The Essence of Earth and Form: The Life of Richard E. DeVore In the quiet, tactile world of American ceramics, few names resonate with the same elemental power as Richard E. DeVore. Born in Toledo, Ohio, in 1933, DeVore did not merely work with clay; he seemed to coax it into a state of primordial memory. His journey began at the University of Toledo, where he earned a Bachelor of Education in 1955, but it was his subsequent move to the prestigious Cranbrook Academy of Art that would define his artistic soul. Under the mentorship of the legendary Finnish-American ceramicist Maija Grotell, De…