Found & fallen

Hello I’m Hazel Oliver. I am a recycled materials artist based in Falmouth, Cornwall where I work out of my home studio, Badger & Birch Studio.

I am inspired by the changing land and sea scape textures and forms around me and I focus on reutilising waste and found and fallen natural materials that no longer have a use.

Organic textures

I want to convey a sense of calm through my work and use the changing patterns in the seasons in my works. I am heavily influenced by Japanese aesthetics, muted tones and the ‘wabi sabi’ imperfect form of nature.

Hazel Oliver artist sitting outside her garden studio called badger and birch studios
Hazel Oliver recycled materials artist using lichen in her work

Materials

I hand form and cast all my pieces. I use layers of fallen twigs, found bark, lichen, waste wood from other makers, collected sands, pine cones, grit, soils, recycled coffee grounds as well as crushed recycled oyster shells, mussel shells, lobster, crab and whelk; reclaimed from my local seafood restaurant.

My love of texture and form began whilst studying for a MA in Children’s illustration at Cambridge College of Art. There I fell in love with minimal design and printmaking textures. It was a natural progression to express these textures in 3D form through experimentations in casting concrete, printing onto marble, clay, mould making and more recently in plaster based eco resins.