GIOVANNA  MAZZELLA  

Giovanna Mazzella is a Tasmanian based, Sydney born artist who has called Tasmania home since 2012. She creates her unique bas relief casts at Wild Hive Studio, a light-filled art studio she built two years ago in the countryside of the Huon Valley, south of Hobart. The studio is an eco-built space created with sustainability at its core. It features exposed beams, high pitch timber ceilings and external cladding in natural edge macrocarpa, grown and milled from a neighbouring property while the internal earth walls are made from locally sourced clay, oat straw, cow manure and beeswax. The studio is surrounded by a number of Giovanna’s bee hives and is set amongst an ever expanding cottage garden, with rolling hills in the distance and the nearby Huon River which flows into an extensive coastline of beaches and bays.
 
‘I’ve always felt most at home in nature. As a child, I would spend hours outdoors exploring and observing. I collected shells, bird nests and unusual seed pods and my bedroom usually had jars of assorted beetles and caterpillars at different stages of development.’
 
Her childhood fascination with the natural world eventually led Giovanna to complete a Diploma of  Horticulture in her late 20's. During her studies she created countless herbarium boards, carefully pressing plants and documenting their scientific and taxonomic details. This early, meticulous practice of observing, preserving and recording plant specimens continues to influence her work today, shaping the way she approaches composition and the treatment of each cast as a specimen.
 
In addition to her creative background, Giovanna has worked for many years as a Mental Health Social Worker. After working in a particularly challenging role, she experienced burnout, and found returning to nature and creating became a vital part of her recovery. The slow, tactile process of being in nature, gathering materials, working with clay and creating each cast became deeply grounding — a way of supporting her own wellbeing and reconnecting with the quiet rhythms of the natural world.
 
She forages materials from gardens, forests, roadsides, the surrounding countryside, and nearby rivers and beaches. The four distinct Tasmanian seasons offer endless inspiration for Giovanna, and her day-to-day creative practice is determined by what is currently in bloom, in leaf or washed up on the shores.
 
‘I have learnt that in the space of one day a plant can change dramatically - a few years ago, I planned on casting a magnificent branch of cherry blossoms growing in the garden. The following day I went to the tree and found that all the petals had fallen overnight. I was so disappointed and had to wait another year to have the chance to cast those cherry blossoms again! It was a valuable lesson for me on the ephemeral nature of our natural world and helped me develop a keen eye for noticing the subtle cues that signal changes in the environment.’
 
In addition to her sculptural wall art, Giovanna collaborates with a select group of Tasmanian furniture makers to create bespoke furniture pieces incorporating her custom bas relief casts. These collaborations bring sculptural texture into functional design, with each plaster relief becoming a unique, hand-crafted element within the final piece. Giovanna also works closely with wedding planners and florists to create custom bas relief casts of bridal bouquets. These commissioned pieces preserve the delicate forms of wedding flowers in sculptural detail, offering couples a meaningful and enduring keepsake of their special day.
 
Giovanna’s process is slow, focused and intentional. She begins by collecting her plant materials and keeping them well hydrated. She then prepares large, smooth clay beds on top of her 3m long work bench, carefully composing and arranging the plant materials before pressing and rolling them into the clay. She then removes all the plant material from the clay to reveal their finely detailed impressions. Next she forms a temporary timber framework around each piece and pours in sculptural plaster, allowing it to set before releasing the frame, removing the clay from the plaster and allowing the piece to fully cure for 1–2 weeks. Each piece is then meticulously cleaned, sanded and finished with either metal leaf gilding, acrylic wash or her own blend of charcoal infused beeswax. The work requires deep focus — hours can pass unnoticed in the quiet rhythm of planning and making.

‘I create to feel connected — to the land, to the seasons, and to myself — and it is a way of honouring the beauty that often goes unnoticed. My hope is that my work invites others to feel that same sense of calm and connection to nature… to pause, breathe, and notice the beauty of the details that surrounds us.’
 
Each piece is both a study of texture and a moment of mindfulness — an offering of the fleeting beauty of nature made tangible, and a quiet reminder of our place within the natural world.
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