Artist : Mark Hancock

Mark Hancock now has a workshop in Worcestershire, but until recently he lived and worked in Wales. During that time he became one of Wales' foremost woodturners, winning awards at the National Eisteddfod and the Worshipful Company of Turners. In 1998 he was commissioned by the Foreign Office to produce work for visiting foreign dignitaries. In 1999 he was one of main presenters at the International Seminar organised by the Association of Woodturners of Great Britain.

 

Mark Hancock 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 figuring of local timbers. Most of his recent work is more an exploration of line and form than an effort at an artistic statement and it continues to amaze him how much each 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 use of sycamore and ebonising techniques allows the form to take prominence.

Mark Hancock has exhibited at prominent galleries in Britain and abroad, and as a result he has important pieces included in private collections all over the world.