Though my pieces may look premeditated, they aren’t at all. I do not test and iterate forms. I change what I’m doing with every piece of work I make. Instead of planning and consciously conceptualizing, I strive to remain present as much as possible. I have a deep respect and reverence for being taught by the medium and the material properties themselves.
Bio
Darien’s circumstances have necessitated artistic training outside the academy, instead to be based on a traditional apprenticeship model as well as independent self-teaching through trial and error. A San Francisco native, Darien comes from a long line of artisans and has been creating art from a young age. As a child they learned sculpture from their mother, a master painter whose work prompted Darien to later self-teach oil painting and graphite drawing as a way to connect with her. As a youth Darien apprenticed with Bay Area ceramicist Jamin Zegart and was awarded a scholarship to the Art Institute. For the decades that followed, they’ve persisted in studying ceramics by harvesting wild clay, hand building, and surreptitiously pit firing on public lands.
Darien has lived their entire life in San Francisco and Oakland and continues to make ceramics in their home studio in West Oakland. Most recently they have gained access to more resources such as a potter's wheel as well as gas and electric firing. Darien is currently designing and building a high efficiency kiln that will use less than half of the gas normally required for high fire reduction.
