God's Gifts in Wood

Walk into Bill Jennings’ basement workshop at Walnut Hills, and you will quickly notice two things: stacks of carefully organized exotic wood and the quiet patience required to turn hundreds of tiny wooden pieces into finished works of art.

But for Bill, woodworking has never really been about the finished piece alone.

“It all is because of the Creator,” Bill said. “He made all this stuff. He made everything. And it glorifies Him.”

That belief shapes nearly every part of Bill’s work.

At Walnut Hills, Bill has become known for his intricate intarsia wood art — detailed scenes and images created from individually cut pieces of natural wood fitted together like a puzzle. Different wood species and natural grain patterns create depth, shading, and a nearly three-dimensional effect.

Some of Bill’s creations feature bald eagles, lighthouses, wildlife, landscapes, and ocean scenes. Others recreate beloved pets, meaningful Bible imagery, or custom requests from residents, family members, and friends.

Each piece begins long before the first cut is made.

Bill starts with a pattern designed by a professional artist, then carefully selects wood based on its natural color and grain.

“You use the natural color of the wood. No stains,” Bill explained.

Each individual piece is cut using a scroll saw, sanded multiple times, shaped for depth, sprayed with finish, and eventually assembled onto a backboard like an intricate puzzle. Some projects contain more than 1,500 individual pieces and take months to complete.

The large piece Bill is currently working on is especially detailed, with some of the pieces so small he must handle them with tweezers.

“It’s very difficult,” Bill admitted. “But I keep thinking of what it will look like when it is done. And I have no idea who wants it. It’s bigger than you can put in the normal house. But I think God knows, or He wouldn’t have had me working on this thing right now.”
Bill first became interested in woodworking more than 40 years ago after attending a wood art show in Pennsylvania and purchasing a scroll saw in 1982. He still owns the saw today.

“I wouldn’t know this except for a date on the first saw I bought,” Bill said, when asked about how long he had been interested in wood art.

Though he didn’t begin seriously pursuing his hobby until later in life, woodworking slowly became part of a much larger journey rooted in faith, family, and service.

A self-described “city boy farmer,” Bill spent summers visiting family in Goshen, Indiana, while growing up. Those experiences sparked his dream of becoming a farmer, even though his father was a university professor.

“My father was a university professor, so those two didn’t go very well together,” Bill shared.

Later, while attending Wooster College in Ohio, he met the woman who would become his wife — who happened to be a farmer’s daughter from rural Ohio.

“God ordained. I wanted to be a farmer, and He provided a way to do it,” Bill said.

Together, the couple built a life around farming, family, faith, and service. The Jennings family farmed grain for 50 seasons while raising their children and staying active in church and community life.

Years later, after their children were grown and more involved in the farming operation, Bill and his oldest son started a small custom home-building business. 

Working with carpentry and wood construction helped shape many of the skills he would later use in his woodworking.

In fact, Bill has never charged for a single piece of his work. Nearly every creation has been donated to charitable auctions, gifted to family members, displayed in churches, or shared with residents and friends at Walnut Hills.

Bill said he hopes his hobby serves the Lord “in some small way.”

Walnut Hills’ annual art show has also led to many requests over the years.

“I am humbled to have people make a request,” Bill said.

Many of those requests have become deeply personal. Bill has created replicas of beloved dogs for Walnut Hills residents using photographs and custom patterns. He has also created detailed Bible scenes, including Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper and Jesus knocking at the door.

Probably the image Bill has created most often is the bald eagle, frequently paired with scripture from Isaiah 40:31: “But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint.”

He also created seven different eagle pieces for an Amish Mennonite boys camp near Walnut Hills, each featuring a different form of an eagle in flight for the camp’s dining room.

When residents or community members request a piece, Bill carefully adds their names to a waiting list that continues to grow longer each year.

“As I’m getting older, that list doesn’t evaporate very fast,” he said. “It takes me longer and longer and longer.”

One memory that still stands out to him involved a woman who asked for one of his eagle pieces during an art show. Bill unintentionally forgot about the request until one of her friends reminded him months later.

When he finally completed the piece and delivered it to her, her emotional reaction surprised him.

“Now, I don’t know what that meant. That reminded her of something in her life, that eagle ... But, you know, that’s the motivation to continue the work.”

At Walnut Hills, Bill and his wife Liz have continued the spirit of volunteering and service that shaped much of their 69 years of marriage. Though his woodworking receives attention, Bill says the greater part of their lives has always centered around serving people directly through church, community involvement, and volunteering.

“We have been blessed,” he said. “We have been blessed with good health. We have been blessed with income that would let us have a hobby ... We are very appreciative and we know from whom our blessings come.”

When Bill and Liz moved to Walnut Hills, one of his hopes was to continue woodworking. Before their home was even built, he asked whether it would be possible to include a dedicated wood shop space in the basement.

To his surprise, Walnut Hills said yes. That space has allowed Bill to continue creating pieces that now hang in homes, churches, camps, and throughout the Walnut Creek community.

For Bill, woodworking is not about recognition or personal achievement. It is simply one more way to use the gifts he believes God has given him.

“If there is talent here and if somebody benefits from this hobby of mine, it’s not about me,” Bill said. “It’s about the power that’s been given to me.”

Through his work, Bill continues to encourage others while quietly reflecting the faith and gratitude that have shaped his life for decades.

If there is one message Bill hopes people take away from his carvings, it is a simple one: “God is love and He made everything.”