nell devitt
2008 I am committed to clay, integrity in design, consistency and a sense of professionalism.
1986-2007 Worked with various post-firing techniques and focused mainly on smoke fired sculptural tile installations.
1985 Began exhibiting with American Craft Council.
1978-1984 Set up studio in Bloomfield, Indiana and began producing a line of functional stoneware pottery and experimented with various forms of raku and post-firing techniques.
1976-1977 Apprenticed with Ono Yoshi, Kasama, Japan

 

selected exhibitions
2007 Clay On The Wall -- 2007 Clay National, Landmark Gallery, Lubbock, TX
Not Just for the Office, Katie Gingrass Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
Reflections, Art Forms, Red Bank, NJ
2006 Raku, Cross Mackenzie Ceramic Arts, Washington DC
Clayfest, University of Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN
2005 Particles and Passion, the Art of Clay, Academy of Art Museum, Easton, MD
For the Office, Katie Gingrass Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
Furniture: Form and Function, Virginia Brier, San Francisco, CA
2004 Tiles and Containers, Two Person Exhibition, The Gallery, Bloomington, IN
Independent Colleges Exhibition, NCECA, Indianapolis, IN
Integrity of the Minimal, Post Picasso On Line Juried Exhibition
2003 Women in Clay, Earlham College, Richmond, IN
The Word Made Clay, Tile Heritage Foundation, La Jolla, CA
Clayfest, University of Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN
2002 21st Century Tiles: From Earth to Fire, The Catherine G. Murphy Gallery, St Paul, MN
SOFA Chicago 2002, Katie Gingrass Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
2001 Clay Tiles, Two Person Exhibition, The Gallery, Bloomington, IN
2000 Group Exhibition, Art Forms Gallery, Red Bank, NJ
Tile as Art, Greater Reston Art Center, Reston, VA
1999 Group Exhibition, Katie Gingrass Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
1998 Smithsonian Craft Show, Washington DC
Tiles, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
In Indiana, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN
Black & White Show, Forrest Scott Gallery, Millburn, NJ
1997 Fine Crafts, Art Resources, St Paul, MN
Chelsea's Choice, Chelsea Galleries, Beechwood, OH
1996 Within & Without, The Intimate Moment, Muskingum College, New Concord,OH
1984, 1996 Two Person Exhibition, The Gallery, Bloomington, IN
1995 Virtual Ceramics Exhibit
Group Show, Art Forms, Red Bank, NJ
1986, 1995 Clayfest, University of Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN
1995, 1989 Indiana Crafts, Artlink Artspace, Fort Wayne, IN
1994 Tile Exhibition, Lill Street Gallery, Chicago, IL
Born of Fire, Signature Gallery, San Diego, CA
High on Tile, Silo Gallery, New Milford, CT
1993 Crafts National, Zoller Gallery, University Park, PA
Group Exhibition, Art Forms, Red Bank, NJ
The Fine Art of Fine Craft, Gallery G, Tenafly, NJ
1992 Shadow and Light, Adams Art Gallery, Dunkirk, NY
1991 Monarch Tile National, San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, San Angelo, TX
1990, 1991 American Craft at the Armory, American Craft Council, New York, NY
1989 Primitive Fire, The Clay Pot, Brooklyn, NY
Fireclay Group Exhibition, Contemporary Crafts Gallery, Louisville, KY
Indiana Crafts Invitational, Artlink Art Space, Fort Wayne, IN
1988 The Art of Clay, Harcus Gallery, Boston, MA
1987 Women in Clay, Leeds Gallery, Earlham College, Richmond, IN
Clay Spectrum 5, Craftsman's Gallery, Scarsdale, NY
1987, 1986 Pottery about Pottery, Treasure Boxes, Pinch Pottery, Northampton, MA
1986 One Person Exhibition, Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN
Collectors' Choice, America House Gallery, Tenafly, NJ
1985 Contemporary Design and Decoration, Artlink Art Space, Fort Wayne, IN
National Crafts Invitational, Hamm Brickman Gallery, Albany, NY
1984 Earthenware: Red, White and Black, Pinch Pottery, Northampton, MA
1982 Indiana Potters Guild Invitational, Indiana University South, Albany, IN
1981 National Cone Box Show, Purdue University, Lafayette, IN

 

selected galleries
  Addendum, Carmel, IN
Art Resources, St. Paul, MN
Cross Mackenzie Ceramic Arts, Washington DC
Discoveries, Tustin, CA
Katie Gingrass Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
Material Possessions, Chicago, Winnetka, IL
Sherrie Gallerie, Columbus OH
Show of Hands, Denver, CO
Relish, Bloomington, IN

 

selected commissions
  American Airlines, Chicago, IL
Butterfield Bank, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
Bunger + Robertson, Bloomington IN
Charles Plaza Apartment Towers, Baltimore, MD
Children's Hospital, St Paul, MN
Domus Realty Limited, Halifax, Nova Scotia
Fuji Film, USA, INC, Hanover Park, IL
Granada Suite Hotel, Atlanta, GA
Hewlett-Packard Company, Paramus, NJ
ICSC, New York, NY
Interculture Art Inc., Tokyo, Japan
Levenfeld Pearlstein, LLC, Chicago, IL
Lowes Corporate Headquarters, Winston-Salem, NC
Marriott Crystal Gateway, Arlington VA
Macy's East, New York, NY
Northwestern Mutual, Milwaukee, WI
Pawling Properties, New York, NY
Richcourt Fund Advisors Inc., New York, NY
U.S.Trust Bank, Boston, MA
Zweig Glazer Mutual Funds, New York, NY

 

statement

I make smoke fired, clay tile wall installations. Some tiles originate as pencil drawings and others have evolved from direct experience with the clay. The different image ideas have grown from both work flow methods and are similar because of choices made to eliminate non essentials. Using abstraction to find the core of an idea, my main focus is to create wall installations of black clay tiles with minimal images that are strong, unique and made within the parameters of a single smoke firing.

 

technique

These clay tiles are made by hand using a slab roller. A template is then pressed into the clay to produce the basic pattern. Textural detail is added by incising, carving and scraping. A clay slip is applied to areas for the semi-gloss surface. The black color and straw marks are the result of a post-firing technique of smoking. When the clay reaches maturation temperature in the kiln, the tiles are individually removed with a pair of tongs and placed in a closed reduction chamber full of straw. The straw ignites, oxygen is cut off, carbon molecules enter the clay - the tile is changing. This technique produces the highly irregular, imperfect and uneven surface.

 

I am a member of 100% Blast, a consortium of Designer/Craftsmen who collaborate in promoting their unique visions for private and public spaces. The group includes a diverse mix of artists whose work ranges from purely sculptural to highly functional. Each 100% Blast artist expresses a mature creative voice and embodies a substantial nationally recognized body of work. All are skilled at partnering with interior designers, architects and residential clients in the effort to create the most successful site specific design solution for any environment.