Woodturner John Mascoll hails from Safety Harbor, Florida. Born and raised in the Caribbean, Mascoll moved to the United States in 1976 to attend Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, from which he earned a degree in structural engineering. He earned a subsequent degree in physics from Fisk University, also in Tennessee, and worked as an engineer for many years. Woodworking has become his full-time livelihood. His vessels, designed for ornamental rather than practical use, are one of a kind. They are perfectly balanced, usually symmetrical forms that expose the natural beauty of the wood. Mascoll writes, “Choosing wood as a creative medium was natural for me. My father was a carpenter and shipwright. While growing up in my native Barbados, I mimicked every move, cut and style of woodworking that my father performed with a variety of finely tuned hand tools. He taught me, as a young boy, that wood was one of the most addicting and user-friendly materials a craftsman or aspiring artist could work with.” Mascoll’s graceful works are lathe-turned, hollow-formed, lidded vessels that he creates, like his father, utilizing a variety of hand tools. Image: “Box Elder Vessel”, lathe-turned and carved box elder wood with removeable lid/finial.