COEUR d'ALENE - Shawn Tyler isn't a professional artist, although you'd never know it by looking at his work. Especially the coffee table that he recently completed, shaped like the state of Idaho.

"I've always been a fan of craftsmen," he says. "I'm inspired by the diversity of the art that I've seen in my travels around the world."

After more than 20 years in the U.S. Navy, Tyler moved his family to Kootenai County. He now works on a large fish processing ship that goes out several times a year with a fleet of trawlers off the coast of Alaska. But in his spare time, he dabbles in a variety of artistic media including clay, wood, plaster and epoxy.

"A lot of the things I make become gifts for friends. Every once in a while, I'm paid a commission to make something specific," Tyler says.

It's difficult to find good hardwood in North Idaho - normally you have to go to Oregon or the East Coast. But a couple of years ago, Tyler bought a 3-inch thick piece of silver maple from a tree service in the Spokane Valley. It most likely came from a residential "problem tree" that had been growing into power lines and needed to be removed.

The slab of wood sat in his garage for almost a year and a half, due to a combination of lack of time, a shoulder injury, and a little fear. "I was kind of intimidated by it," Tyler admits.

He wasn't sure what to do with the wood. But as he studied it he realized, "There was something about the curvature, the shape of the 'live' (wane or bark) edge that reminded me of the Idaho state border. After more than a year, I finally got my courage up to start cutting."

Tyler didn't want to ruin the expensive slab of wood, and tried to keep as much of the original live edge as possible. He cut out the rough shape with a band saw and finished it with a variety of carving tools, one of which is a chain saw attachment that goes onto an auto body grinder and turns at 10,000 rpm.

The carver is potentially very dangerous to use.

"It can cut through wood very quickly, but could ruin a piece of wood in a hurry, if you're not careful," he says. Not to mention a finger or two.

Once Tyler was satisfied with the overall shape of the piece, he wanted to incorporate a few natural details. He used a router to carve the main rivers and lakes, and inlaid them with clear epoxy and metal filings.

For the base, he chose a style favored by George Nakashima, a Japanese-American woodworker, architect and furniture-maker originally from the Spokane area, whose signature woodworking design was large-scale tables made from wood slabs, using live edges and artistic bases.

Tyler's table is about coffee-table height and measures a little longer than 3 feet.

He considered adding more topographic features. "I could conceivably burn finer details like roads or county borders. I have a pyrography tool, sort of like a fancy soldering iron, that often is used to create portraits or fine art."

Tyler is working on a website to sell his art, and dreams of someday becoming a professional artist.

He hasn't tried to market the table yet, but hopes it will end up where it will be appreciated. When asked about selling his work, he replied, "The value of art is 20 percent labor, and 80 percent what others think and say about it."

Anyone interested in learning more about or purchasing Tyler's art, contact him at radar@repairman.com