ABOUT SHANI MCLANE
Artist Statement
My work is a visual journal. Each print or piece serves as a personal essay reflecting a moment in time, shaped by observation, emotion, and reflection. Whether working on paper, glass, or now fabric, I often use the process of silk-screening to explore the subtle complexities of the world around me.
Rooted in my Scandinavian heritage, my aesthetic embraces minimalism, yet seeks to uncover beauty within simplicity. Natural forms and patterns, amplified, abstracted, and reimagined, are a recurring theme in my imagery. They speak to the fragility and resilience of the natural world and its constant evolution.
Over time, my practice has expanded beyond traditional prints to include textiles and wearable pieces. The neckwear I create carries the same intention and imagery, offering art that can be experienced, worn, and lived with. In a fast-moving world, I aim to offer moments of stillness, artworks that invite us to pause, notice, and connect with the beauty we so often overlook.
Shani McLane is a printmaker and educator whose work bridges art, science, and environmental awareness. Born in Miami and raised in Northern California from the age of two, she earned her BFA in printmaking from the University of Southern California - Los Angeles in 1993. After relocating to New Hampshire in 2000, she later earned her Master of Education in Integrated Arts degree from Plymouth State University in 2010, further expanding her work as both an artist and educator.
Before relocating to the East Coast, Shani worked in several renowned glass studios in California's Bay Area, including John Lewis Studio, Two Thousand Degrees, and Architectural Glass Design. She later opened her own studio, Savoy Glass, in Corte Madera, CA, where she began to develop her distinctive approach to screen printing on both paper and glass.
Shani's work primarily focuses on the technique of silk-screening inks and enamels onto paper and glass, creating pieces that explore natural patterns, climate change, and the quiet beauty found in the overlooked. Her practice is deeply influenced by her Scandinavian heritage and embraces a minimalist aesthetic rooted in careful observation and clarity.
Her professional experience includes teaching and exhibiting at prestigious institutions, such as the Corning Museum of Glass, Pilchuck Glass School, and The Glass Factory in Kosta Boda, Sweden. She was a featured guest lecturer at Dartmouth College’s Thayer School of Engineering and has taught interdisciplinary workshops that support STEAM learning and environmental advocacy. Shani’s curriculum, Engineering the Glass Seed, has been taught in the United States and abroad, and was inspired by her research at the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Svalbard, Norway.
Shani has been honored with numerous awards and residencies, including the Hauberg Fellowship, the Swedish American Fund Grant, and the Frank Teton Fellowship. Her work has been supported by the Scuola Internazionale di Grafica in Venice, the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, and the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, among others. She was a finalist in the Venice Biennale Project and has exhibited internationally, with notable shows at the Royal Society of Painters-Printmakers in London, Edition Basel, and Venice Glass Week. Her pieces are included in the permanent collections of the Museum of Glass (Tacoma), Pilchuck Glass School, and the Pittsburgh Glass Center, as well as other notable institutions.
Her artist residencies have taken her around the globe, including a voyage through the Arctic Circle from Longyearbyen, Norway, and research-based residencies at the Scuola Internazionale di Grafica (Italy), CAMAC Foundation (France), NES (Iceland), Gate 44 (Italy), Joshua Tree Highlands Artist Residency (California), Zea Mays Printmaking (Massachusetts), Museum of Glass (Washington), and the Center for Contemporary Printmaking (Connecticut).
Today, Shani continues to expand her practice through wearable art and limited-edition neckwear that brings her print imagery into daily life—making the natural world and its stories more personal, tactile, and visible.
Squam River Studios
Squam River Studios is the creative home of artist and printmaker Shani McLane, a space where fine art, design, and functional objects come together. Founded in 2012, the studio grew out of Shani’s long-running home-based practice and marked a turning point from working quietly behind the scenes to creating in a dedicated space built for exploration, collaboration, and growth.
At its core, Squam River Studios is a working artist’s studio and design hub. Printmaking, fused glass, and textile work coexist here, allowing ideas to move fluidly across materials and time. Artwork created by Shani a decade ago may reappear as a textile pattern today or be reimagined in a new form altogether. The studio functions as a living resource library, extending the life of the work and supporting continuous experimentation.
The studio itself is an essential part of the story. Housed in a historic brick bank building in Ashland, New Hampshire, originally constructed in the early 1900s, the space was once central to the town’s economic life. In 2012, Shani purchased the building and undertook an extensive renovation to preserve its architectural character while adapting it for creative use. Her work on the kiln room restoration was recognized with an award from the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance, honoring a thoughtful balance of preservation and renewal.
Today, the studio is quiet, bright, and welcoming, a place that feels lived in and alive. Visitors encounter works in progress alongside finished pieces, tools in use, and an atmosphere that encourages curiosity. Squam River Studios hosts exhibitions, community events, fundraisers for local nonprofits, and school visits. Collectors and collaborators are welcome by appointment, and artwork is available for purchase directly from the studio.
Alongside one-of-a-kind works, Squam River Studios is also the home of NEKI, a new neckwear collection, that brings Shani’s artwork into everyday life. These limited-edition, handmade pieces translate original prints into wearable form, designed to add warmth, color, and individuality. NEKI reflects the studio’s broader mission to braid art, function, and appreciation into daily routines, making Shani’s art accessible beyond gallery walls and beyond New Hampshire.
Whether you know Shani McLane for her printmaking, are discovering her work for the first time, or are simply looking for thoughtfully made, art-driven accessories, Squam River Studios invites you into a creative space where history, process, and modern design meet.