Dennis Meiners
Birth Date: August 24, 1950

Artist Gallery
Dennis Meiners was born on August 24, 1950 in Walla Walla, Washington, where he grew up on a wheat farm. His parents let him draw on the wallpaper in his living room, and from then on, he considered himself an artist. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1973 from Washington State University, where he studied commercial illustration. He discovered that illustration was not a good fit for him and found his calling in the clay studio instead. As a result, Meiners enrolled at the Oregon School of Arts and Crafts, where he studied ceramics and became familiar with the local ceramics community. It was also in Oregon where he discovered another passion - one for teaching, and he taught classes at the Oregon College of Arts and Crafts as well as Portland Community College. Meiners went on to join the Oregon Potters’ Association, and later served as President and Chairman of the Ceramic Showcase, which remains today as the largest ceramics show in the nation. Meiners’ work channels energy that creates a visual depiction of the effects of human influence on the ecosystems shared between humans and animals. He said about his process and technique: “My objective with each piece that I make is to capture the imaginative moment and give my artist-self a chance to respond. What it comes down to is being fully present. Sometimes I think it’s not about making ceramic objects at all, but the end of my process occasionally presents me with pieces that I and others like and that might make some ongoing difference in peoples’ daily lives.” After Meiners married fellow artist Leslie Lee and moved to southern Oregon, the two established a green studio at their home and named it “Hummingbird.” They used their home as a bed and breakfast, and the studio as a workshop center where he and Leslie hosted ceramics and painting workshops. These workshops were taught by Leslie and Meiners as well as other nationally known artists that they invited to teach there. In 2010, with the arrival of their newborn grandson in Portland, the decision was made to move back to the city and sell their property as well as the Hummingbird studio. Dennis continues to create ceramics that depict portraits of endangered animals in an attempt to raise awareness about the devastating effects that humans have on the ecosystem.