Hazel Vellacott

“The universe is made of stories not atoms.”
Muriel Rukeyser

In the last few years I’ve become more and more intrigued by what makes a story – the words, the imagery, and the impact (sometimes puzzlingly powerful) that stories have on us.

Originally working almost entirely in mixed-media, making both paintings and sculptures, I’ve retrained in illustration. My intention is to keep unpicking what makes a great picture book and the power of visual storytelling.

Trained in both the disciplines of Fine Art & Medicine, I am at my most curious when I am making work at the meeting place of these two areas.
It sometimes provokes a bit of surprise that I straddle these two apparently divergent disciplines. To me, it feels like a natural partnership. A primary tool of both doctor and artist is close observation. There follows an investigation into what lies beneath, then piecing together something fresh and interesting.
This is perhaps the nature of any creative path.