CONWAY, Ark.- A Conway veteran is creating one-of-a-kind works of art to stay sharp during his retirement.
Larry Fiori says his time spent in the United States Navy allowed him to travel and see art and architecture from all over the world.
Little did he know, those experiences would inspire him to create a little of his art.
“Join the Navy you see the world, that’s what I did,” Fiori said.
Fiori was stationed in the Mediterranean during Vietnam, working as a shipfitter for the U.S. Navy.
After Fiori retired, he needed something to fill his time and keep his mind sharp.
He had just finished building a fence and had some leftover lumber, asking himself what he could do with it, and he landed on building birdhouses.
“I’d just go out in this little shop that I had and put the radio on and just you know concentrate on what I was doing, and I just had a lot of fun doing it,” Fiori said.
Fiori took old license plates, marbles, paint and wood to create one-of-a-kind pieces.
“Well, they are all different and you know you don’t have a pattern or a plan to start this,” Fiori said.
After making more than 100 birdhouses his family got the idea to begin helping him sell them as a way to pay his medical bills.
You can learn more about his birdhouses on his Facebook page.
