Jack Northrop: Turning wood into a living

Jack Northrop: Turning wood into a living 

By Tataboline Enos

Authentic places inspire incredible artwork and that is certainly true in the Pennsylvania Wilds. Twice a year artisans from around the region submit samples of their work to the PA Wilds Artisan Trail hoping to use the “Proudly Made in the Pennsylvania Wilds” brand on their products. Participate in one of the review panels and chances are you’ll leave wowed. And you’ll notice a trend: Many of the region’s highly-skilled artisans are self-taught.

Jack Northrop is a case in point. For many years he worked at a factory in Erie making sterilized medical equipment. Northrop didn’t mind the work, he said, but he wasn’t too fond of the management. So a few years ago he took an early retirement. Or as he puts it, “I got tired of it and quit.”

Northrop moved to Kane, in the Pennsylvania Wilds, where he was surrounded by the 500,000 acre Allegheny National Forest, and devoted himself to his longtime hobby of turning wood bowls. Before too long, his family convinced him it was time to make the craft his profession.

“My daughter said I was giving away too nice of gifts,” Northrop explained with a chuckle.

Northrop, 73, is now a rising star on the PA Wilds Artisan Trail, with his products in nine retail locations in Pennsylvania and New York. His work has won first place in a variety of juried shows and was most recently picked up by Allegheny Outfitters, an outdoor gear store and outfitter in the region.

“Jack’s stuff is really beautiful,” said owner Piper VanOrd. “And he offers a lot of prices points, which is great.” She said the ‘Proudly Made in the PA Wilds’ hangtags that come with each piece make them feel even more special. “I’ve actually had customers double-check that the hangtags were in the bag after their purchase because they planned to give the bowls or vases away as gifts and felt the ‘proudly made here’ message added to that experience.”

Northrop, who has no formal arts background but has been at his craft for more than 30 years, makes 200-300 bowls each winter. He uses local hardwoods and salvage or scrap wood for his art – black cherry, walnut, maple, butternut, locust, sumac and others.

“I use pieces left from logging – pieces left in the woods after timbering, pieces from veneer logs left at the sawmill,” Northrop explained. “It’s all found wood. Wood people can’t use. I have never cut down a live, healthy tree to turn a bowl.”

Most of his raw materials come from other wood turners or loggers. Northrop said he likes working with burls, which loggers routinely leave in the woods, so he started bartering with them. “I trade bowls for burls,” he explained. “That works out best for me because I’ve had some burls as big as bushel baskets and they bust apart as soon as I start working on them.”

Northrop said he’d like to expand his business by selling his work in more locations but admits, “I’m not a good sales man. I’d rather spend time in my workshop.”

Northrop said part of the joy of his work is that each item he creates is different. “I let the wood tell me what I’m going to make out of it,” he explained. “I may start out with one idea and end up with a completely different piece.”

How does he know when it’s done? “I have an eye for it I guess,” he said.

Contact Jack Northrop at: http://pawildsartisans.com/northrop.html