Bursary Award Winners Announced
For 2017, the Turners Company offered bursaries worth up to a combined value of £10,000 to assist talented woodturners to develop their craft skills and to move to a higher level of achievement. The awards were open to UK resident turners whose work is well regarded by their peers and who could put forward a clear plan of how the award will advance their work, expand the boundaries of the craft of turning and raise the profile of the craft.
Following an exceptional standard of entries, and a rigorous round of interviews, the Company are delighted to announce the following winners:
Darren runs his woodturning business from his home address in Suffolk. He produces a huge range of items catering for all tastes and pockets, from personalised trinkets, artistic and utliltarian items, to architecutral or interior designed pieces. He won first prize in the Company Plain Turning Competition at Wizardry in Wood 2016. The Company have awarded Darren a bursary for training with Les Thorne, and help with marketing and web design for his business.
John was introduced to woodturning as therapy following a serious accident. Having benefited so much from woodturning himself, he would like to help others in rehabilitation centres by teaching woodturning. His ultimate goal is to become professional. The Company will be providing funding for training with Jason Breach and the purchase of some necessary portable turning equipment which John will be able to take to Youth Centres and Rehabilitation Centres.
A graduate of Cardiff School of Art and Design, Danielle is in her first year of establishing her own business, specialising in handcrafted, woodturned home decor, using sustainably felled native timber. She has a strong desire to give back to the community and pass on knowledge to the next generations and would like to offer woodturning classes. She was recently selected as Emerging Designer Maker to exhibit at Living Crafts. The Turners bursary will fund training for Danielle at Ecole Escoulen, France, and enable her to have a professionally produced film of her demonstrating the creative process of her work.
Paul Johnston
Paul has been self employed since 2014 and works from a converted garage. He has had items featured in Homes and Gardens, Homes and Antiques magazines, and was featured Artist of the Month in Woodturning Magazine January 2017. Paul has also made commissions for designers in New York and for 2 films, and sells his work around the world from his online shop. Paul would like training to make more artistic and unusual pieces of work, and will use his bursary award for training with Phil Irons in hollowing and colouring.
Frazer ReidFrazer trained as a furniture maker and has a workshop in Fife Scotland. He was winner of the Theo Paphetis Small Business Sundays 2017. Frazer is mostly self taught and would like tuition to incorporate more turning into his furniture. The Company are funding Frazer’s tuition with Stuart Mortimer.
Ghenadi Vasiliev
Ghenadi started turning in 2015. He joined the AWGB and entered the Turners Company Wizardry in Wood Competitions in 2016. The Company are happy to fund Ghenadi’s training with Steve Sinner, a deep hollowing expert in the USA, and the purchase of some necessary turning equipment.
The next bursary awards will be held in 2019.