Deana Bada Maloney

Deana Bada Maloney has been an observer of nature all her life. She is continually awestruck by the beauty of the natural world and the magic and mystery found within every living thing. Her work is a study of living forms, celebrating both the structure of how something is made and the transcendental presence of the subject.

Deana holds a BFA in Drawing and Painting from the Art Institute of Chicago, where she developed a strong focus on anatomy and scientific illustration. She has found sculpture to be another vehicle through which she can express the beauty, stories, and intricate details woven throughout nature and the world around us.

Each of Deana’s pieces tells a story through the use of symbolism and found materials. She incorporates elements from the subject’s natural surroundings or materials that contribute to the story she is telling. During the final firing of her sculptures, she uses oxides to capture the marks created throughout the making process. This technique gives her sculptures the appearance of three-dimensional drawings, harkening back to her strong roots in drawing and illustration.