John Penrod is a full-time wood-turner who produces a wide variety of wooden vessels and art objects. Each piece is an original and is turned on a wood lathe using hand-held gouges, scrapers, boring bars, and skews. Most of his work consists of whole-log, end-grain turning. Some pieces have additional carving applied following turning.

 

The majority of his wood-turnings are made from subtropical woods, including Norfolk Island Pine, Grapefruit, Royal Poinciana, Jacaranda, and West Indies Rosewood. With the exception of decorative wood accents nearly all of his turnings are fashioned from "recovered" or "found" wood. He specializes in turning vessels from palm trees including Sabal, Queen, Washingtonia, Royal, and Canary Island Date Palm. Each turning is created in a way that shows the wood's finest features and every item produced is designed, turned, carved, and finished solely by him.

 

Wood has a natural warmth and beauty that sets it apart from other media. Although it is greatly appreciated visually, wood is a truly multi-sensory medium and more fully enjoyed using visual, tactile, and olfactory senses. It is very rewarding to take a piece of a stately old tree, destined to rot or become an addition to the firewood pile, and give it new life by turning it on the lathe to create an object to be cherished and enjoyed for many years. It is the thrill of exposing the beautiful patterns and designs hidden within each piece of wood and the creation of an item representing new life from an old tree that makes wood-turning so gratifying.