When Life Delivers You Precisely Where You’re Meant To Be
And there’s no plan B
I am an artist — there is no plan B.
This is who I am and what I must do.- Matt Devine
I knew nothing of Matt Devine until I met Brian, the young man who rented an apartment from my landlord. Brian is Matt’s assistant. He told me about his job and his boss, an internationally known artist and sculptor, who happens to live a short drive away.
We talk as Brian throws the ball for Finn, his two-year-old heeler. It’s a joy to watch them interact, how Brian trains Finn to wait. Finn has one blue eye, one brown eye. “He’s deaf,” Brian tells me. “I found him abandoned on the side of the road.”
Brian’s description of the artist and the farm where he lives intrigue me so much that when Brian invites me to visit, I’m eager for it.
“Would it be okay to do a story?” I wonder, harking back to my newspaper days years ago when I was always looking for a feature.
I arrive at the lovely farm on a chilly grey autumn morning. Brian greets me and ushers me into the smallish studio office — two desks that face each other.
The hallway leading to the shop is white with a few rows of shelves holding details of Devine’s sculptures: some are brightly colored — red, yellow, blue. Others are in traditional metal hues. All of them draw me in.
In his clean, spacious shop where the magic happens, Matt and I do the interview.
Matt Devine left his birthplace in New England right after completing high school.
“I didn’t want to go to college. I wanted to ski, so I spent a couple of years in Utah before I met up with my father in San Diego in 1995.”
There, Devine learned welding and metal fabrication from his dad, who made furniture. He also built sets for theater productions.
By the time he was in his late 20s and had learned the machines and the processes, Devine was ready to be his own boss so he started his own metal fabrication shop.
Initially he did architectural work — it paid the bills — then he started dabbling in sculpture.
“I loved the freedom of sculpting. There are restrictions with building furniture and I enjoyed working without those constraints.”
Pretty soon, his artwork caught the attention of clients.
“They’d come in to order a handrail, see my artwork, and say “Hey, what’s that? I want it.”
Over time, Devine built a close relationship with an architect who commissioned multiple sculptures for his buildings, leading to more commissions and friendships within the architectural community.
His heart gravitated to sculpture. Still, “transitioning fully from furniture to sculpture took a couple of years.”
Commissions led to recognition from galleries and from there, Devine’s career took off.
There have been several moves in the 20 years that Devine has practiced his art: from San Diego to San Francisco and about six years ago, to a farm in rural Marion County, Oregon.
Moving from a collaborative environment — Devine ran an artists’ collective for many years in San Diego — to a more isolated setting has been a significant adjustment.
“I enjoyed the energy of living and working among many artists in San Diego; my current rural location has taken time to feel like home.
“But my wife, Morgan, and I always had a dream. We wanted a property, a farm, where I’d have my studio and Morgan could grow organic flowers for her floral business: Flowers by Almanac. And where we could provide a home for rescued animals.
“There is a balance between art and the natural world that we aimed for when we set out to create our lifestyle,” Devine explains.
Currently, Devine is preparing for his first solo museum show, titled “Walk With Me.” To date, it’s the biggest show of his career and Devine is excited about it.
“It’s a personal show. I’m bringing my home in Oregon to Southern California.
“We live on a farm in the midst of farms and, I will explore themes of nature, agriculture, and wildlife.”
For the show, Devine is challenged to create work with a deep backstory. He aims to convey a strong emotional connection to nature and to his home in these pieces.
The installation will include around 15 pieces, using color and size to convey themes. The layout of the pieces will create a narrative journey for visitors.
Devine has spent considerable time refining ideas through drafts and discussions. The process has been collaborative, with feedback from colleagues and the museum board.
Most often with his work, Devine must consider the commercial viability of a piece. That will not be a consideration with this exhibit.
“I find joy in creating large pieces but now I accept the challenge of making pieces that may not be salable.”
Since he’s encouraged to introduce other media into this museum exhibition, Devine will explore using wood and other media in addition to metal.
There will also be a video installation capturing the sounds of nature and the seasonal changes in the landscape. Many of his new pieces will draw inspiration from the environment, using elements like colors and shapes to reflect local flora and the natural world.
How Inspiration Arises
Inspiration for Devine’s work comes from the process of creating. “While I am working on one piece, ideas for the next often emerge. This repetitious theme, taking one singular shape, then repeating it five, ten, a hundred, a thousand times.
“Is this interesting? Are the shadows interesting? Well what if I shift the shape a little bit, what does that do, and what does that do to the piece?”
Through creating, Devine initiates a continuous flow of creativity.
Tools of the trade
The fabrication shop is a former cow milking parlor. “I only have four pieces of machinery that I bought new.
“I love old machines. Some of these are from the 1930s and 40s. I’ve refurbished many of them, brought them back to life.” He points out a drill that came from an estate sale close by.
“You take care of the machines, they take care of you.”
Like the workhorse roller that is used for 80% of his pieces: it bends metal.
When he was young, before he found his passion, Devine was creative but it wasn’t fostered. “Parents don’t encourage their kids to become artists — they want them to be doctors, lawyers — something practical where they can make a living.”
Devine knows that it’s rare to make your living as an artist. He feels gratitude for the life his art has given him.
The future?
Devine’s pieces have homes in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Australia, along with North and South America. He hopes to expand even more internationally since he has already done well in the states.
As he reflects on his journey from working for others, to owning his own metal fabrication shop, to today’s well-equipped studio and shop on his own farm, Devine appreciates the evolution of his craft and the satisfaction of doing what he loves.
Every day, he feels fortunate to be able to create, and to be able to provide a home for animals in need.
A sampling of Devine’s sculptures
As I listen to Matt, I realize that I am intrigued by stories about people who end up doing what they’re meant to do, even if they didn’t have a dream or a game plan right from the start.
We’re so often told to know what we want, to envision, to script each step. And I’ve often been envious of those who’ve done just that. And succeed.
But apparently, there are other routes, indiscernible at first, that if we follow them, perhaps blindly, they lead us to where we’re meant to be, doing what we’re meant to do.
When he left home, Matt didn’t have a vision for his future. He wanted to ski, so he did that for a couple of years, then he met up with his father, a builder of furniture.
From his father, he learned welding and metal fabrication. Then he wanted his own shop. He continued building furniture, but he also started tinkering, a freedom he may not have had if he had remained an employee.
Matt’s journey led him to become an artist but that hadn’t been his vision.
It struck me that each step along his way to becoming a sculptor was illuminated, but only one step at a time.
Matt didn’t get to see up the road. He took each step and the completion of the previous revealed the next. Matt didn’t set out to be an artist or sculptor but that is what he became.
That is what he is.
https://www.mattdevineart.com/
Catch Devine’s Show at
Oceanside Museum of Art, Oceanside, CA
Matt Devine: Walk With Me
March 1–July 6, 2025
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This is fantastic art, hard work to make... But we should embrace our passions and turn them into profitable businesses!
inspirational that the dream can come true.