Originally from Macon, Hazel received a B.A. in Studio Art from the College of Charleston and a M.S. in Art Therapy from Eastern Virginia Medical School.  She is a part of the adjunct faculty in the Mercer Art Department and a painter in her studio in downtown Macon.  For Hazel, processing feelings on a canvas with paint is how she feels mathematicians must equate solving a complicated math problem on a giant board, only with emotions and experiences instead of numbers and symbols… though there are those too.   

Hazel’s current focus in painting is an active practice of Art Therapy.  She hopes that through processing and translating experiences and emotions into a visual form that others connect with will promote universality.  The need for adequate, safe, socially acceptable forms of mental health outlets feels like it is being sorely overlooked and ignored in society.  Her current body of work is an exploration of human emotions using different painting techniques to translate them as accurately and raw as possible.  Her simplified pallet aims to decrease visual noise, and her often embedded details offer respect to the viewer’s personal space and comfort level.   Hazel states: “Personally, navigating through life has challenged me to try to be a better communicator through art because sometimes there just aren’t words.”