Photo submitted Marietta High School Sophomore Dakota Miller is seen here with one of his scroll saw creations.

Dakota Miller is a typical 15-year-old high school sophomore. He plays football and baseball and enjoys hunting and fishing. But a class he’s taking for the first time at Marietta High School has turned into a new hobby he’s now sharing with others.

Steve Foutty’s scroll saw class has introduced Miller to a new art form that allows Miller to express himself and the visions of others as well.

“He shows amazing skill and desire for a first-year-student,” Foutty said in an email this week.

Miller has completed dozens of projects in the woodworking class, more than double the number necessary for a grade (which is an A, by the way.) He helps introduce others to this woodworking technique and now takes requests from other students who then give his projects as gifts.

Question: What is a scroll saw and how did you get started?

Answer: It’s a saw with a blade about the width of a fishing line and I trace a template to cut out images such as college logos or animals such as deer, bears or fish. After I cut it out I stain it or paint it and finish it, I do it all. It usually takes about three to four days to complete a project.

Q: How long have you been doing this?

A: This is my first time taking the class and I think I would take it again as long as I can fit it into my schedule. I would continue with it after high school, too. The cost of a scroll saw ranges from $125 to $400 or $500 for a nice one.

Q: Had you ever handled a saw like this before?

A: No. I have used power tools with my dad, but nothing creative like this.

Q: What’s the most difficult project you’ve done?

A: I cut out the mascot of the Division I college, Coastal Carolina. It’s the Chanticleer, which is a bird.

Q: What projects have you done for others, or for yourself?

A: I’ve done college logos for other students, one is giving it to his dad as a birthday present. For myself I did the Nike Swingman logo, which is a baseball logo.

Q: What is it that you enjoy most about the process?

A: Just the fact that in giving one of these projects to someone, it means more to them because you made it yourself instead of buying something at a store.

This interiew was conducted by Jennifer Houtman. If you have a nomination for Teen of the Week, email the student’s name and contact information to news@mariettatimes.com. This feature appears each Wednesday.

Dakota Miller

¯ Age: 15.

¯ Grade: 10.

¯ School: Marietta High School.

¯ Family: Parents Tina and Jared Miller, younger sister Abby.

¯ Hobbies: Football where he plays wide receiver and corner back; baseball where he plays centerfield; hunting and fishing.

¯ Future plans: To attend college and hopefully play baseball at the college level. He’s unsure about what his field of study might be.