ARTIST PROFILE
ELIZABETH DEVEREAUX
Installed in public buildings and churches in North America,
Elizabeth Devereaux’ design “signature” is:
COLLABORATION:
Devereaux’s art glass incorporates the client’s story and desired meaning without sacrificing her own design aesthetic.
STORY:
Her designs don’t depict, they suggest the story. The art glass has room for interpretation; they are living, not static.
LIGHT:
As light defines architecture, art glass is prismatic, refractive, reflective, or projects color - translucent glass diffuses, and transparent glass integrates desirable exterior views.
The qualities of light itself become a metaphor in Devereaux’s designs.
LAYERING:
Elizabeth’s designs are layered:
Geometry, laid down first, is the structure.
"Flashed" glass is blown with micro-layers of shaded color. (Her windows then have the flow of a watercolor, rather than a mosaic, as in traditional stained glass).
SURFACE LAYER:
Devereaux often creates a "surface layer" with an etched, or a gold or silver luster kiln-fired pattern, which defines the commission's "sense of place". This lusterous layer brilliantly reflects the light and movement in the room at night.
SITE SPECIFIC:
Devereaux integrates the art glass into its architectural setting, while telling the story of each unique place.
Hand blown stained glass being created at Lambert's Glass, for use in our windows,
Cutting glass to the pattern.
Glass fabrication at our studio in Chico, CA.
My Artistic Journey:
I was the youngest of five children, with a window designer Mother (department stores) and a business manager Father. I am grateful that my parents and my siblings always supported my artistic leanings.
As I became immersed in my education, my study of art at Dominican University, and particularly my years in Munich and Vienna were very formative, both in art and architecture. I was inspired by the colors of Persian miniatures, the delicate transparency of Paul Klee’s watercolors, Camille Corot’s focus on light, the vibrant colors and symbolism of Emil Nolde, Odilon Redon and Marc Chagall, and Georgia O’Keefe’s light and sense of the land, its forms and curves.
German contemporary glass artists as well as Chartres Cathedral, and Sainte Chapelle were part of my artistic development. Ancient gold Egyptian jewelry and the gold leaf paintings by Gustav Klimt were rich and mysterious for me. I traced my interest in gold and pattern back to the gold leaf wall patterns of Sainte Chapelle, and in Industrial Design, designs for logos eventually translated into gold luster “logos of place and meaning” in my art glass. Industrial Design also gave me a comfort with tools, equipment, and processes, as well as an understanding of architectural plans.
Ancient buildings like the Pantheon in Rome, and the Hagia Sofia in Istanbul struck me with their scale and grandeur, and Jugendstil Viennese Architects, Le Corbusier, and later, Calatrava, Jean Nouvel, and Zaha Hadid have all left their imprint on me. And there are more mentors and teachers who were generous in sharing their time and talent.
With a Catholic upbringing, my monastic side eventually drew me to a Vatican II Catholic church community in the Bay Area. For 20 years, my spiritual life and education deepened and gave me understanding of both symbol and scripture.
Then, being a member of the General Plan Task Force in Chico expanded my sense of architecture, planning and place. All of this, plus my deep love of the natural world has contributed to what glass master, Ludwig Schaffrath called “my signature”.
MAJOR COMMISSIONS – (Partial List)
New Mexico Behavioral Health Institute,
Las Vegas, NM, Public Art Award
George Sim Community Center, Sacramento, CA; Architect: Mark Schatz, Field Paoli Architects,
San Francisco, CA. Public Art Award
Chico City Plaza, Chico, CA; Design consultant team and Public Art Award
Noe Valley Ministry Presbyterian Church, San Francisco, CA. Architect: John Goldman
Hillside Memorial Park & Mortuary, Culver City, CA.Art collaboration - with Laurie Gross
Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church, Newport Beach, CA. Architect: A.C. Martin/David Martin
Chico Municipal Building, Chico, CA; Architect: Lyn
Pomeroy, LPA, Sacramento, CA.
McConnell Foundation Corporate Headquarters, Redding, CA; Architect: NBBJ, Seattle, WA.
Cottage Hospital Sacred Space,Santa Barbara, CA: Art Consultant: Aesthetics Inc.
