Neil Mansfield

Niel Mansfield grew up having a fascination with fire and how it transforms iron from a dull, lifeless state into an elegant, functional piece of work. In a way, it was inevitable that I would be drawn to moving nd working iron. Growing up I was surrounded by a family of ironworkers. The rhytym of the hammer, the flow of the iron and the experience of watching the iron grow beneathmy hands still take me on a mythical journey that I never get tired of. The relationship between art and craft enables me to create both traditional and contemporary work while occasionally dipping back in time to the medieval and Gothic periods. My work is seldom forged with all iron. I like to bring life into my work by blending metals such as bronze, copper and stainless steel. This marriage of metals gives me the oppurtunity to experiment with clor, texture and shape.