Embryonic Volume III Dimensions: 68.5 x 41 x 51 cm Materials: Carrara marble

Deveren Bowman is a sculptor who frequently marries her two passions – Art and Sailing- when she’s not in her studio, she tends to be on the water. Her work is abstract and minimal, however the forms echo her relationship with air, water and minerals. There is a certain sensitivity and stillness in her work, allowing it the space and air to let it ‘speak for itself’.

Bowman is comfortable using an expanse of materials and techniques in her work; frequently her choices of materials stay true to the locality of the installation, selecting local stone that reflects the landscape it was quarried from.

She has exhibited regularly in Santa Fe, the Royal Academy Summer Exhibitions; Artmonsky Gallery London; Merriscourt Gallery Oxford; Kettles Yard Cambridge; Broadbent Gallery London; East 73rd Gallery London; Constructions & Columbines Cambridge; Kilkenny Fringe Festival; Sculpture Society of Ireland; Waterfront Gallery Sligo; Richard Philip Gallery London; The Dock Carrick-on-Shannon; ART Gallery Provence

 In Her Own Words

Fertile Volume I Dimensions: 33 x 43 x 43 cm Materials: Cornish Limestone

What drives you to Create? Have you ever felt like you had a choice?
I came to sculpture late in life. I always painted, drew and made things, and worked with my hands. The only 3D work I did was with clay and boat building/ repairing, on my own boat and boats I worked on – all traditional wooden sailing vessels which require handwork with wood, rope metal, leather etc. My “world” if you will, are the mountains and seas of the world, and the elements – water, wind, stone. I always loved sculpture but had never been in a position to do it. I realized, when I finally started carving, that it had taken me that long in my life to identify the connections between all these things I was absorbing. It was a catalytic experience. Carving felt immediately natural and I knew where I wanted to go – after that – there was no choice. It is what I have to do.

I always instill the importance of Drawing to my students, encouraging them to use Drawing as the foundation to their work. What disciplines or media do you find integral to the work of an art student and why?
I too believe that drawing is a vital aspect of a continuing practice. In drawing one learns to LOOK carefully, considering the object, the spaces around the object the subtle influences of the hand and eye – the practice of drawing is what gives one the facility to co-ordinate hand and eye and mind so that the action of drawing becomes intuitive. This then allows the drawing to be an artistic expression, without the hindrance of the mechanics of the thing. Drawing is simple and cheap- in practical terms this is a consideration. And one can draw virtually anywhere – even with a stone or finger in the sand. A twig on a rock. Looking at other work, looking at one’s environment and then synthesizing it all. The only other thing is PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE! One can’t go to the Olympic track without running and fine-tuning every day… Art is the same. Every moment is something to use in your work and it is important to train and be aware as much as possible every day.

Liminal Connector II Dimensions: 123 x 30 x 22 cm Materials: Magnesium Limestone

You spend much of your time sailing, it’s obviously a great love of yours. Do the elements, the water, weather and wind, in conjunction with the physical and, at times, exhausting work of crewing, effect or influence your Sculpture? If so how?
My passion for the elements is why I make and work. The physicality of carving is what I love, or the physicality of a huge drawing or painting. Starting with large gestures, large equipment, whacking off great lumps, and then slowly, slowly discovering the piece inside the stone…. down to the finest nuance of surface. I use my fingertips almost more than my eyes. Even with a large piece one knows every part of it intimately because you arrive at the final piece so slowly, distilling and refining all the way. It is a lot like sailing. Hours of sitting and watching, tweaking the sails for every puff of wind, and then sudden strenuous activity to change sails, or tack (or respond to the way a piece is changing and make a sudden big change – even when you thought it was finished!!)

I work intuitively – I don’t make maquettes. I have sketches of things I want to make – or ideas I have, but they wait until I find the right piece of stone. I keep lots of stone around me, and sometimes don’t get to them for years and suddenly they are just right.

Molecular Stillness Dimensions: 41 x 104 x 24 cm Materials: Alkerton and Red St. Bees

What do you find most elements do you find most challenging in your work?
The most challenging thing for me is to watch and wait – to be aware of the whole piece, from every angle, all the time so that my excitement doesn’t carry me away. Reminding myself to stand back and look at the whole – and not be afraid to change it, not get locked into one area that works. It’s the same in painting or drawing – sometimes the first idea has to be buried in order to find the way things work.

Deveren Bowman was born in Illnois, USA in 1957. Educated at Interlochen Arts Academy; Sarah Lawrence College, Philadelphia College of Art; Montana State University; The College of Santa Fe; Cambridge Summer school; Slade School of Art and City and Guilds of London Art School.

She is a Member of the Royal British Society of Sculptors.

Most notably, Bowmand was shortlisted for Best Woman Artist of Show RA Summer Exhibition 2000; Villiers David Prize for Outstanding MA Student 2001; Robert Fleming Residency, Hospitalfield Trust Scotland 2003; Leitrim Sculpture Centre Artist-in-Residence 2004.

For more information on Hong Kong Art Tutoring please contact:
Gail Deayton
Telephone: +852 9722 8353
Email: gd@gaildeayton.com

All images courtesy of Deveren Bowman | www.deverenbowman.com