Hazel Morris (21st June 1945 - 30th January 2020)

It is with great sadness that I inform you of the death of Hazel Forsyth Morris who passed away peacefully this morning in St Columba’s Hospice. 

Hazel had been unwell for sometime.  She was positive about her illness and determined to carry on with as much of her life as possible, without sharing her anxieties with others. 

Hazel was a founder member of the SSBA in 2014 and became a Trustee and Director. She was the first Chairperson, a role that she undertook for four years with dedication and pride.  She continued contributing to the SSBA as a Director and Trustee during 2019.

Her major contribution was the establishment of the SSBA annual exhibitions through her Chairing and co-ordination of the Exhibitions Committee.  Most recently in November 2019 Hazel was pleased to be asked to present Mary O’Neill with the ‘People’s Award’ from the Whitehouse Gallery Exhibition.  An exhibition that was a result of Hazel's hard work and negotiations. 

Hazel is known to many Botanical Artists whom she met at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh and classes held by Fiona and Robert McNeill.  She also met many international artists through her work with the BISCOT committee that she joined in 2010 and was latterly the artist's contact person. She always acknowledged that she learnt so much about exhibiting from her BISCOT colleagues and friends.

Hazel loved snowdrops and tulips so I thought I would share with you her painting of a snowdrop that has been on the SSBA web site for some time. 

Hazel on Hazel - her SSBA profile ​ You can see Hazel's profile in relation to her botanical art on the  SSBA website. You can read what she has to say about herself and her botanical art below. The image at the top of this post is of Hazel at the Callander Park exhibition where her iris painting was 'Commended'.

I began my adult working life as a Home Economics teacher, and painted in watercolours, mainly landscapes, as a hobby and a way of relaxing.

After marrying, I accompanied my civil engineer husband as he worked mainly abroad, making homes and living in a number of countries in the Far East before returning to the UK to care for elderly parents. It was only after these family commitments were discharged that I was able to start thinking about taking up painting again.

I had been very interested in botanical painting for a number of years, influenced mainly, I think, by the work of Elizabeth Blackadder whose botanical paintings I saw regularly in Festival art exhibitions, and was fascinated by, complete with coffee stains, obvious alterations, and other marks on them; and yet, the marks somehow far from detracting, seemed to add to their artistic integrity.

However, it was only after picking up a booklet for educational courses at the RBGE that the possibility of studying this fascinating and complex form of art became a reality. I have now been painting botanical art for about nine years and attend Fiona Strickland’s class weekly.

In 2010 I was asked to join the committee of Botanical Images Scotia (BISCOT) and this has afforded me the opportunity of seeing at first hand, some of the best and most original work being created in botanical illustration today.

Snakes Head Fritillaries by Hazel Morris

Hazel centre back of Fiona Strickland's Botanical Art Ladies in the weekly class at Falkirk

Hazel Morris - drawing a specimen in her sketchbook in class

The Illustrator in Residence Program is an exciting opportunity for illustrators to find inspiration in the natural beauty of Denver Botanic Gardens and further their practice with in-depth access to the Gardens’ extensive scientific collections. Residents will illustrate the Garden’s collections and landscapes with a focus on documenting plants native to the Rocky Mountain region, supporting the
Gardens’ dedication to preservation, conservation, education and biodiversity.

This file provides all the details of the Residency - which I also summarise below. 

sbai_illustrator_residency_2020.pdf
File Size:	270 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

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The deadline for submissions is Feb. 29, 2020 11:59 p.m. (Mountain Standard Time)

Denver Botanic Garden from above

2018 Residency Artwork for the Denver Collection by Asuka Hishiki

Four botanical artists in residence

Magnolia x soulangeana by John Pastoriza-Piñol

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