Mary Azarian

Mary Azarian (born 1940) is an American woodcut artist and children's book illustrator. She won the 1999 Caldecott Medal for U.S. picture book illustration, recognizing Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin. It tells about the life of Wilson Bentley. She lives in Calais, Vermont. She produces original prints and has illustrated over 50 books.

Early life

Azarian grew up on her grandfather's farm on the outskirts of Washington, DC. Her grandfather’s farm had thousands of chicken along with geese that would bother the customers that came to buy his eggs. Azarian’s uncle grew vegetables. Being around her family gardens sparked her lifelong interest in nature. When she was young, she would spend her time exploring the woods and fields with her pony named Pasty.

She began drawing and painting at an early age. In 4th grade, she did her first relief print of woodcuts. This piece of art was a lino block of an angel with the name NOEL at the bottom. She ran into a problem and learned a valuable lesson from this project; words must be reversed when doing a woodcut. Her finished product read LEON.

Family

Mary Azarian has three sons with folk musician and artist Tom Azarian, also known by the name of Tom Banjo. Though she took his last name, the two never legally married, and separated in 1982. She also has four grandchildren.

Selected works Snowflake Bentley, written by Jacqueline Briggs Martin A Farmer's Alphabet A Gardener's Alphabet Barn Cat The Four Seasons of Mary Azarian When the Moon is Full