Mark Hanvey
biography |
portfolio | artists listing
b. 1973, Newtownards, Co Down, Northern Ireland
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2009 Selected Works, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2009 Sculpture Objects & Functional Art Exposition, Chicago, IL
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Mark Hanvey has a desire to make work which is strong yet simple in form. The love of the material is evident in the way in which he creates and finishes all his work. “I feel that since it takes such a long time for this material to mature that I should do my best to respect it.”
Mostly he uses native Irish timber but also some exotics. The turned work which is most satisfying for him is work which lets the wood itself have the final say in the form. This is done using green (unseasoned) wood which when turned relatively thin distorts as it drys to produce beautiful organic forms.
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
Pith Vessel Forms
With this work I am celebrating part of the tree usually discarded – the pith, which is found in the centre of the main trunk. Its function is to store nutrients and transport these to the outer tissues in the plant. The preferred wood for this work is green (unseasoned) Irish hardwood (ash, oak, sycamore and some of the fruit woods).
Finding suitable wood for this work can be difficult, particularly for larger scale pieces as bigger trees can have bad shakes or splits radiating from the pith. Small shakes I think are okay as I believe this has an honest and natural feel to it and at the same time it’s workable.
I have to find good straight grained timber so that the drying of the piece when finished will move in a balanced and harmonious way. After crosscutting a section I will mark up the piece so that the pith is in the centre and using a chain saw start to prepare the wood for the lathe where further refinement will take place to ensure the pith is centered left to right and that it is horizontal through the piece. All the work is done on the faceplate, the first half is turned but just inside. Then it’s mounted on the faceplate again making sure there is sufficient material to get a screw fix and still enough to form a wall thickness. The piece is then remounted and the other half is turned to the same internal dimensions as the outside wall is now refined to final thickness.
The faceplate work is now complete. To refine the wall thickness of the first half two wooden drives are made to get into the internal base or membrane – one in the headstock and one in the tailstock. Then the wall is taken to final thickness. Lastly, it’s down to the process of carving to finish the interior.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2009 Selected Works, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2009 Sculpture Objects & Functional Art Exposition, Chicago, IL
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Mark Hanvey has a desire to make work which is strong yet simple in form. The love of the material is evident in the way in which he creates and finishes all his work. “I feel that since it takes such a long time for this material to mature that I should do my best to respect it.”
Mostly he uses native Irish timber but also some exotics. The turned work which is most satisfying for him is work which lets the wood itself have the final say in the form. This is done using green (unseasoned) wood which when turned relatively thin distorts as it drys to produce beautiful organic forms.
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
Pith Vessel Forms
With this work I am celebrating part of the tree usually discarded – the pith, which is found in the centre of the main trunk. Its function is to store nutrients and transport these to the outer tissues in the plant. The preferred wood for this work is green (unseasoned) Irish hardwood (ash, oak, sycamore and some of the fruit woods).
Finding suitable wood for this work can be difficult, particularly for larger scale pieces as bigger trees can have bad shakes or splits radiating from the pith. Small shakes I think are okay as I believe this has an honest and natural feel to it and at the same time it’s workable.
I have to find good straight grained timber so that the drying of the piece when finished will move in a balanced and harmonious way. After crosscutting a section I will mark up the piece so that the pith is in the centre and using a chain saw start to prepare the wood for the lathe where further refinement will take place to ensure the pith is centered left to right and that it is horizontal through the piece. All the work is done on the faceplate, the first half is turned but just inside. Then it’s mounted on the faceplate again making sure there is sufficient material to get a screw fix and still enough to form a wall thickness. The piece is then remounted and the other half is turned to the same internal dimensions as the outside wall is now refined to final thickness.
The faceplate work is now complete. To refine the wall thickness of the first half two wooden drives are made to get into the internal base or membrane – one in the headstock and one in the tailstock. Then the wall is taken to final thickness. Lastly, it’s down to the process of carving to finish the interior.