Phil Irons
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Biography
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Born in Sydney, Australia, Phil was first introduced to woodturning aged 13 when his father acquired an 1870’s American cast-iron child’s treadle lathe. His love of the craft continued into adulthood. He gained knowledge and appreciation of English timbers working as a tree-surgeon for several years, before becoming a professional woodturner in 1994.
Phil is best known for his vessels and hollow forms with clear, fluid shapes and flowing lines. He uses contemporary coloured dyes to enhance hidden form in pale woods, sourced mostly from tree-surgeons and firewood merchants. With the addition of threaded lids, his vessels lend themselves to becoming urns: beautiful functional pieces of ‘functional art’, highly sought after all over the world: ‘It is a huge honour that people want to keep the ashes of their loved one in a piece of my artwork.’ Phil is a past president of the Association of Woodturners of Great Britain and a member of the American Association of Woodturners. He is the author of a best-selling book ‘Woodturning: Two in One’ that has been translated into 9 languages. He now lives in Warwickshire, UK. |
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