Art has been a part of Robbi DeVries' life since she was very young. She has experimented with many mediums, but has found bronze sculpture to be the most satisfying, sculpting her first piece to be bronzed in 2010. Capturing the form in 3 dimensions is challenging, yet rewarding in its ability to allow a lifelike vision, while still incorporating the artist’s voice. One of her favorite quotes is,
“…Art (is) the reproduction of what the senses perceive in nature, seen through the veil of the soul.”
Paul Cezanne
Wildlife has evolved as her favorite subject and living on Lake Washington has provided an abundance of opportunities for close-up observation. Soaring Bald Eagles and stoic Great Blue Heron are a daily occurrence in her world. She is moved to not only sculpt these magnificent creatures, but to also write poetry about them, which she strives to incorporate into her works.
Robbi is essentially self taught, though she has taken art classes at UCLA, Crafton Jr. College and Pratt Fine Arts Center in Seattle. She has also attended workshops at the renown Brookgreen Gardens in South Carolina with such wildlife artists as Sandy Scott and Dan Ostermiller, and in Sedona, with Ken Rowe.
She has overcome many adversities in her life, including the loss of her son and being a breast cancer survivor, and finds peace and joy in sculpting. She is pleased to be able to share some of her art in fundraising for her favorite charities: Seattle Children’s Hospital, Museum of Flight educational programs, and Susan G. Koman Foundation.
Robbi and her husband are avid adventure travelers and she has been to all 7 continents. Aviation is her husband’s passion and they have shipped their planes twice to Australia and flown around the Outback, as well as to South Africa and Botswana where they flew 3000 miles and visited 7 safari camps. Robbi joined him on the “civilized leg” of his extreme adventure, where he circumnavigated Canada through the Arctic. The speaking engagements which followed, prompted her to start her own boutique winery in order to serve her aviation-themed wine, Tailwind Cellars.
The highlight of each trip has been the diverse and amazing wildlife which inspires many of her sculptures.
“Sculpture is a most rewarding conduit to express my love of nature and my passion for this journey through life.” -Robbi DeVries