Dale W. Reiger was born in Seattle, Washington,  but grew up in Northern Idaho and Eastern Washington.   He returned to Seattle and lived there many years until moving to Whidbey Island in 2006.  Dale graduated from Washington State University with a degree in English.  Through poetry, fiction, play writing, and owning and operating two successful businesses,  Dale finally arrived at painting about 25 years ago.  10 years ago, Dale shifted his focus to include kiln formed glass.

Dale describes his style as both primitive and elegant.   Themes from his paintings also flow into his glass.   He uses elementary shapes which translate into symbols.    These symbols help to create a highly personalized  iconography drawing on Dale's artistic, spiritual and international background.  Dale uses color, including iridized and dichromatic glass, as a language.  Each color has its own code and texture.  He is engaged in a dialogue of the harmony and dissonance of color.  In glass, bright luminosity is often contrasted by dark transparent colors, which allows the light to penetrate, but not to reveal.    


 Most of Dale's kiln formed glass is cast or a combination of fusing and casting.   His table tops are up to 2" thick.  His multi colored glass houses are thick cast plates of glass over a metal or wood superstructure.  These sculptures, some over 8' tall, are for indoor or outdoor use and can have interior lighting.  Dale has 6 kilns.  The biggest 3 (capable of making up to 7' piece of glass) were custom built and allow Dale to make large and varied projects simultaneously.

Dale paints with acrylic paints, oil bars, china markers, ink and colored pencils.  He paints on canvas, wood and metal. 

Dale has studios on Whidbey Island, WA, with his wife, Teri Jo Summer-Reiger, (www.terijosummer.com) a well known clothing designer and fabric artist.   They have family nearby and, also, a goofball dog named Sasha.