Dennis Meiners

Dennis Meiners grew up in on a wheat farm in WallaWalla Washington and attended the University of Washington in Pullman, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts. "http://www.humnew.com/readmore.html"

DENNIS AWARDED "BEST of SHOW" AT CERAMIC SHOWCASE

Dennis has been participating in the Oregon Potter's Association CERAMIC SHOWCASE since it's beginning, 25 years ago. The show began with a few dozen potters at the Oregon Forestry Center and has grown to a sophisticated annual event at Portland's Convention Center with over 230 ceramic artists exhibiting. Booths represent individual ceramic artists and a central gallery displays the best of each artist's work for an annual competition for Best of Show. Members of the association vote for what they feel is the strongest piece in the gallery, both in terms of aesthetics and excellent craftsmanship. Dennis also received this award in 1993

Dennis' work is known for highly textured surfaces and metaphoric content. In a recent Artist's Statement he says:

"The act of making things is a magical privilege for which I have made and will make many sacrifices. I have found that the objects that result from the act of making are secondary to being in the process of bringing those objects into existence. Whether the act of making results in a coffee cup, a sculpture, a drawing or a poem, the immersion in the process is a journey through an imaginative landscape where possibility reigns supreme and taking advantage of what is there is a chimerical game. I have compared this experience to riding a horse at night. The objective is to trust the horse, not fall off, and be awake to see where I have arrived when the light returns."

Dennis Meiners ....He has pursued a ceramics career since that time with various supporting roles in the early years such as Army Reserve cook, janitor, window display designer, and graphic designer.

As his ceramic expertise and reputation grew Dennis became a well respected instructor and has taught classes at Oregon College of Art and Craft and Portland Community College as well as workshops throughout the west coast. HYPERLINK "http://humnew.com/dennisresume.html" See Resume .

Dennis' work has appeared in several books including The Artful Teapot by Garth Clark and Handbuilt Pottery by Kathy Triplett, as well as magazines such as Clay Times, Ceramics Monthly, Ceramic Art & Perception (Australia) and American Craft.

Currently Dennis makes his clay works and teaches at HUMMINGBIRD, the straw-bale home and adobe studio he spent over a decade creating with his wife, Leslie Lee, who is also a ceramic artist and painter. Dennis enjoys writing poetry and shares with Leslie a love of her daughter Rachel, good food, their dog and cats, and each other, but Dennis' focus will always be on his studio work which he eagerly pursues.

D.O.B. 8/24/50, Walla Walla, Washington USA

Education

B.A. in Fine Arts, Washington State University, 1973
Oregon School of Arts and Crafts, Research in Ceramics, 1979-80

Solo Exhibitions

Selected Group Exhibitions

Awards

Publications

Other Experience

Workshop Presentations