Claire Dawn Meyer

Work Life: During Claire’s undergraduate studies at the University of Montana, her love for art drove her to open up a small local gallery in her hometown of Livingston, MT that she filled with artwork from her art school peers. Later, she got her feet wet in Missoula by working in the University Center Gallery as a gallery attendant. Post graduation, she began an internship at the Dana Gallery which became an amazing four-year position. This unique journey of gallery work has allowed her to gain insight on the inner workings of Western Montana’s vibrant art world. Being an artist herself, she recently has found a deep desire to work more with her hands and has since transitioned into working for Art Attic Framing & Design as a specialty framer and designer. Every day is a new and exciting journey and learning experience for her as she continues to learn from her family of framers Emily, Katie and Frank. She has a natural eye for design and she loves working hands-on with outstanding original artwork.

Art Life: Claire was brought up in small town Livingston, MT where she was blessed to grow up with a loving and artistic family. Since she could walk, Claire has been taking art classes with her beloved grandmother and traditional impressionist painter, Mary Ann Meyer. Her grandmother's formal education helped develop skills that Claire has used throughout her artistic years. Her work has always been inspired by the beauty in nature, the bond between color and emotion and the nuances in day-to-day life. She has been a painter her whole life, and more recently has become an installation enthusiast. During the formative college years at the University of Montana, Meyer began experimenting with self-made fabric dyes, soft sculptures as well as large paper installations. Her need to experiment and use non-traditional materials created a totally new way of working. Her current body of work brought her to explore the combination of her traditional painting techniques with the energy and interest of new concepts to drive interesting paintings.