Rick DeVries
Veteran Master Mold-Maker & Sculptor.
Specializing in greenware, ceramics, and bisque for over 40 years.
Work History
Owner and operator Rick's Ceramics, Florida circa 1972 - 1979.
Owner and operator of Gator Molds, Florida circa 1976 - 1996.
Master Mold Maker & Sculptor for Teddy Bear Molds, Kentucky circa 1997 - 1999.
Master Mold Maker & Sculptor for Monessen Harth, Kentucky circa 2002-2009.
Master Mold Maker & Sculptor for Haydel's Bakery, New Orleans (king cake dolls) circa 1989 - present.
Master Mold Maker for Firelite Molds, Florida circa 2002 - present.
My Story
My ceramics journey started (believe it or not) in 1965 at the Kincheloe, Michigan Air Force Base, in the barracks during Vietnam. I had a choice to make while serving my country and freezing my butt off in the great frozen North - I could hit the gym and bulk up (not that anyone would notice under all those thermal layers), lose what little money I had playing poker with the guys, or learn something new. I had no idea that the 'something new' was the one thing that would bring me the truest joy in my life (other than my children, of course).
Learning ceramics opened an entirely new world for me and launched a life-long career that has at many times in the over 40 years that I've been in the trade - brought and held my family together, kept me going in both the highs and the lows of life, and introduced me to many incredible friends. All of which is saying something, considering my college art professor swore that I didn't have a single artistic bone in my body.
I brought ceramics home to my family and taught it to my late mother and father Blanche and John DeVries, who in turn taught ceramics classes out of the studio in their back yard for years while working for me when I opened my own ceramics business in Titusville, Florida in 1972 - Rick's Ceramics, which eventually became Gator Molds.
I took on a new challenge in 1989, creating original miniature pieces for Haydel's Bakery's collectible king cake dolls and have worked with them every year since.
As my family grew, however - my time became stretched, and my space became limited so it was clear that it was time for me to make some big changes as a business owner and also a father. So I packed up and moved the business to Kentucky and inevitably sold it, staying on as the Master sculptor and mold maker until it closed its doors in 1996.
Over the years I've dillied and dallied between other businesses, but now that my children are grown and I am able to put my focus into something else, I've found my way back to my true love and passion in owning my own ceramics business once more with plans to exclusively sell custom requests and one-of-a-kind pieces of my own design.