Bio Daniel Sommerfeld has always enjoyed artistic pursuits from childhood on through the years. After high school, he decided to enroll in the Mechanical Engineering program at General Motors Institute, but he became frustrated by the lack of creativity within this program. While pursuing an Industrial Design degree at Western Michigan University, he discovered a passion for working in clay. After pulling a tendon in his arm, Dan focused his attention on handbuilding never looking back. Currently, he concentrates on extruded and slipcast pieces designed with an architectural feel. Endless possibilities exist within a freshly extruded section; depending on how it is trimmed and assembled defines it as a unique, individual work of art. Dan concentrates on salt-firing with the addition of a yearly anagama firing. He is fascinated with these firings as unexpected results often occur. He uses slips and engobes as decorative elements in combination with a palette of glazes. He experiments with many different glazes to find the appropriate ones for both firing methods. Dan is becoming highly regarded as a clay artist specializing in profound handbuilt forms. He is located in Kalamazoo, Michigan; and can be found on the internet at www.byhand.us

Recent Awards and Honors 2008 Muskegon Museum of Art 80th Regional Exhibition: WMPG Eleanor Smith Memorial Award for Ceramics Susan Meston Purchase Award

2007 Fire and Mud Statewide Clay Competition - Honorable Mention

Show Entries: Muskegon Regional Show 2008 Entrant The Artful Cup 2008 Entrant and Second Place MCAA Michigan Ceramics Competition 2008 Entrant UAM Cup Show 2008 Entrant Fire and Mud 2007 Entrant North American Ceramics Cup Show 2007 Entrant Fire and Mud 2006 Entrant Muskegon Regional Show 2006 Entrant West Michigan Area Show 2005 Entrant in 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, and 2000 West Michigan Area Show 2004 Entrant Muskegon Regional Show 2003 Entrant West Michigan Area Show 2003 Entrant Saratoga Clay Company “Bottles and Bowls” Exhibit Entrant 2003 West Michigan Area Show 2002 Entrant Holland Friends of Art Annual Juried Competition 2002 West Michigan Area Show 2001 Entrant Muskegon Regional Show 2000 Entrant West Michigan Area Show 2000 Entrant Muskegon Regional Show 1998 Entrant