Glass Act
Staining Glass With Elizabeth DevereauxStory by: Bruce Greenberg
Photo by: Bret Christensen
When asked why she chose a life as a stained glass artist, Elizabeth Devereaux uses a quote from Rainer Maria Rilke. When a student asked him, “How do I know if I should be a poet?” He answered, “Only if you must.”
Devereaux has been plying her skills doing architectural glass since 1969. Her list of clients reads like a “Who’s Who” of more than 200 churches, hospitals, public buildings and private residences in the United States and Canada. Closer to home, she worked on Chico City Hall, Sacramento Public Library and Redding’s McConnell Foundation.
Lee Salter, president and CEO of the McConnell Foundation, wrote in a letter of recommendation in regards to Devereaux’s work on a stained glass curved room divider at the McConnell Foundation, “It is the mark of a mature artist to be able to choose simplicity over complexity when that is what is called for in a space. Ms. Devereaux has done that, and the effect is unifying for the whole environment.”
Devereaux’s circuitous journey to Chico began with encouragement in the arts from her parents. Her father was a businessman and a salesman and her mother was an artist. “My mother did windows at department stores and now I do windows in churches and hospitals,” she says. She earned her bachelor’s degree in art at the Dominican College of San Rafael and attended the University of Vienna in Austria, the Art Academy of Munich in Germany and studied industrial design at California State University, Long Beach. After finishing school, she was mentored for one year by Jos Maes, at his Belgium art glass studio in Laguna Beach. Devereaux says, “My husband Nick Malone lured me to Chico in 1989 and I’ve been working here ever since.”
Reflecting on the early years as a struggling artist, her animated enthusiasm for the arts takes on a quieter, more serious tone. “In the early years, I had a hard time making a living,” she says. One of her siblings told her after she’d been at it for 15 years that it was time to get a job. Devereaux knew she was at a crossroads. She knew this was what she loved and said, “I’m on a path. I’m not there, but I will be.” What she discovered was that the challenge of growing the business was as much a part of the business as the art. She went from working alone to having employees and is now back to working alone. “Though I’ve treasured working with enormously talented people over the years, it’s prevented me from having the time to do my own work, so I’ve divested myself of employees and use subcontractors when necessary.”
Devereaux’s 3,800-square-foot studio is awash in natural light and has numerous rollup doors and large work tables. Her office has a small library of books about art and design and the walls are decorated with poster-sized photos of church windows she has made. Some of the windows are 30 to 40 feet tall and cover the entire wall of a church. “I’ve always liked architecture and my work is sensitive to the architectural setting,” she says.
Raised as a Catholic, Devereaux says, “I love these church communities that I work with. The windows in churches create memories and hospital chapels are a healing environment.” Devereaux sits on the advisory committee for The Interfaith Forum on Religion, Art and Architecture (IFRAA), an affiliate of the American Institute of Architects.
Being philosophical about her career, Devereaux says, “I decided I’d go for it; if I didn’t make it, at least I tried.” •
Elizabeth Devereaux – Architectural Glass
(530) 342-2074
www.devglas.com
2468 Ivy St. Chico, CA 95928
