Thermopolis and Riverton, then coming to Rock Springs nearly 35 years ago. The public is invited to the reception and gallery talk on Wednesday, February 4 from 5 to 7 p.m. to meet the artist and learn more about this interesting craft.