I saw people doing it in this workshop through a window in a museum. “I thought, ‘wow, that’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.’ And, I’m thinking that you have to be a rock star woodworker to be able to do that,” Dawne said. “As we were leaving the gift shop, I saw a book titled, ‘Anyone Can Build a Canoe.’” She bought the book. “I didn’t really think I could do it, but I had read the book over a weekend, and made up my mind that I have to try this,” Dawne said. “I didn’t have any tools at all, so I just took the book with me to the hardware store, and just went through a list, asking the guys there, ‘what’s this saw?’ because I didn’t know what a table saw was, or a miter saw, or a spokeshave. “I knew what a hammer and pliers are, and the good thing is you don’t need a lot of tools in order to build a canoe,” she said. “I bought three basic tools, and I came home and decided to just do this secretly in my basement, where nobody knows that I’m doing this so that if I fail, at least nobody will know.” Despite the personal doubts and lack of experience, she decided to press on. “I really had no woodworking experience when I started,” Dawne said. “I could do basic things, like drill a hole in a board, or hammer a nail … I’ve told this story so often – I bought my table saw to cut the wooden strips for the boats. I read the manual over the weekend, and I just kept reading it, because I was really scared to turn it on,” she said, laughing. “I said to my husband, ‘Do you have any advice for me before I go out and start cutting boards?’ And he said, ‘Just bring a cup of ice with you for when you cut your thumb off.’ “He didn’t have any advice, and I think that’s what makes me different,” she said. “I really read manuals, I read books, I’m self-taught … I’ve learned everything from reading a lot of books.” The idea of Dawne building her own canoe was a source of levity at first. “My husband kind of laughed, and everyone just thought it was funny, but then about a month into it, it’s starting to look amazing, like a real canoe,” she said, “and I finished it up in about five to six months. I got done, and I had such a sense of purpose and fulfillment while I was working on it that I didn’t want it to be over.” She had to find something else to build. Dawne loves kayaking, so a kayak was next on her “things to build” list. “If I’m camping, I take that with me a lot,” she said, pointing to the canoe that hangs on the wall of the Four Winds shop. “If I’m just going out for the day, I’ll take the kayak.” After she finished the kayak, “I really couldn’t justify building another boat, but it just kind of exploded into this thing of what else can I make.” She also couldn’t help but notice the positive reaction she received when people saw what she had built – a response that Dawne hoped others could experience. “I thought of how there are so many things that I’m doing that other people could do if there was just somebody to show them how to do it,” Dawne said. “This is more than woodworking for me. It’s whatever gets you in touch with the vFOUR WINDS continued on page 18 HERVOICEvJANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017v17