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    Masters of the Craft

    Liam Flynn: Virtuoso Vessel Maker

    Author Headshot By Jon Binzen May 31, 2012

    Jon Binzen

    Working in the woodshop where both his father and grandfather worked before him, a shop which is attached to the house where he grew up in the small town of Abbeyfeale in County Limerick, Ireland, Liam Flynn has established an international reputation turning vessels from green wood. Flynn’s turnings are arrestingly beautiful in their overall shapes, but the stamp of his authorship is also evident in the freehand fluting he often applies to them off the lathe, and in the asymmetrical double-lip he often creates at a vessel’s mouth.  

    Despite having at least three generations of carpenters and joiners in his family tree, Flynn never had a teacher in turning. He bought his first small lathe when he was just into his teens and learned to use it by trial and error and through reading magazines and books. While other turners may employ highly figured wood or complex techniques to distinguish their work, Flynn hews to a simpler path. Using plain-grained, local oak and a handful of straightforward turning and carving techniques, he relies on his well-trained eye and hand to elevate his work.

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    Comments

    1. TurnerOfTruro | Jun 16, 2012 01:13am | #1

      This video of Liam Flynn's woodturning is magnificent! It's so refreshing to see a contemporary artisan who is true to the wood media while pushing the lines in his profiles to ever more captivating profiles. Bravo!

    2. Krayol | Jun 16, 2012 11:18am | #2

      What lovely workmanship - just aesthetically perfect.

      Such a practical and unassuming chap. I love the approach of seeing something in a piece of wood that others would dismiss as only suitable for utilitarian purposes.

      Truly inspiring.

    3. 61A | Jun 21, 2012 06:42am | #3

      Very inspirational , just shows you don't need loads of fancy kit and expensive timber to make fabulous turnings.

    4. Shavins | Jun 26, 2012 09:27pm | #4

      Well done Liam, brilliant work! I love the way he has developed his work from scratch with trial and error being the main method of learning. Some brilliant pieces there.

    5. Rick2 | Jan 02, 2013 01:01pm | #5

      What a terrific piece. Thanks very much, we don't get to see such treasures often!

    6. User avater
      Paul_David | Feb 24, 2013 08:10am | #6

      The openness with which he expresses the process of discovery is inspiring. His work is a lesson in seeing.

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