DeVito Gallery: one-of-a-kind, lathe-turned heirlooms by William DeVito
One of a kind. Turned by hand. Made to be handed down.
The Artist
William DeVito
William DeVito is a second-generation woodturner based in Naples, Florida. He turned his first piece more than fifteen years ago, and more than a thousand works have left his lathe since, no two of them alike.
Before DeVito Gallery, he owned and ran his own art gallery in Fort Pierce, Florida. Years spent among other artists shaped how he approaches his own work: never as a product, always as an object with a story worth keeping.
Each piece begins with a person rather than a pattern. William sources every material himself, from figured burls and exotic hardwoods to rarer finds like Fordite and meteorite. He stabilizes the wood, casts his own resins and, when a design calls for it, designs and casts the components too. Every piece is turned by hand and finished in CA, polished until the figure seems to move.
Every work leaves the studio with a certificate of authenticity and a film of its own making, so its owner can watch the moment it came into being.
My Gallery
Pieces that have left the studio
Each of these exists once. Open any piece for its story and its materials.
Lava & Ash
Molten-orange resin poured against grey, smoke-figured burl
Violet Tide
Deep violet resin cast around a golden burl island
Storm Marble
Black, white and amber swirled resin
Kingfisher Desk Set
Turquoise resin and natural burl
Gilded Ebony
Dark, close-grained blackwood
Pinecone Garden
Real pinecone sections suspended in emerald and sapphire resin
Jade Sculpted Hook
Jade resin flowing into dark burl
Desert Lattice
Cholla cactus skeleton filled with jewel-toned resin
Aurora Sculpted Hook
Violet and teal resin with a burl foot
Golden Hour Pair
Citrine resin and burl; wine-red burl
Harbor Blue
Blue-dyed stabilized burl
Emerald Jewel
Emerald and black resin with burl
My Process
How a piece comes to be
Eight steps, all by my own hands, from the first conversation to the finished heirloom.
Designed with you
I work one on one with you to design a piece around your passions. A favourite book or film, a team, a hobby, your culture, even a beloved pet: these are some of the stories people most often bring to me.
The materials
Once the design is set, I gather the materials: exotic woods, gemstones, Fordite, wood with a story, meteorite and more. When they arrive, I stabilize the wood, cast it in resin and prepare every blank for the lathe.
Cast in gold
For truly one-of-a-kind pieces, I design and cast my own metal components, usually in gold or silver, using an ancient technique called lost-wax casting.
- I design each component and 3D print it in castable wax.
- The wax model is set on a sprue, a channel for the metal, and encased in investment, a fine plaster-like mould.
- In the kiln, the wax melts and burns away completely, leaving a perfect hollow impression inside.
- Molten gold or silver is poured into that void, helped by vacuum so it fills every detail.
- Once cooled, the mould is broken away and each part is cut free, polished and sometimes engraved.
Cut, drilled and tubed
With the components and materials ready, I cut each blank to length, drill out its centre to fit the components, and glue in a supporting brass tube so that everything fits perfectly.
Turned by hand
The blank is mounted on my lathe, a machine that spins it thousands of times a minute. With carbide or steel tools I remove the material slowly. Too much pressure and the piece will break, so it takes a steady hand, patience and focus.
Sanded and finished
This is my favourite part.
- Every piece goes through a finishing process of up to 41 steps, depending on the material, up to 140,000 grit.
- Then comes a CA finish, often called liquid glass. Done perfectly, you can see your own reflection in a piece of wood.
- Once cured, it lasts a lifetime, like a very thin layer of strengthened glass wrapped around your piece to protect it forever.
Assembled to last
Once the finish has cured, I assemble the piece by pressure fitting. It creates an airtight seal with no gaps that protects the piece, and it means I can take it apart and repair it if it is ever damaged in the future.
An heirloom, with its story
Every piece I make is designed to be heirloom quality, with lifetime repair or replacement if the piece itself ever has a defect. Just keep your certificate of authenticity.
Every piece also comes with its own video of me making it for you, so you can watch it come to life.
Commissions
Begin a commission
Tell William who it is for, what they love, and what you have in mind. He reads every brief himself and replies personally.
Prefer to talk it through?