J. Paul Fennell has focused primarily on turning hollow forms for over 32 years and has been deeply involved in woodturning for over 55 years, beginning in 1970. Paul lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, and works exclusively with wood from trees salvaged from the local urban forest in the Phoenix metro area. Paul has been a member of the American Association of Woodturners (AAW) since 1987 and is considered an elder statesman of the organization. In 2023, Paul was the recipient of the AAW’s prestigious Merit Award, given to individuals whose body of work has contributed significantly to the field of woodturning and its growth as an art form. Paul is a frequent contributor to the AAW American Woodturner journal, and his work has been featured in over 25 major books, magazines, and exhibit catalogs. His work is in major private collections nationally and internationally, and in several museum collections, including the Smithsonian; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Philadelphia Museum of Art; Detroit Institute of Arts; Minneapolis Institute of Arts; Cincinnati Art Museum; Museum of Arts and Design, New York; the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; and the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA.