Creative Woodturning
Woodturning UK, Mark Hancock - U.K. - Showcase March 2003
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MARK HANCOCK
Mark Hancock has lived and worked
in Wales, U.K. since 1986. During that time he has become one of
Wales' foremost woodturners. Winning awards at the National
Eisteddfod and at the Worshipful Company Of Turners. In 1998
Mark was commissioned by the British Foreign Office to produce work
for visiting dignities attending the Cardiff EU Summit. In 2002 he
was one of the main presenters at the Great Britain International
Woodturning Seminar and 2003 will see him as one of the residents on
the International Turning Exchange in Philadelphia.
DECORATIVE AND FUNCTIONAL BOWLS
Mark specialises in high quality turned decorative and functional
bowls and individual vessels, using simple designs to bring out the
natural beauty and variations in colour, texture and figure of local
Welsh timbers. As each piece of timber is an unknown quantity
before being turned he tries to work with the wood, a cliché maybe,
but it is a relationship that develops between Mark's initial idea
for a piece and inspiration drawn from the timber as it reveals
itself.
RECENT WORK
Most of
Mark's recent work is more an exploration of line and form than an |
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effort at an artistic
statement and it continues to amaze him how each minute refinement
of a curve can alter the character of a piece. This has evolved to a
series of work with hollow vessels based around a vase design with
exaggerated rims that are partly removed and shaped. The
inspiration for these came from the image of a falling drop of water
with the incising giving each piece a sense of movement. The use of
sycamore allows the form to take prominence.
THE EQUIPMENT
All the pieces in this 'Showcase' were turned on a
Poolewood 3000
lathe fitted with a foot switch, essential for Mark's style of
hollow forms. A range of different hollowing tools are used, namely
Woodcut (original and Proforme), the Stewart System and the Wolok
Hook Tool. All of the cranked versions of these he has
modified to achieve the curves he desires. Wall thickness is
monitored using a flexi light. Mark uses a pneumatic grinder
with dental burrs for the incising, followed by microplane files and
a mini drum sander to finish the edges. For more information visit
Mark
Hancock's
own web site.
To find further examples of
Mark Hancock's work click the links
below. |
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