Yuma police officer donates wood flag artwork to fire station
For Yuma police officer Guillermo Garcia, who recently took up woodworking, it is more than just a hobby, it’s a way for him to relax from his stressful profession.
It all started for Garcia in September, when he said he watched a Youtube video about making wooden flags that came across his news feed on the social media site Facebook.
“I showed it to my wife and she said I should go make one, so I did,” Garcia said. “I still have the first flag I made. It doesn’t look as good as they do now.”
Over the next few months Garcia got better and went on to make several more flags, including two that he donated to the Yuma Police Department to raffle off at its award’s banquet earlier this year.
“I’ve always been handy with tools and my dad was a carpenter by trade,” Garcia said. “I got to watch him growing up and learned a lot.”
He donated his most recent creation, a 32-inch-by62-inch replica of the U.S. flag to Yuma Fire Department Station #1.
Garcia said each wooden flag usually starts off with a trip to get the necessary lumber, and takes about four to five hours to make.
“The tedious part is hand-carving the stars using a Dremel,” Garcia said.
Instead of painting the flags, Garcia said uses a technique to burn the wood to darken it to make the red stripes and blue background for the field of stars.
“I can get away with painting them, but you can get that anywhere,” Garcia said. “I like to give it my own unique look.”
While most of the flags he has made so far have been U.S. flags, Garcia said he is now making flags featuring logos of the various branches of the military. He has also made a Harry Potterthemed flag.
Garcia added that enjoys making the flags so much that he is also teaching his children how to make them.
According to the Yuma Fire Department, Garcia’s artwork, which represented hours of work, is greatly appreciated and being displayed proudly. He made the donation on Friday, June 23.