Every Thursday, Regis Daigle makes the four-and-a-half hour drive from his Val Gagne home to Sudbury, where he undergoes an afternoon of alternative health treatments at AviiTA Wellness Centre.

The northern resident, who is currently battling cancer, said he wasn't interested in pursuing hospital-based remedies like chemotherapy and radiation for his disease. Instead, he is eliminating the disease through Pulsed Magnetic Field Therapy, colon cleanses and sessions in the hyperbaric oxygen chamber.

“It's hard to say what's going to work, but it beats the hell out of chemo and radiation,” he said.

So far, the journey has been doing him good from a health perspective, but it is presenting other sorts of challenges. Receiving treatment comes at a cost — both financially and of time.

To help in at least one of those areas, Daigle has brought his fine crafts to AviiTA and other shops in hopes of countering some of his expenses. He uses a bandsaw to carve wooden pieces of art and furniture from local trees like maple, walnut and cedar.

“Once you know how, they're not really that hard to make,” Daigle said, despite the many complex carvings and smooth finishes each of his pieces exhibit.

While he has no formal training in the art, Daigle has spent time “stumbling around trying things” until he became quite skilled at it. At one point, he and his wife made furniture commercially.

“The woodworking is satisfying work and enjoyable,” he said. “It's fun working with wood.”

The pieces he currently has on display at the Loach's Road wellness centre are the products of a few days work. “All the sanding and finishing takes time,” he said.

His portfolio includes jewellery boxes, trinket boxes, small pieces of furniture and more.

When illness struck, he said he was too weak to keep up in the shop. Now that his health is stable, Daigle said he is looking forward to creating more pieces this winter.

To see some of his art, stop by AviiTA at 208 Loach's Road.