Dane Meier in studio

Artist statement

            The work I make focuses on the expansion and alteration of form.  I seek to push the clay to its limits, whether it is through darting, bulbous forms, faceting or carving.  Using porcelain allows me to have a cleaner canvas to spray glaze with multiple layers of glaze gradients.  Though the work I create has a tendency to stretch the clay to its limits, the subtlety that comes forth from glaze and clay interaction allows unity within the pieces.  The celadon porcelain pieces have a translucency and understated quality that is blended with my carvings to produce work that speaks quietly yet carries a visual weight within a room.  Using ash and shino glazes I emulate the landscape of my home, Nevada.  Balancing the dusty and smooth textures within my shinos allows me to convey the dry desert, as well as the mountains once the snowmelt begins.  Over spraying with a blue ash glaze gives the illusion of the spring mountain snowmelt with the backdrop of the desert or mountains.  The heart of Northern Nevada is contained within my work with shinos, whereas the porcelain  celadon carved pieces speak to the education and training I have undergone as an educator and student.

About

            Northern Nevada has been my home for the majority of my life.  My home and studio rest in the foothills of Peavine Mountain in Reno, Nevada, where I both make and fire my work.  The porcelain I use is fired to cone 10 in two different styles of kilns.  A downdraft Geil reduction kiln and an L and L electric kiln.