Ron Kent was born in Chicago in 1931. He studied mechanical engineering at the University of California and later worked as a stockbroker from 1959 until his retirement in 1997. In 1975 Kent was given a toy lathe for Christmas and this saw the beginning of a second career as a self-taught wood artist. Bottles and egg shapes formed the basis of his initial output, but it was for his bowls of Norfolk Island Pine that he became internationally renowned.

Native to Hawaii where Kent's studio is based, Norfolk Island Pine is both porous and absorbent. It provides the perfect material for Kent's trademark aesthetic, a cycle of oiling, sanding and drying completed turned vessels over a period of four to six months. When lit the finished vessels are almost translucent. The small circular areas of darker wood are created by knots in the wood. By consciously using logs which contain these elements Kent takes advantage of what are essentially natural imperfections for decorative effect. The effect is then heightened by turning the log off-centre, which results in an asymmterical pattern not usually aspired to in wood-turning.