Devyn DeAngelis

Devyn DeAngelis

Born in Westchester, PA

Lives & works in Boca Raton, FL

Artist Statement

When I started to develop mental health issues and began to notice the changes and effects that affected my daily life, mental health became an inspiration. Mental health affects so many people and often, these mental health issues get overlooked and untreated. I have been using myself as the subject matter for my own diagnosed and undiagnosed mental illnesses to bring awareness to this topic.

I describe my work as relating to a studio potter’s handmade ceramics. Experimentation with the clay body, plasticity, and glazes while in the studio helps to create the vision of my work. Form and content is connected in my work by making sure the form plays a part in what I am trying to translate into art, Making sure that my concept can be read. For example, one of my mental health projects showcased a form of a pill bottle with the content of each disorder I was representing. Another piece like “Pull Yourself Together” shows the damages mental illness can evoke on a person when they’re in their worst state. The ribbon then is telling you to pull yourself together but not being helpful. This provokes a gut wrenching feeling because I have talked to so many people with the same experiences.

I admire and find inspiration in the works of my favorite artists to go above and beyond what I usually make. In Ceramics, I am inspired by the leaders of American ceramics like Peter Voulkos, Paul Soldner, and George Ohr. George Ohr was the one to really test limits and made me understand that not everyone is going to like your work, but if you keep trying and pushing your limits, you will succeed in the end. I have also explored themes of home, relationship, and emptiness through the uses of texture, space, form, emphasis and unity.