aka: When Did you Find out that art is your calling?

HL: That’s a hard question to answer, because I’ve never known anything else! From a very early age, I divided my time between being in the outdoors and making things. I was fortunate to have a supportive family and teachers who recognised that art (and latterly, sculpture) was the path for me. For me, I would describe art less as a passion or calling, and more as a necessity.

aka: What inspired you at the beginning?

HL: I grew up in rural west Wales near a large reservoir. The dam wall is a hundred feet of vertiginous concrete which is literally monumental. I would stand at the bottom and look up at this unfathomable mass, feeling it viscerally. In addition to spending time with this man-made mass, I would frequently walk on the nearby Preseli hills, which are scattered with enormous ancient rocks. Again, a different type of mass, with balance and composition. Climbing and drawing these rocks was truly informative.

aka: Who are the artists/musicians/mentors you look up to for inspiration?

HL: I’ve been fortunate to have generous and understanding teachers and mentors, from school age to university and beyond. However, I find that inspiration for my sculpture comes from oblique angles, rather than directly from other sculpture or artists. Books, specifically fiction is a strong inspiration.

aka: Which materials are the most pleasant to work with for you at the moment and why?

HL: I have almost always worked in steel. There is a misconception that steel is hard and unforgiving, however I find that the opposite is true. Steel is quick to work with, endlessly changeable and fluid. For me, the key with any material or creativity (be it writing, music, painting etc) is to first understand and master its craft. Once you have the practical skills and understanding of your chosen material then it becomes second nature, which gives creativity the freedom to develop unhindered.

aka: How do you deal with having a day job and creating art at the same time?

HL: Discipline! It has taken me a long, long time to develop both pragmatic time management, and the mental discipline needed to switch from one ‘mode’ to the other.

aka: What is the most fun/strange reaction to your work?

HL: Some of the best reactions to my sculpture have been from primary school children when I’ve taken my sculptures into their classes show them. Their insights and responses are by far the most perceptive and genuine. One of the (many) strange reactions to my work was when

somebody wanted to buy a sculpture, but only if I let them display it upside down…

aka: Art often is a reaction to current events or expression of an emotional state – what are the events of today that make you want to react through art?

HL: There is an artwork from 2009 by Trevor Clarke where he has carved the following quote into Welsh slate:

It is not

The work itself

It is to keep oneself

In condition to do it

That is difficult

Artists don’t live under a rock (or in a lonely garret), so it is impossible not to absorb and be affected by some of the horrors in the world around them and to be overwhelmed by them. I turn to Clarke’s quote occasionally, to remind me that the work in the studio can only succeed if I’m in the right condition to make it.

aka: What keeps you going?

HL: Sculpture!