Meet Hazel Griffiths: Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Hazel Griffiths and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Hazel, what role has risk played in your life or career?

One could say that embarking on a creative career is taking on a huge amount of risk in and of itself.  But I actually think I’d risk losing a lot more if I didn’t. If creativity is an option, you risk not becoming yourself if you don’t take that path. So in reality, it’s not even an option, it’s an imperative!

Then along the way, you have to make creative choices both large and small that all carry their own sort of risk. For example, you want to go in a new direction with your work, will it be successful? Will people like or understand it? Will it resonate? And where will it end up taking you as an artist? We take on risk every day, every choice, carries in its own way, some level of risk: taking a risk with a color choice, a subject matter, a change in medium or something bigger like a change in style. But it’s these choices both micro and macro, that make us who we are both as people and as artists.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I would say, the one thing that has challenged me the most and made me question my creative integrity, but has also gotten me to where I am today, is my curiosity. It has always been my strongest trait and has led my creativity to be expressed in so many ways. I’m always exploring new ways to create, learning to use new media and finding new ways to use ones I already work with. If I get an idea, I run with it, even if it means having to learn a new skill set or becoming familiar with a medium I’ve never used. This has led to my work becoming extremely varied and I always worried that I was spreading myself too thin creatively, that I should stick to one thing. But if I had, I’m sure I wouldn’t have come across the opportunities that I have over the last couple of years, everything from my position as product tester at Arteza, which came at the perfect moment, to having the opportunity to create immersive, virtual worlds for burning man held in virtual reality this year or experimental jewelry that won an award for the inclusion of unconventional materials like neon plastic threads and oxidized copper.

But looking back over my body of work in it’s totality, I see these creations do carry within them a similar essence, a common thread running throughout, faint at times, but always present . In the end I’m glad I followed my intuitions and I would advise other artists and creatives to do the same. If something lights your creative fire, follow that light and see where it takes you, even if it seems to be a departure from your current style or medium, it’s still coming from your unique consciousness, it just becomes another way  to see something or express what you are saying as an artist. Sometimes it does takes a leap of faith, but these leaps always pay off in some way or another.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would definitely say, spend a day at Vizcaya near coconut grove Miami, the stately grounds of this beautiful old mansion are like something from Tim Burton’s imagination come to life, it’s like wandering through another world and time . Then go to Art Tech house on Miami Beach, it’s an entire exhibition of projected artistic renderings of data visualizations. It’s beautiful, psychedelic, disorienting and thought provoking all in one immersive experience. Also the science museum, admittedly I’ve never been, but it’s high on my list as the next place I want to check out!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are so many, but I’d like to give thanks and gratitude to my late art teacher Dennis Aufiery, his instruction had a huge impact on me as an artist and in particular, the way I see color and paint from life. He said that painting from life was distilling the present moment and transforming it into a lasting impression on the canvas. This sentiment has always remained with me as a guiding principle: creative output as a transference of energy.

Also, the team of instructors at Chiaroscuro school of art, Miami. They are technical wizards who brought my skills in classical painting to where they are today.

Then Evan Snow who does so much for the creative community, the founder of Zero Empty Spaces, Art Ft Lauderdale, 1000 mermaids and Ocean rescue alliance. I’ve taken part in Art Ft Lauderdale for the last few years, it’s an excellently curated fair that exceeds expectations year upon year and has put all kinds of creative talent on the map.

Last but not least I want to give a shout-out to Stephanie Hibbard who nominated me for this interview and who continues to be an unrelenting advocate for all of the artists/ product testers at Arteza, Miami.

Website: Hazelgriffiths.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hazelgriffithsart/?hl=en
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hazel-griffiths-674b0267
Twitter: @hazelgriffiths8
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/HazelGriffiths.Art/
Other: https://www.singulart.com/en/artist/hazel-griffiths-23031

Image Credits
Pablo Blanco (4 images)