Kellie M Hazell

Artist Statement

I look for fascinating details in the microscopic and macroscopic worlds around us, leveraging twenty years in molecular biology and clinical research. Zooming in to an unraveling bit of DNA, the function of a cell membrane. Zooming out to falling leaves, crashing waves, even entire galaxies. These can all be abstracted on canvas or found in the chaos of fluid art. I use ductile neuron-like neurographic lines and various media to draw attention to the science of a moment or the fiction within our reality. I tell stories in my art, using prose and poetry when bold, vibrant acrylic and other colorful media won’t do.
I approach my broader surroundings with the goal of replicating color and texture, starting small and expanding. I might focus on the particular erosion pattern on one rock before I try to capture the whole of the landscape. More frequently, I’ll zoom in further and explore the specific juxtaposition of small wildflowers together and look for ways to abstract that onto a canvas. I’m always interested in the interstices of an environment, looking for the connective tissue that holds it all together, whether that be something at the microscopic level or a community or cultural practice.
The neurographic lines started as free form marks and therapeutic meditations and became a means to express through-lines to bring a piece together or to serve a unifying conceit or to subtly highlight entangling webs of meaning. I have recently sought to deepen the neurographic practice and broaden my media repertoire with my grandmother’s sewing machine, using free form stitching to juxtapose different imagery or to thread in details much as I would neurographic line art.