About the Artist
My name is Maria Hjerppe, and I am a graphic designer, photographer, and artist from Sweden. For many years I operated my own art and design business, but in 2025 I decided to shut it down to focus on art again for its own sake. I am now a happy amateur, rather than a miserable professional.
My fascination with the alluring beauty and mystery of the natural world is reflected in the Latin phrase Maria Miraculi, which means "seas of wonder" (read more below). Although horses and dogs were the main subjects of my professional work, I am now prepared to experiment with a wider variety of subjects because I want to embrace everything that nature has to offer me as an artist. Light and how it affects our surroundings particularly intrigues me.
In addition to my formal art education from the Art School of Stockholm, I have a degree in Graphic Design & Communication from Linköping University. I'm always trying new styles and mediums because I want to keep improving. I place a great deal of importance on learning new things, refining my craft, and exploring new creative possibilities.
I live with my partner and our two dogs in an 18th-century country home. Surrounded by old, enchanted forests and an abundance of wildlife, I never lack for inspiration. Through my art, I invite you into my world of wonders where nature sings and creatures dream.
About the Name
Although many artists choose to operate under their own name for rather obvious reasons, I am in the peculiar position where I have a last name that is difficult to pronounce as well as spell. It is a strange variation of the Swedish word "järpe", meaning "hazel grouse". For everyone's sake, I wanted to use something simpler. An old friend from my university days who has studied Latin offered to help, and after much discussion, we finally landed in Maria Miraculi.
Miraculi is the genitive form of the word miraculum, which means "wonder" or "miracle," and Maria is the plural of "seas." The word "miraculum" implies something extraordinary, breathtaking, or even divine, which goes beyond simple admiration. Often interpreted as signs or wonders, the word miraculum is used in many Latin texts to describe occurrences or phenomena that defy natural explanation.
I have an intense, lifelong love of large bodies of water, especially the ocean. It is truly where I am most filled with awe and find myself closest to the divine. Maria Miraculi is the ideal representation of everything I want to convey in my artwork, along with my fascination with the ephemeral, transient nature of light and how it can transform the most ordinary objects into something captivating.
So how is it pronounced? In Classical Latin, the word miraculi is divided into four syllables: mi‑ra‑cu‑li. According to Latin accentuation rules, if the penultimate syllable is light (short), the stress falls on the antepenultimate syllable. In this case, the third syllable “cu” is light, so the accent is on the second syllable “ra.” Thus, miraculi is pronounced roughly as mi-RÁ-cu-li (with the stress on “ra”).