Mary Azarian
Encyclopedia
Mary Azarian is an American woodcut
artist and children's book illustrator. In 1999 she won the Caldecott Medal
for her book, Snowflake Bentley, a picture book
of the life of Wilson Bentley
.
She produces original prints and has illustrated over 50 books.
Azarian attended Smith College
, where she studied printmaking and painting. Before beginning her career as a full time artist, Azarian taught in a one-room schoolhouse for three years. She lives in Plainfield
, Vermont
.
Woodcut
Woodcut—occasionally known as xylography—is a relief printing artistic technique in printmaking in which an image is carved into the surface of a block of wood, with the printing parts remaining level with the surface while the non-printing parts are removed, typically with gouges...
artist and children's book illustrator. In 1999 she won the Caldecott Medal
Caldecott Medal
The Caldecott Medal is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children , a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children published that year. The award was named in honor of nineteenth-century English...
for her book, Snowflake Bentley, a picture book
Picture book
A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. The images in picture books use a range of media such as oil paints, acrylics, watercolor and pencil.Two of the earliest books with something like the format picture books still retain now...
of the life of Wilson Bentley
Wilson Bentley
Wilson Alwyn "Snowflake" Bentley , born in Jericho, Vermont, United States is one of the first known photographers of snowflakes. He perfected a process of catching flakes on black velvet in such a way that their images could be captured before they either melted or sublimed.-Biography:Bentley was...
.
She produces original prints and has illustrated over 50 books.
Azarian attended Smith College
Smith College
Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is the largest member of the Seven Sisters...
, where she studied printmaking and painting. Before beginning her career as a full time artist, Azarian taught in a one-room schoolhouse for three years. She lives in Plainfield
Plainfield, Vermont
Plainfield is a town in Washington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,286 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Plainfield is located at ....
, Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
.
Selected bibliography
- Snowflake Bentley
- A Farmer's Alphabet
- Barn Cat
- The Four Seasons of Mary AzarianThe Four Seasons of Mary AzarianThe Four Seasons of Mary Azarian is a book of wood-carvings that have been printed from the author's woodcut carvings, some of which have been painted. The book has carvings of all four seasons, depicting activities and sights which may occur in each of them...