A MEMBER of a Clacks crafting club has recently won a wide range of awards from the National Bird Carving Championships.
Martyn Bacon is a member of the Wee County Crafters, having discovered them after he got into his passion for carving five years ago.
Martyn, 66, entered himself into the novice category at the championships and brought home a bronze, silver and gold medal for his carvings.
Speaking to the Advertiser, he said: “I’m very pleased because this is the first time I’ve entered the championships.
“The carvings I made for the shows take roughly 200-300 hours of work to make so it’s rewarding to see my hard work pay off.
“I was asked to carve a bird for a family member and I enjoyed it so much that I decided to progress from there.”
Martyn put himself forward for the carving championships, held in Derbyshire in September, and came away with four different awards.
He won bronze award in songbirds for his bullfinch pair, a silver award in birds of prey for his little owl, a gold award for interpretive carvings and he also earned second place in an open category for innovative carvings for his floating hummingbird model.
Martyn credited the atmosphere at the Wee County Crafters in allowing him to further develop his passion.
“It’s a great place,” he continued. “There’s a few carvers there who don’t do birds but all have different specialities and we all bounce ideas off each other.
“It’s good when new people come in and they see everyone carving different things, they can have a choice of what they want to carve.
“There’s a guy who is trying to carve a pheasant’s head and since I’m a bird guy, I can help give him advice and so can some of the other guys there so it’s really good.”
The Wee County Crafters meet in Alva and offer a dedicated space for members to practice their trade.
They are open on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Friday mornings from 9.30am-12.30pm and also on Wednesday evenings from 7pm-9pm.
A spokesperson for the Wee County Crafters said: “Martyn’s remarkable success at the National Bird Carving Championships is a testament to his unwavering dedication, formidable artistic talent and meticulous attention to detail.
“His achievements undoubtedly elevate the local craftsmanship community, shining a spotlight on the exceptional talent present within the Wee County Crafters Club and Alva as a whole.”
For more information, visit weecountycrafters.co.uk.
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