Harriet Mead PSWLA

Statement

Harriet Mead has always been inspired by the natural world. Her interests in animals and birds developed from an early age thanks to the influence of her late father, the ornithologist Chris Mead, who was a well known author and broadcaster. Harriet has always been drawn to sculpture and loves using steel to capture the quiet presence of an animal.

Methodology

Harriet creates her work by welding steel objects together. It is a method and material that she loves due to its strength and adaptability, allowing her to produce work that balances on tiny points of contact. She enjoys the juxtaposition of old tools and discarded items that combine to make a ‘living’ creature and suggest the muscles and contours of the subject. Harriet scavenges from farm yards and sheds and has a wonderful team of friends and enthusiasts who squirrel things away for her. Each item has a former life and in many cases is worn from years of use. She likes to think that she is making natural history from agricultural history. 

Harriet's larger sculptures, particularly the earlier public art pieces, are made of welded sheet steel around a strong steel frame but always incorporate some scrap, whether it be barbed wire for bristles, chain links for paws or nails for claws. She uses a plasma cutter to cut the sheet steel and then makes finer alterations using aviation snips. Many of the larger commissions take several months to complete. Her more recent public art pieces are made from old tools, a method which she much prefers.

Bio

September 1969 Born in Tring, Hertfordshire

1988-89 Foundation Course at Hertfordshire College of Art and Design, St Albans

1990-93 BA Hons Fine Art (Sculpture), Norwich

2001 Elected to SWLA

2004 Council SWLA (Newsletter Editor)

2009 Elected President of SWLA