Ellen Devens
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...oil paint, works on paper, historical memorabilia, cord, glass, beads, shell, wire, leather, photographs, textiles, wood​...
The materials Ellen chooses for her work speak to her love of texture, attention to detail, affinity with nature and her ongoing penchant to join together unlikely objects. History, story, myth, memorabilia, geography, domestic ephemera or a scrap of fabric might be the inspiration for a painting, sculpture, collage or one of the handmade sacred bundles she incorporates in many of her mixed media works. She has been collecting and working with found objects since she was 6 years old.
Ellen is a native third-generation New Yorker. Her grandparents met on MacDougal Street. Raised in Queens, her father graduated with degrees in music and art. He is a once renowned studio percussionist and composer/lyricist who is still writing and performing his own shows about The Golden Age of Musicals. Her mother, a writer, marketing executive, and animal activist was responsible for passing legislation that banned greyhound dog racing from New Hampshire and Vermont. Her maternal grandfather was personally selected by Woodrow Wilson to be his personal messenger and aide during World War I and the negotiation of the Treaty of Versailles. Her paternal great grandfather had one of the first notions stores in Long Island City.
In addition to her artwork, Ellen is passionate about cooking, gardening, the environment and democracy. She is a graduate of CUNY with a degree in Education and has 9 credits towards her Masters in Library Sciences. She is a member (and avid player) of The National Mah Jongg League, a trained cook and an award winning and active licensed real estate broker in NYC. Ellen resides on the Upper West Side with her teenage daughter and their stubborn but sweet Yorkshire terrier.
The materials Ellen chooses for her work speak to her love of texture, attention to detail, affinity with nature and her ongoing penchant to join together unlikely objects. History, story, myth, memorabilia, geography, domestic ephemera or a scrap of fabric might be the inspiration for a painting, sculpture, collage or one of the handmade sacred bundles she incorporates in many of her mixed media works. She has been collecting and working with found objects since she was 6 years old.
Ellen is a native third-generation New Yorker. Her grandparents met on MacDougal Street. Raised in Queens, her father graduated with degrees in music and art. He is a once renowned studio percussionist and composer/lyricist who is still writing and performing his own shows about The Golden Age of Musicals. Her mother, a writer, marketing executive, and animal activist was responsible for passing legislation that banned greyhound dog racing from New Hampshire and Vermont. Her maternal grandfather was personally selected by Woodrow Wilson to be his personal messenger and aide during World War I and the negotiation of the Treaty of Versailles. Her paternal great grandfather had one of the first notions stores in Long Island City.
In addition to her artwork, Ellen is passionate about cooking, gardening, the environment and democracy. She is a graduate of CUNY with a degree in Education and has 9 credits towards her Masters in Library Sciences. She is a member (and avid player) of The National Mah Jongg League, a trained cook and an award winning and active licensed real estate broker in NYC. Ellen resides on the Upper West Side with her teenage daughter and their stubborn but sweet Yorkshire terrier.
