Mydock was born in 1947 in Miami, Florida. Art is a part of his earliest memories. His formal education began in the mid 60’s at Miami Date Jr. College with master sculptor Dwane Hanson. Later, Mydock’s artistic excellence and enthusiasm won him a full Art Scholarship at the University of Miami.
John Mydock grew up with a woodworker, boat-builder godfather whose attention to detail and love of the craft are reflected in his work. Mydock has received numerous awards for woodworking, furniture building and sculpted mirrors. Mydock’s love of working with wood, combined with 40 years of artistic excellence on custom motorcycles and antique cars resulted in the unique “Mydock Touch” seen in his painted vessels. His highly developed artistic skills in airbrushing, pin-striping, gold leafing, sculpting and fine art painting result in unique artistic and finely crafted designs on his wooden vessels. Mydock studied under Master Woodturner Elmer Adams.
Mydock’s current passion is “Pyrography,” which is basically good old fashioned wood-burning with tools far more sophisticated than those from our childhood days. Mydock’s Pyrography is now taking on a life of its own. He now incorporates colorful intricate layers of original designs, which are influenced by Polynesian Tattoo Art, the beauty of Nature and further inspired by Visionary Art. Mydock interlaces and weaves these images into his distinctly unique style of Pyrography on his wooden vessels.
His work has been purchased by the Hawaii State Foundation on Cultural and the Arts and is showcased in the Contemporary Collection at the Honolulu Academy of Arts. Mydock’s vessels were exhibited in the U.S. State Department’s Art in Embassies Program in Australia.
Mydock is a member of Big Island Woodturners, the Hawaii Wood Guild and the American Association of Woodturners.