Artist Statement
I have been working with the exotic genus Arisaema for several years now. I plant them each spring and watch the tubers develop. It is a joy to watch them slowly un-crumple, and grow. Each species has a different botanical architecture, and the flowers, with their highly patterned spathes are among the strangest in the world.
This work focuses on these aspects and is inspired by the plant photography of Karl Blossfeldt. I love the way Blossfeldt exploited symmetry, recurring structure and ‘natural design’. I have been exploring this in the plants that I grow, capturing their own natural design in pen and ink illustrations.
When my plants are growing, I turn them, to investigate from all sides. I love to see how they are packaged. I am endlessly fascinated with the silhouettes they form, their architecture and the patina. I want to tell part of their story, and mine through these pieces. I hope you will enjoy these aspects as much as I have in the making of these works.
Artist Bio
Marianne Hazlewood is an award-winning botanical artist. She specialises in detail and in presenting structure and pattern, creating modern botanical illustrations in various media: watercolour, Japanese ink paste and screen print. Her work draws attention to the many benefits we can gain from interaction with, and caretaking of our natural environment.
Producing work on commission and for exhibition, Marianne regularly exhibits with the Open Eye Gallery in Edinburgh, Scotland. She has also exhibited with Visual Arts Scotland (VAS), Society of Scottish Artists (SSA) and Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour (RSW), at the Pittenweem Arts Festival and with the botanical societies ASBA, SBA, RHS, BISCOT, ESBA and SSBA.
Marianne had a residency in June at Marchmont House, Scotland, the birthplace of renowned artist Rory McEwen.
Awards and recognition for her work include an RHS Gold and BISCOT Gold medal, Borders Art Fair Best Stand 2023, The W Gordon Smith and Mrs Jay Gordon Smith Award at VAS REVERB 2022, and the Open Eye Gallery Exhibition Award at VAS Alight 2019. Her work is held in the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the RBGE Florilegium, Marchmont Makers Foundation and NHS Lothian Art Collection.
