歪歪漫画

BEMIDJI 鈥� John Theroux was a 14-year-old kid when he made his debut as a vendor at the 2007 Watermark Art Festival, then known as Art in the Park.

A classmate at 歪歪漫画craft Learning Community had introduced him to chainmaille, the ancient art of making armor or jewelry by connecting metal rings to one another.

Eighteen years later, Theroux has taken that art to new heights with his side business, He will be one of about 75 artists at this year鈥檚 festival, which will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 19, and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, July 20. The event also will feature demonstrations, live music and food trucks.

When Theroux was selected to be in that first show on the shores of Lake Bemidji, he didn鈥檛 know what to expect. He didn鈥檛 have a checking account, so his mother had to pay the entry fee.

鈥淚 was very nervous about it because I think at the time the entry must have been less than $100,鈥� Theroux said. 鈥淏ut that was a lot of money to me.鈥�

So he bought a pop-up tent, set out a handful of items on a couple of tables, and waited for the crowds to come.

鈥淚 just remember a lot of people asking a lot of questions and thinking how crazy it was that I was doing that," Theroux said. "I think that's what did it. It was unique. No one had seen that kind of art, and maybe they wanted something different in the show.鈥�

He sold some of the items, although he says, 鈥淚 couldn't tell you what they were, but I did sell some pieces. And I would never sell those pieces again. But I was just getting started.鈥�

Since then, he has been a regular vendor at the Watermark Art Festival and others around the region. He earned third-place honors at last year's Powderhorn Art Fair in Minneapolis.

Lori Foshee-Donnay, executive director of the Watermark Art Center, remembers being quite impressed by that young artist in 2007.

鈥淵ou could tell John was creative,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he work was really amazing. It kind of blew me away that he was 14 years old. He's a natural. He's an actual artist but he's also a natural business person. He's doing this really kind of unusual craft and it really got a lot of people excited.鈥�

Forshee-Donnay also remembers that Theroux鈥檚 tent attracted a younger crowd.

鈥淚 wish we would see more of that,鈥� she said, 鈥渉aving young people go for it. We love all the artists that we have, but we're always looking for something different. He has really elevated the craft.鈥�

Theroux says his most popular items are hair clips, bracelets and necklaces. He can spend as little as 20 minutes making a bracelet, or up to seven hours making a necklace.

Courtesy / John Theroux

And then there鈥檚 his largest piece, a Super Mario Bros. design that has more than 150,000 aluminum rings.

鈥淚f you ask just about any teacher, I was working on this in every class throughout high school,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think I estimated somewhere around 100 hours, but it鈥檚 probably more than that. I've remade it, reworked a few things. I added a border like 10 years later.鈥�

Dennis Doeden / Bemidji Pioneer

After graduating from Bemidji High 歪歪漫画 in 2010, Theroux earned an associate degree in information technology, then a bachelor鈥檚 in business management at Bemidji State.

He鈥檚 held a variety of jobs in Bemidji, working as a cashier at Target, a barista at Starbucks inside Target, a bartender at Brigid鈥檚 Pub and an ax-throwing coach at the Hatchet House. He worked for FedEx Ground for more than 12 years, starting as a package handler and moving up to management. When the 7 Brew Coffee opened in Bemidji last year, Theroux was hired as general manager.

鈥淚've held just a handful of random jobs on the side just for the heck of it,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 love learning new things.鈥�

Courtesy / John Theroux

Theroux encourages visitors to his booth to ask questions and touch his work.

鈥淭his is such a tactile art,鈥� he said. 鈥淭o actually feel chainmaille is something different. It's considered a fabric, and it's so cool to touch and to experience because it flows like fabric.鈥