Sacramento Central Public Library, Sacramento, CA;
Architect: KMD Assoc., San Francisco, CA
Sunnyvale Public Library, Sunnyvale, CA - Public Art Award
Holy Sepulcher Mausoleum, The Catholic Cemeteries of the Diocese of Orange, CA
St. Raphael's Catholic Church, Raleigh, NC
St. Joseph Cathedral, San Jose, CA; K+CZL Architects, Mike Lorimer - San Jose, CA.
Kiva Project Ursuline Sisters Chatham,Ontario, Architect: R. Chiotti, Larkin Architect- Toronto, CA
Dominican University, St. Catherine Benincasa Chapel, San Rafael, CA., Architect: Mohamed Sadhri
Holy Spirit Catholic Church, Saginaw, MI; Architects: Mayotte Jacob Architects, Lansing, MI.
St. Maximilian Kolbe, Westlake Village, CA; Architect: A.C. Martin, Los Angeles, CA.
St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church, Reno, NV; Architect: Paul Walsh, Architects +, Reno, NV.
St. Bartholomew Catholic Church, Columbus, IN; Architect: Steve Risting, RATIO Architects,
Indianapolis, IN
St. Ignatius High School Chapel, Cleveland, OH; Architect: R. Payto & C. Panichi, URS Greiner Assoc.
St. Clare Catholic Community, O’Fallon, IL; Architect: Dave Beringer, BCDM, Omaha, NE
Newman Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO; Architects: Bill Brown/Bill Beard,
Colo. Springs, CO
Air brushed and kiln-fired glass enamels for shading
SPECIAL PROJECTS (Partial list)
Co-Founder, Chico Sustainability Group,
2005 - 2012
Chico General Plan Task Force, Arts Community Representative- 1992- 94
Organizer of Chico Coalition for Aesthetic Development
(C-CAD), 1991-2005
Co-Program Chairperson for IFRAA '86 National Conference, Berkeley CA, 1985
Organizer for Lectures on Chartres Cathedral
by world expert, Malcolm Miller
California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, CA - 1981,
and Dominican University, San Rafael, CA - 1982
LECTURES AND SEMINARS (partial list)
Presenter, ACS-7 Conference, "Inspiration of Nature on Art, and Architecture" Ghost Ranch, NM., 2015
Presenter, WFX Conference, Dallas, TX, “The Artist's Process in Worship Spaces”, 2011
Presenter, Minneapolis AIA Regional Conference - “The Light of Worship”, 2010
Panel member, CSUC 2006 Sustainability Conference, “Smart Growth & Public Transportation”,
Chico, CA, 2008
“Form/Reform” - National Catholic Conference on Environment & Art in Catholic Worship, 1995, 2002, 2004 – Lecture on “Sacred Space – the Root of Sustainability”, 2006 lecture on “Sustainability & Church Building”
AWARDS AND HONORS (Partial list)
New Mexico Behavioral Health Institute – Public Art Award, Las Vegas, NM, 2015
National Advisory Board – Interfaith Forum on Religion, Art, and Architecture (IFRAA), a Knowledge Community of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) – 2009- 2014
Juror Faith & Form/ IFRAA Religious Art & Awards,
Seattle, WA. 2005
Seattle, WA. 2005
National Advisory Board–EnVision Church online Magazine, Georgetown Center for Liturgy, Georgetown University, Wash. D.C.,2006-09
George Sim Community Center – Sacramento Public Art Award, Sacramento, CA, 2011
IFRAA/AIA - 2008 Design Merit Award,
St. Maximilian Kolbe, Westlake Village, CA
IFRAA/AIA - 2006 Design Honor Award,
Blessed Trinity, Frankenmuth, MI
IFRAA/AIA -1992 Visual Arts Award,
St. Joseph Cathedral, San Jose, CA.
Ministry & Liturgy Annual Visual Art Awards, Bene & Best of Show, 2008, 2005, 2003, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1996, 1994, 1992.
Chico City Plaza, Elm Court Public Art Award Chico, CA- 2006
Sunnyvale Public Library, Public Art Award, Sunnyvale, CA.
1992
Sacramento Public Library,
Public Art Award, 1990-Sacramento, CA.
St. Joseph Cathedral, 1987. Result of a formal invitational competition.
Gallery
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