The Hunt Museum, Limerick is delighted to host and celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Irish Woodturners Guild (IWG) with a curated exhibition featuring 40 exceptionally turned wood forms that demonstrate excellence in craftsmanship and design. The exhibition runs from March 29, 2024 to May 16, 2024 and is free for all to attend. It will then travel to four further venues across Ireland as part of the IWG anniversary celebrations.
The idea for the exhibition entitled, ‘Turning Turns 40’, is attributed to the President of the IWG, Emmet Kane who proposed the challenge of creating a woodturned form to the scale of 15cm3. He states that, ‘throughout my career as a maker, I have always relished the challenge of making to a certain scale and size’. It was from this initial idea that the challenge was passed to all of the IWG members. They were required to work from a uniform sized block of Ash which in itself, presents a set of its own technical and design challenges. Over 360 cubes of Ash were distributed from which 40 final pieces were selected by an independent judging panel comprising woodturners, Stephen O’Connell (Ireland), Barbara Dill (USA) and Ulf Jasson (Sweden). The curated exhibition demonstrates the individual creativity and woodturning expertise of members as well as highlighting the critical issue that affects our native Ash tree; Ash dieback disease.
The mighty Ash is one of Ireland’s finest native trees. However it is Ash dieback, a serious disease caused by the fungal pathogen Hymenoscyphus fraxineus that threatens its future. First detected in Ireland in 2012, the disease is now prevalent throughout the island and across Europe. We will inevitably see over the coming 20 years, the extinction of our native Ash tree due to this disease. In celebrating the IWG anniversary, we also commemorate the offering and history that the mighty Ash has provided to the Irish landscape through this lasting collection of native Ash crafted works of art.
About The Irish Woodturners Guild
Only for the vision of its founders in 1983, woodturning would have been a lost craft on the island of Ireland. It was Liam O’Neill who, following a trip to a seminar in the UK, invited a group of woodturners to meet in Shannon, Co. Clare in March 1983. With the guidance of Sean O’Farrell, a Field Officer with the Crafts Council of Ireland, they decided there and then to form the Irish Woodturners Guild, the first such Guild in the world.
Since its establishment in 1983, the Irish Woodturners Guild retains its not-for-profit status with 18 Chapters and a membership of over 500 throughout the island of Ireland. The IWG is also affiliated with the American Association of Woodturners (AAW) to facilitate collaboration, knowledge and skill exchange.
The aim of the Guild is to further woodturning as a craft/ art entity and to provide a forum for the exchange of views. Local Chapters meet regularly and the IWG Journal provides the latest news and reviews on woodturning. The national seminar is held annually and features demonstrators from Ireland and abroad who share their ideas on design, technique and finish. The seminar is a great gathering of like-minded people and an opportunity for members to display their work.
The Irish Woodturners Guild is kindly supported by the Hunt Museum, Design and Crafts Council of Ireland. For more information on the IWG, go to www.IWG.ie
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