Skilled Tipperary woodworker wins national award for woodturning

Martin Ryan from Clonboo, Templetuohy, a skilled artist in segmented woodturning, has received the National Sustainable Design Award for 2024 from the Design and Craft Council Ireland.

The awards ceremony was held in the RDS in Dublin on September 3, and Martin received the Future Makers Sustainable Design Award 2024 in acknowledgement of his excellence and creativity in the experimental use of skills.

His winning entry was a segmented vase incorporating Holycross Abbey in the design.

Segmented woodturning is the process of joining different coloured woods at various angles and sizes to form a variety of patterns and designs on the finished product.

The amount of segments in any one piece can vary from 100 to several thousand depending on the size and design.

From design to completion, some pieces may take several months.

All pieces are one-off and unique.

They are designed and handcrafted in his workshop in Clonboo.

His inspiration comes from Irish Heritage; Greek, Native American and Arabic cultures.

Mostly he works from the design in his 'mind’s eye'.

Having completed a woodturning course some years ago, Martin developed his own designs, skills and techniques over time.

He now specialises in segmented woodturning for which he has won awards from the Irish Woodturners’ Guild and the Design and Craft Council Ireland.

He is a registered member of the DCCI and the Irish and American Woodturners Guild.

His work in this field has been exhibited in both Thurles and Templemore.

2,465 individual pieces were used in its design and makeup.

Martin is due to have an exhibition later this year in Templemore library, and another one in Cashel library early next year.

To view Martin’s artwork, go to clonboowoodart.com.