Last Tuesday, Rosalie Haizlett returned back to Linsly to talk to the upper school students about her life since graduating twelve years ago. The students gathered during advisor time in the cafeteria to hear her life story. From a young age, Mrs. Haizlett struggled with migraines that would often leave her with no vision and occasionally hospitalized. Mrs. Haizlett’s migraines seemed to be a struggle, but they allowed her to develop a sense of passion for the beauty of nature by exploring the outdoors. She grew up on a farm in Bethany, West Virginia, where her love for nature stemmed from. Taking walks on her farm, and in nature in general, allowed Mrs. Haizlett to get relief from the migraines because of the natural elements that surrounded her. Along with her deep love for nature, she has always loved art. For instance, she displayed a picture she drew of her dream bedroom when she was a kid. As she got older, her love for art and nature further developed. Mrs. Haizlett came to Linsly her freshman year of high school and was in advanced art for all four years. In this class, she created pieces that displayed her love for nature. After her time at Linsly, she attended West Liberty to study art and graphic design. Mrs. Haizlett knew that she wanted to pursue art as her career by owning her own business. The journey she took to reach that goal is fascinating.
Along her journey, she created art for the Washington Post Magazine. Mrs. Haizlett spent her time there living in Washington D.C. as an intern for the company. Later in her journey, she got to create watercolor paintings of small critters and bugs that could be found in the Great Smoky Mountains, located in Tennessee. Mrs. Haizlett was there for around six months in the parks making art for the visitors. Patagonia reached out to Mrs. Haizlett because they wanted her to work on a winter campaign for their company. Unfortunately, Covid-19 struck and the partnership was canceled due to the global pandemic.
A fun fact that makes Mrs. Haizlett’s artwork stand out is that she does not use any technology to help her with her paintings, it is all done by hand. This unique way of creating her art became a part of her signature style. A reason she sticks to doing all of it by hand is due to her struggle with migraines. This technique sets her apart from other artists in this digital age.
Mrs. Haizlett’s favorite project to date would be her recently published book, Tiny Worlds of the Appalachian Mountains. This book took months to develop and was an amazing journey where she was able to capture the smallest creatures. This journey she went on by car with her husband started in Alabama and reached Maine, so she would be inspired by the nature she saw. On the trip to create her book, she got to explore the world around her, capture the small critters, and later paint what she saw. The illustrations in Mrs. Haizlett’s book are exclusively from the tiny worlds she captured with her camera. She was fortunate enough to meet up with biologists on her trip that provided her with information and experiences that will last a lifetime. Completing the journey that took months gave Mrs. Haizlett a sense of butterflies, a satisfaction that she finally completed her journey. Since the publication of her book, Mrs. Haizlett has created many pieces of artwork that can either be bought from her online store, or multiple stores across the country. Wheeling is fortunate to have her artwork for sale in locations around the Ohio Valley. Through this journey, Mrs. Haizlett started her own thriving business that has been successful for years.
Overall, Linsly students enjoyed hearing Mrs. Haizlett’s successful stories as well as her journey to get to where she is today, knowing that hard work pays off.
Link to her website: https://rosaliehaizlett.com/
By: Reese Maroney
