Birth Box

Smoke-Fired Wall Tiles
30"x30"x2"
Handbuilt

Artist Statement

Statement I try to live and work with clay in a simple, direct way. Connecting with the earth through the timelessness of clay provides me with a balance for experiencing American pop culture, post-nuclear world politics, and music of all kinds. With clay, the images, symbols and systems affecting my life through media, advertising and consumer products can be turned into meditations on finding the truth

Technique These clay tiles are made individually with a slab roller. A template is used so that the basic patterns can be duplicated in limited numbers. The use of slips, oxides and different carving techniques allows me to vary textural detail. Each tile is then smoke-fired with straw, producing a highly varied surface. The imperfect and uneven quality is intentional.

Resume

NELL DEVITT

1994        I am committed to quality, integrity in design, consistency and a
        sense of professionalism.
1985-1993   Worked with various post-firing techniques. Began American
        Craft Council Craft Fairs.
1978-79     Set up studio in Bloomfield, Indiana and began producing a line 
        of functional stoneware pottery and experimenting with various 
        forms of Raku and post-firing techniques.
        Marketed directly to galleries and craft shops, and traveled to
        juried craft fairs.
1976-1977   Apprenticed with Ono Yoshi, Kasama, Japan
1974-1975   Apprenticed with Sun Hai Pottery, Huntingburg, Indiana

EXHIBITIONS

1993        Crafts National, University Park, PA;
        Group Show, Art Forms, Red Bank, NJ;
        The Fine Art of Fine Craft, Gallery G, Pittsburgh, PA;
        Holiday Group Show, Avante Gallery, Cleveland, OH
1992        Shadow and Light, Adams Art Gallery, Dunkirk, NY;
        Two Person Exhibition, The Gallery, Bloomington, IN
1991        Monarch Tile National, San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, 
        San Angelo, Texas
        The Covered Vessel, Placesetters, Florham Park, New Jersey
1990-91     American Craft at the Armory, American Craft Council, 
        New York, New York
1989        Primitive Fire, The Clay Pot, Brooklyn, New York;
        Fireclay Group Show, Contemporary Crafts Gallery, 
        Louisville, Kentucky
        Indiana Crafts Invitational, Artlink Art Space, 
        Fort Wayne, Indiana
        Two Person Exhibition, The Gallery, Bloomington, Indiana
1988        The Art of Clay, Harcus Gallery, Boston, Massachusetts
        Clayfest '88, Herron School of Art, Indianapolis, Indiana
1987        Women in Clay, Leeds Gallery, Earlham College, 
        Richmond, Indiana
        Clay Spectrum 5, Craftsman's Gallery, Scarsdale, New York
        Treasure Boxes, Pinch Potter, Northampton, Massachusetts
        Clayfest '87, University of Indianapolis,
        Indianapolis, Indiana
1986        Pottery About Pottery, Pinch Pottery, 
        Northampton, Massachusetts
        One Person Exhibition, Museum of Art, Indianapolis, Indiana
        Collector's Choice, America House Gallery, Tenafly, New Jersey
        Two Person Exhibition, The Gallery, Bloomington, Indiana
1985        National Crafts Invitational, Hamm Brickman Gallery, 
        Albany, New York
        Contemporary Design and Decoration, Artlink Art Space, 
        Fort Wayne, Indiana
1984        Earthenware: Red, White and Black, Pinch Pottery,           
			Northampton, Massachusetts
        Clayfest '84, Herron School of Art, Indianapolis, Indiana
1983        One Person Exhibition, Brown County Craft Guild, 
        Nashville, Indiana
1982        Indiana Potters Guild Invitational, Indiana University South,       
			Albany, Indiana
1981    National Cone Box Show, Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana

SELECTED GALLERIES

    Art Forms, Red Bank, NJ                     
    The Gallery, Bloomington, IN
    Art Effect, Chicago, IL
    Avante, Cleveland, OH
    The Conservatory, Ann Arbor, MI 
    Roche Bobois, Philadelphia, PA
    Cross Harris, New York, NY 
    Show of Hands, Denver, CO
    Sun Valley Center for the Arts, Discoveries, Tustin, CA


COMMISSIONS

1988-1993  Domus Realty Limited, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada;
           U.S. Trust Bank, Corporate Office, Boston, MA;
           G. Bosworth, D.C.C.A., Wilmington, DE;
           Pawling Properties, Architects, Kupieckoutsomitis, New York, NY;
           Positively Fourth Street, Bloomington, IN;