Carlyn Lindsay, Yeoman of the Turners’ Company
At 7 years old I started working with wood. All I have ever wanted to do is be a maker. Having worked with paint, fabrics, clay, metal, plastic, I finally settled down to work with wood, this wonderful warm and tactile material.
I trained at Wolverhampton school of art, studying 3 dimensional art and design, wood, metal and plastics. This is where I started sticking materials together and making boxes with beautiful stripey jointed corners. This lead to me creating laminated wooden blocks, that were colourful but balanced with contrast and visual energy. I began turning them on a lathe and was excited at the result.
In 1989 I was able to start my business with a grant from the of The Princes Youth Business Trust and a bursary award from Wickes DIY. In 2004 I received a bursary award from The Worshipful Company of Turners, this funded a new lathe, enabling me to further develop my work.
The whole process of producing an object for me is important, from designing and planning, the attention to symmetry and being able to visualise the outcome. Then selecting the wood, usually English sycamore and glueing it together with beautiful coloured veneers. The big buzz as I am turning the piece of work on my lathe, is to see it emerge from a gluey lump of wood, to spring to life, the coloured lines so clean and bright appearing to crossover and weave in and out of each other. Then finally carefully applying the finish. I can see my fascination of circles and lines working together. The satisfaction is enormous. The design is permanent.
I enjoy making pure and simple forms with the addition of a complex laminated element to enhance. I take pleasure updating traditional design, bringing an ordinary object into a contemporary world. I am inspired by architecture, complex linear structures, railway lines.
Carlyn is a Yeoman of the Worshipful Company of Turners, and a member of The Essex Craft Society, The Register of Professional Turners and The Society of Designer Craftsmen
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