User:Andy Hancock

Andy Hancock - Sculptor, idea generator, communicator

Born Melbourne, Australia, March 1961 Adopted by British parents and grew up in Wangartta, Victoria until 1969 when he moved to the UK.

Finding school very dull, Andy found motorcycles to be one of his early passions which he followed into higher education[1] in London while racing and working for various motorcycle dealers around the country. This continued until 1985 when he changed direction completely and went into insurance sales - first with CICA and then as a tied agent with the GRE. He set up his own brokerage in 1989 and this continued until 1993 when he changed direction again. Andy was married and had three boys by this time Colin, Jake and Lewis.

After a chance meeting with Jean and Tony Maitland in Llanfyllin, Powys he was encouraged to "have a go" at some community art - first as a volunteer then getting paid by local arts group, [Arts Connection][2]. This work was mainly project work with local children but it encouraged Andy to get more involved in his own work - large scale sculpture.

Working in local factories while producing his own work he was fortunate enough to meet Andy Hall of the Forestry Commission who was based at Lake Vyrnwy in north Powys. Andy was commissioned by the forestry commission to produce a number of works in 1995 for inclusion in the redevelopment of the Old Village car parking area on the south side of the lake. Andy's initial works included the otter sculpture, the now famous Dolphins of the lake and a chair made from the dolphin tree (which was removed in 2006). One of the most famous pieces that caused a stir when it was finished was the pecking order pole. This was a 30ft standing trunk of a silver fir that had died due to insect attack. This work was to form the basis of the Lake Vyrnwy Sculpture Trail.

During this time Andy met Eva Bredsdorff, the curator of the Powysland Museum in Welshpool and was invited to show local children how the pole lathe operated. A pole lathe is a man powered wood turning machine that can trace its history back to the 3rd century bc. This new friendship continues to this day with Andy being regularly commissioned by Eva (when she can afford him!) to add work to the gallery of outdoor work at the museum site at the Canal Wharf in Welshpool, Powys.

Andy built the first Pole lathe fence in the world at Lake Vyrnwy where he taught and gave demonstrations for many years. The fence was recently removed by Severn Trent Water who were to take over funding of Andy's work alongside the Forestry Commission, Arts and Business Cymru, The Arts Council of Wales and Arts Connection amongst all the other single project funders.

After the initial funding Andy was commissioned for a further 3 years to produce sculpture around lake Vyrnwy concentrating on interpretation of the local flora, fauna and wildlife. Andy hall encouraged him to keep it big and simple which was what people seemed to enjoy. Andy produced many sculptures over the next 3 years and then funding allowed him to make international connections after meeting Dr Tom Gilhespy, a retired lecturer and sculptor who invited Andy to his first ever symposium.

This was held at Toms property in Llanfyllin and allowed Andy to meet artists from Russia, Finland, and other local people who he had not run into yet!! This event would lead to a real partnership between Tom and Andy to help the Sculpture trail evolve into the Lake Vyrnwy International Sculpture park. This park was the result of many collaborations between groups of sculptors from the eastern block that Tom had met over the past 20 years, and local artists who were invited to come along and produce work on on a scale they might not have been used to. it was very successful and the resulting work alongside the existing trail helped to make Lake Vyrnwy one of the tourist destinations of the county - even though Powys County Council refused to give the project any support whatsoever.

When the award - winning park was nearing completion Andy had decided to move to the USA to get married and pursue a new art style - sand sculpture. He regularly travels between the USA and the UK to work on commissions and set up new projects and encourage, and work through new ideas with sponsors, funders, and supporters. Andy continues to be original not ordinary and hopes to set up a new studio gallery in the near future in Mid Wales. he has been the recipient of two civic society awards and has worked for just about every environmental agency in Britain

the work of Andy Hancock is free for everyone to enjoy [3]