Edward Devlin

PART 3 – The Potter’s Craft in His Own Words.

     “ ‘Best therapy there is,’ said Edward Devlin as he looked up from his dripping ball of clay on his potter’s wheel. ‘You just work out your frustrations on this ball of mud and before long you are so busy feeling good about what you’ve made and forget about anything else that might have been bothering you. Everybody has an innate desire to make something– to create something that is his own; and nothing is more rewarding than working at something you love.’ ”

These are the words Mr. Devlin used to describe his own work, which he pursues each day in the little studio set back from the road in Windham.”

“ ‘Here you start at the beginning, and get your hands right in the medium. Every-time you make something that is altogether new…People today are more interested in doing what they want to do than what they must do. Young people want an outlet for self-expression, and older people want a chance to relax. They are looking for a gap in the rat race.’ ” Derry News, September 25, 1969.

     “ ‘I like making things with my hands. I like things that have a function and I hope that other people can get as much pleasure in using them as I do in making them.’ he said. ‘Some craftsman like to go on and on about artistic mumbo-jumbo. But I think that whole philosophical thing is a lot of hogwash.’ ”Eagle Tribune

He has had samples of his pottery exhibited in the Cleveland Museum, the Boston museum and Cochran Gallery in Washington D.C. He was an active member of the NH League of Craftsman

     “ ‘He admits with a grin that his driveway is filled with things that didn’t turn out the way I wanted them.’ Accidents do happen and sometimes a piece will break…It’s best to know what you’ll find when you open the kiln, but sometimes something unexpected happens that is very nice. No matter what the effect, it’s gratifying to create something beautiful,’ he said.” “ ‘It’s a lucky man who works at what he likes to do best,’ he said, and rubbing his clay covered hands upon his huge apron he went on, ‘like me.’ ””

“Edward Devlin is Windham’s resident potter. Almost anyone in town can direct you to his home…‘These are mostly non-symmetrical pieces—the design motivated by organic growth and plant forms.’ Mr. Devlin said… Pottery can be divided into three general classes: earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. In Mr. Devlin’s studio are many examples of all three classes. But, he works primarily with stoneware, however. “I haven’t been doing too much work on earthenware lately. It involves too much preparing. I like the delicate colors of stoneware—there’s more refinement than in the colors of earthenware,’ he said.” “ ‘Freedom of expression.’ That is how Mr. Devlin sums up his interest in pottery…Sally Gilman, Eagle Tribune, March 18, 1969.