Page 38 - homestyle New Zealand (February - March 2020)

PEOPLE —— Artist profile

you remove the initial piece you’re
casting and replace it with wax. You
can then make replicas with the wax.
To make the glass pieces, I use a
lost-wax casting technique, fettling
each wax model, filling holes and
removing any imperfections from the
cast. Next, I make another mould of
plaster and silica around the wax,
then steam out the wax. I’m left with a
positive copy of the original wax model,
which is dried and placed in the kiln,
where a pot of solid glass sits above the
opening of the mould. The glass melts
into the mould, then slowly cools down
over a couple of days. I then remove the
glass-filled moulds and cut through the
built-up layers to reveal the cast piece.
The next stages involve cold-working,
polishing and belt-sanding each object,
then signing them and cleaning them up.

What informs the hues you use? I was
set on having a limited colour range
and wanted to use colours you wouldn’t
expect of fruit. I also wanted the colours
to be both striking individually and
complementary when mixed. I find
some colours hold or reflect light better
than others, so I chose them with this
in mind too.

Where do you create? I’d been making
my fruit at work in Avondale in West
Auckland but I recently got a kiln
and set it up in my own studio nearby.
It isn’t much at the moment; it’s a
dungeon-like space beneath my friend’s
furniture company, Arkade, that’s
functional but also a work in progress.
I plan to get it set up nicely, though,
so people want to visit and hang out.

Is there anything on the cards that
you’re particularly excited about for
2020? I’ve applied for a residency,
so fingers crossed! I’m also planning
to make another glass series. It probably
won’t be fruit-related and I want to
try incorporating a new material. I’m
not in love with glass but I find it so
READY, STEADY… When asked what day-to-day rituals she undertakes to get in the mood for her studio intriguing and am really enjoying
practice, Devyn says, “Most days start with a morning wake-up snuggle from my cat Fern — and my boyfriend,
I guess! — and a coffee; I’m loving a long black with cream at the moment. They’re my most consistent and working with it.
key morning starters.” devonmadeglass.com

38 homestyle