Meet the Maker: Glass artist Devyn Ormsby and her fantastical fruit.
Glass artist Devyn Ormsby makes sculptures that look good enough to eat… almost
Fruit has appeared in art for hundreds of years but Aucklandbased glass artist Devyn Ormsby’s beautiful sculptures turn humble objects such as bananas, pears, mandarins and lemons into artworks in their own right. Her Devon Made glass fruit series, a spin on retro displays of ornamental fruit in pretty colourways, has kept her busy since she came up with the concept in 2019 — despite the challenges of the pandemic, the Elam School of Fine Arts graduate has been able to set up her own studio space and do her work full-time. She creates her artworks using a technique called lost-wax casting, where a duplicate sculpture is cast from an original using a combination of wax, crystal glass, silica and plaster. “Even though it is a labour-intensive process I enjoy it because it can be rewarding when you finally achieve a finished piece,” she says. The feeling of that achievement is what keeps her motivated to keep making. “I think the ability to create at all is what inspires me. How you can make something out of nothing. Something that wasn’t there before. It’s kind of like magic.” As soon as she clears her current backlog, there will be a new series of work to satisfy her many fans. “The ideas and concepts are there, which I am slowly getting to and am excited about.” Devyn’s works are mostly sent to galleries and stores overseas but you can find them locally at Gallery Thirty Three in Wānaka and via her Instagram account (@devonmade.glass).
My favourite things: Food; we are spoiled for choice in Auckland but I just tried Ahi restaurant which was fantastic (1). Spending time with family is so important and having a huge part of this year not able to see them has made me appreciate moments with them (2). I watch a lot of films and TV series; a recent favourite was local film Savage (3). Getting out in nature and swimming; cold plunges are so refreshing (4). See devonmadeglass.com