Paul soldner artwork
- Paul soldner ceramics
- Paul soldner pottery for sale
- Born in Summerfield, Illinois, to a Mennonite minister and his wife.
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Paul Soldner • American (1921-2011)
Untitled (Two Figures) • American Raku 26" x 22" x 3"
Canton Museum of Art Permanent Collection
Purchased with funds from the Doran Foundation and In Memory of Edward A. & Rosa J. Langenbach, 2007.8
Fast forward 16 years, to a summer crafts fair in Claremont, California. Paul Soldner, the former Army medic, now a visiting professor of ceramics at nearby Claremont Graduate School, was putting on a show. One of his students recalled that day:
“Paul liked to entertain. It normally takes a long time to fire a piece in a kiln, so Paul decided to make his first Raku (ceramics fired quickly, then plunged into water). He chose a fish pond nearby as a cold water source. But rushing from the kiln to the pond with tongs in hand, Soldner accidentally dropped the bowl in a bed of pepper-tree leaves, where it started a small fire. The beautiful result was a pot with imprinted leaves and a smoky or iridescent sheen”
That was how Soldner invented American Raku, still a popular ceramic art form. You could call it “smoked
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About Paul Soldner
1921-2011
Paul Soldner was born in Summerfield, Illnois on April 24, 1921. Soldner hadn't planned to be an artist when he was young; he started out as a pre-med student. His medical aspirations waned after being drafted into the Army and serving as a medic for three-and-a-half years during World War II. Afterwards, he returned to the United States with a strong interest in photography, and the desire to pursue a more artistic career. He earned a bachelor's degree in Art Education at Bluffton College in Ohio, and then a master's degree in Arts Administration from the University of Colorado in Boulder.
It was at Boulder that he was introduced to ceramics by Katie Horseman, a visiting lecturer and head of ceramics at Edinburgh College of Art in Scotland. After teaching art for eight years in public schools, at the age of 33, Soldner decided to become a potter. He headed for the Los Angeles County Art Institute, and became Peter Voulkos's first student, earning a M.F.A. in 1956.
At the Institute, Soldner helped set up the departm
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| The work of Paul Soldner (b. 1921) is endlessly evolving.The artist, who is also a teacher, potting equipment manufacturer, and father, never ceases to push his discipline in new directions.Now in his 80s, he continues to work and teach, always ready to share his wisdom about life, creativity, and of course, clay. Soldner made his first attempts at working with clay when, during undergraduate work at Bluffton College in Bluffton, Ohio, he built his own potters wheel and experimented with throwing pots.Years later, while working towards an M.A. in art education at the University of Colorado, Boulder, a ceramics class with Katie Horsman, a talented potter and teacher from Scotland, furthered his interest in the medium.Soon he imagined a future as a rural studio potter.Seeking further technical instruction, he heard that a potter named Peter Voulkos, who had been winning awards in national exhibitions, had just been invited to establish a ceramics program at the Los Angeles County Art Institute (later Otis Art Institute).Soldner became Voulkos first student, and Voulkos becam Copyright ©dewpant.pages.dev 2025 |