A PERSHORE woodturner is to teach the skill to a new generation of people to bring a contemporary approach to the art.

Mark Hancock, a professional woodturner for the past 19 years, with a studio at Lower Moor, Pershore, will be teaching the classes at Warwickshire College’s Leamington Centre from January.

Mr Hancock has run sessions in his own studio before and is also involved with youth training with the AWGB, the Association of Woodturners for Great Britain.

Mr Hancock was a former accountant who took redundancy in 1989 and retrained as a woodturner, soon taking second prize for turning in the National Eisteddfod of Wales.

He has also had some prestige commissions, including being asked by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to make gifts for foreign ministers attending the Cardiff European Summit in 1998.

Mr Hancock also took part in an eight-week residency in Philadelphia with the International Turning Exchange in 2003, where he worked with others from the international community on advanced technical innovations, aesthetics and techniques.

“I’m hopefully going to try to influence some future turners,”

he said. “I want to work with more contemporary design. That’s the idea with the beginners’ course, to try to get interest and move them forward on more contemporary, adventurous designs.

This course is about learning the basics and doing it safely and enjoying it.”

Mr Hancock makes his own one-off artworks, and says the course will encourage learners to move in whatever direction they want to take their artwork.

Jamie Ward, Warwickshire College curriculum leader for furniture and timber-related courses, said: “We are encouraged by Mark’s contemporary style and are hoping this will bring new blood to the new generation of woodturners because it’s there to be enjoyed. It’s bringing people out to do something creative and something with their hands and can be enjoyable, practical and useful.”

He said the course was open to men and women from any background to gain skills they could also use in DIY. Each student will have access to a lathe, their own set of tools and all necessary equipment in a dedicated woodturning room.

The new six-week woodturning course starts on Thursday, January 22, and runs from 6.30-9.30pm. For more information and to enrol call 0800 783 6767 or 01926 318233.