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Rethink Everything: The Vision of Hazel Sebastian Glass
When searching for paper artists and designers to feature in the new CLASSIC Papers "Rethink Everything" promotion for Neenah, Design Army knew what they were looking for. Artists who not only stand out in their desired medium but also have a holistic vision for their business. Artists who can conceive and execute a plan, who can adapt and change with the times, and who are uniquely creative but not out of reach.
Says Pum Lefebure, Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer for Design Army, led the editorial project for Neenah, “We knew we wanted to feature an artist who has chosen paper as their desired medium and mastered working with it. When we found Hazel Sebastian Glass on Instagram, we knew creatives would connect with and be moved by her work. She expresses herself through the paper in an honest, genuine, and captivating way that makes the viewer fall in love with each piece. What she creates is art in the truest, rawest form.”
Rethinking Paper Fine Art
Paper strata artist Hazel Sebastian Glass is an alum of Pacific Northwest College of Art and Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). Her work has been featured on Verum Ultimum Gallery and Guardino Gallery in SCAD's walls permanent collection and adorning the leggings by Wild & Roaming.
Glass’s work is inspired by traditional decorative design, Art Nouveau, Islamic design, Celtic and Nordic knotwork, “My love of Art Nouveau has provided me with quite a large collection of books from the Golden Age of Illustration as well. Most of these are fairytales. So, in my more personal work, there is often a storybook or fantastical feel to them. I enjoy creating tiny worlds that you can hold in your hand,” says Glass in this interview.
For her artwork, Glass intricately cuts paper with surgical precision and painstakingly layers them together in a beautiful color palette from her endless collection of paper swatches. The result? Exquisite creations that are hauntingly captivating and authentically hers.
Says Glass, “I begin with a drawing, whether a planned template or just sketched in pencil on the fly. You'll find mechanical pencils, fine-tipped erasers, different colored fineliner pens, an embossing stylus, colored pencils, and piles of notes I scribbled while half asleep at my drawing station. Once I know the colors I'll be using, I prep the papers to all be the same size and cut into them following the drawing lines with a craft knife. In this way, I'm creating small windows in the sheets of paper. I stack these layers— anywhere from 4 to 81— on top of each other to get my Paper Strata sculpture.”
Rethinking Accessibility
Her work has evolved over the years, but her mission and work ethic remains the same. A self-professed workaholic, Glass often works extraordinarily long days balancing a busy workload with building on a successful business strategy. Her aim? To break down access barriers to fine art by creating affordable reproductions of her work and to change the general misconception surrounding paper artistry.
Says Glass, "I believe I have two main challenges. The first is the income inequality in this country and many others around the globe. I have long lost count of how many times people have expressed how much they love my work and want to purchase a piece(s), but can't afford to. That's why I got into making reproductions— it was the only way to keep the business sustainable."
“What good is being an artist if you're not exploring new territory?.”
Hazel Sebastian Glass
Glass continues, "The second challenge is the general misconception about paper art. People think that because I work with paper, it is lesser than other mediums or disciplines. Never mind that other paper artists and I exhibit in fine art galleries and museums all over the world; we are often still looked down upon by people who think that art is either painting or traditional sculpture. It is their loss. What good is being an artist if you're not exploring new territory?"
Adds Lefebure, “It’s absolutely inspiring to watch Hazel push the boundaries of what is considered fine art. She’s proven that paper is a powerful medium. It’s low-tech but capable of producing high-design. We are so privileged to be witnessing Hazel’s incredible art and style. Hazel has a depth and dimension to her that layers into her work, quiet, but very powerful.”
Rethinking "Small" Business
And there is no better mentor in exploring new territory than Glass. Beyond reimagining paper as a fine artist’s medium, she redefines expectations on what is proportionally acceptable. While most of the world seems to be under the impression that bigger is better, she doesn't necessarily apply to anything and everything, mostly art. In fact, Glass finds delight in small works and collecting smaller pieces. She also believes creators each have their own style and should follow that vision, whether big or small, 3D or 2D, vibrant or natural-toned, ornate or minimalist.
By rethinking the status quo, artists can break through to new audiences and find the inner confidence to create and sell their pieces with conviction. Says Glass, "I feel bad when the artists I'm purchasing from try to awkwardly explain that something is "small" as though that diminishes its quality somehow. I wish others could see what a fallacy this is. As a paper cutter, working smaller is technically more challenging. But there's also something so intricate and precious about tiny art."
Rethinking Creative Routines
Like many entrepreneurial creatives, Glass has hustle. Typically waking at dawn, she heads to straight into the studio to catch up on overnight communications before creating. Because her work is so intricate, it can take a toll on her requiring warm-up exercises and stretching before starting and frequent “breaks” to manage fatigue. “I learned long ago that I can’t cut for too many hours, or my body will rebel and suffer. I have a two-hour maximum rule,” says Glass.
She’s learned to rethink her daily routine to avoid the creative fatigue that comes with the responsibility of sole creator and business owner. Glass remarks, “I’d say about half my time is dealing with administrative work for the business side of things, and the other half is spent actually making art. I typically work about 5-6 hours, and then stop to do yoga and eat breakfast. Then I work until dinner. I then worked until I passed out at my desk, but I've been trying to implement some new rules to prevent burnout. After dinner, I try to wrap things up and sit on the couch to read an hour or so. If I'm lucky, at some point, my partner has dragged me outside for a walk or bike ride!”
A self-described Creatrix, or female creator, Glass asks the million-dollar question, “What good is being an artist if you’re not exploring new territory?” She answers, “I’m also a writer and ink illustrator. Though I've never managed to coordinate those two, hah. I have begun writing flash fairytales to engrave inside artist book editions of some of my paper works, which is fun. I've spent many hours over my lifetime scribbling into art journals.”
Glass continues, “I also love to travel. I haven't had much time for it since I started this business, but I try to take at least one big trip per year. This year was to be Switzerland for a reception at a museum where my work is exhibited... but the pandemic canceled those plans.
I really enjoy building things. I created six treehouses growing up. I've made most of my own furniture. Nothing fancy, mind you, just custom and functional.”
Reawaken the Creative Spirit
In a time when artists and designers are genuinely looking for inspiration and guidance, Hazel Sebastian Glass offers up a unique perspective to ponder and an abundance of beautiful work to reawaken the creative spirit in all of us.
Be sure to check out and follow Neenah’s Instagram for a chance to win the one-of-a-kind exquisite piece Hazel Sebastian Glass created using CLASSIC® Papers for Neenah’s new “Rethink Everything” promotion.