Adriana Dakin grew up in San Francisco and her family’s
ranch in northern California. Her grandparents Maria and Jochen Paasche, who
lived next door in San Francisco, had moved from Germany to Japan in the 1930s,
and spent 12 years there. Old Japanese and German pottery decorated their house
in San Francisco, making an early impression on Adriana. Jochen was a linguist,
but more importantly, a master drawer of fun animal caricatures that resembled
Asian script — Adriana frequently requested his quick drawings and aspires to
sketch the essence of an animal or tree as confidently.
After learning painting, woodworking, and other arts at the San Francisco Waldorf School, Adriana began making pottery in high school in 1988, unexpectedly discovering a passion. She then studied ceramics at Wesleyan University, City College of San Francisco, Alfred University’s International Woodfire Symposium in China in 2000, and continues at Mendocino College in Ukiah.
In addition to being a potter, Adriana is a communications
strategist with Madera Group. She serves
on the board of Young Women Social Entrepreneurs
in San Francisco and the Sun House guild board at the Grace Hudson Museum in
Ukiah, and is a founding member of Art Center Ukiah.
Adriana has a Bachelor’s degree with honors in History from Wesleyan University, where she earned Phi Beta Kappa, and a Master’s in Public Policy degree from the Harvard Kennedy School, where she studied international security policy, negotiation, and leadership.
Having traveled widely, Adriana credits clay for closer friendships during international study trips. Adriana and her husband Pete Johnson live in Mendocino County with their horses, dogs, and cats.
Shows:
Mendocino College Art Gallery, Juried Show, Ukiah, Spring 2008, 2007, 2006
Art Center Ukiah, Corner Gallery, Ukiah, March 2008 and ongoing
Grace Hudson Museum Holiday Open House, Ukiah, December 2005, 2006, 2007
Annual Artisan Faire, Barra of Mendocino, November 2005, 2006, 2007
North Coast Wood Fire Society, Mendocino Art Center, August 2006
Out of Closet, Sonia Melnikova’s home, San Francisco, April 2006
