Editing Paul Soldner

{{short description|American artist}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Paul Soldner
| birth_name         = Paul Edmund Soldner
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1921|04|24}}
| birth_place        = [[Summerfield, Illinois]], US
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|2011|01|03|1921|04|24}}
| death_place        = [[Claremont, California]], US
| alma_mater         = [[Bluffton College]], <br>[[University of Colorado at Boulder]], [[Otis College of Art and Design]]
| known_for          = ceramics
}}
'''Paul Edmund Soldner''' (April 24, 1921 – January 3, 2011) was an American [[ceramic art]]ist and educator, noted for his experimentation with the 16th-century Japanese technique called [[Raku ware|raku]], introducing new methods of firing and post firing, which became known as American Raku.<ref name=":3">{{cite web |url= http://www.palmspringslife.com/Palm-Springs-Life/April-2007/Galleries/ |title=Palm Springs Art &#124; El Paseo Art Galleries &#124; Paul Soldner &#124; Palm Springs Life |last=Steven Biller |work=palmspringslife.com |year=2007 |quote=introducing unorthodox methods of firing and post firing |access-date=January 22, 2013}}</ref> He was the founder of the [[Anderson Ranch Arts Center]] in 1966.<ref name=":0" />

== Biography ==
Paul Edmund Soldner was born on April 24, 1921, in [[Summerfield, Illinois]], his father was a [[Mennonites|Mennonite]] preacher.<ref name=":2" /> He served as a [[United States Army]] [[Medical Corps (United States Army)|Medical Corps]] during [[World War II]].<ref name=":2" /> Soldner served in General George Patton's Third Army during the [[Battle of the Bulge]], and was awarded a [[Purple Heart]].<ref name=":2" />

Soldner began to pursue a career in art upon returning to the United States after the Army, in 1946 he earned a degree from [[Bluffton College]].<ref name=":2" /> He continued his studies and received a MFA degree in 1954 from the [[University of Colorado at Boulder|University of Colorado]].<ref name=":3" /> Soldner then turned his attention to studying ceramics and initially focused first on functional pottery. In 1954, Soldner became [[Peter Voulkos]]' first student in the nascent ceramics department at the Los Angeles County Art Institute (now the [[Otis College of Art and Design]]).<ref name=":0" /> As Soldner helped his teacher establish the program, he made several changes to the studio pottery equipment, which led to him founding Soldner Pottery Equipment Corporation in 1955, to market his inventions. He eventually held seven patents related to pottery equipment.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.andersonranch.org/news/index.php?id=178 |title=Anderson Ranch Arts Center - News - In Memory: Paul Soldner, ceramist, artist, teacher, 1921-2011 |last=Holly Bornemeier |work=andersonranch.org |year=2013 |access-date=January 22, 2013 |archive-date=November 17, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111117183645/http://www.andersonranch.org/news/index.php?id=178 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

After receiving his [[Master of Fine Arts|MFA]] degree in Ceramics in 1956, Soldner began teaching at [[Scripps College]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.artltdmag.com/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1300128755&archive=&start_from=&ucat=39& |title=art ltd. magazine |work=artltdmag.com |year=2013 |quote=Marsh considers Soldner's most significant artistic contribution, the invention of American raku, to be a truly remarkable innovation, both technically and aesthetically |access-date=January 22, 2013}}</ref> In the 1966, he founded [[Anderson Ranch Arts Center]] in [[Snowmass Village, Colorado|Snowmass Village]], [[Colorado]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Newby|first=Rick|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xv5ivm13_0oC|title=The Rocky Mountain Region|date=2004|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-32817-6|location=|pages=45|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last1=Cooke|first1=Edward S.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HKeZXlA3DTMC|title=The Maker's Hand: American Studio Furniture, 1940-1990|last2=Ward|first2=Gerald W. R.|last3=L'Ecuyer|first3=Kelly H.|last4=Warner|first4=Pat|date=2003|publisher=MFA Publications, a division of the Museum of Fine Arts|isbn=978-0-87846-662-7|location=|pages=142|language=en}}</ref> He was also involved in starting the [[National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts]].

He developed a type of low-temperature [[Salt glaze|salt firing]].<ref>[http://www.paulsoldner.com/essays/lowfire.html Soldner essay]</ref> Along with Voulkos, Soldner has been credited with creating the "California School" of ceramic arts by combining Western materials and technology with Japanese techniques and [[aesthetics]].<ref>[http://www.craftcreativitydesign.org/PDF%27s/Makers_ChapterSeven.pdf Makers, A History of American Studio Craft] Chap.7, Voulkos and Soldner at Pages 224 - 231</ref>

While teaching at Scripps College, he organized the Scripps Ceramics Annual, a nationally recognized ceramic exhibition. In addition, as a result of his lifelong friendship with ceramic collectors Fred and Mary Marer, Scripps became the fortunate recipient of the extensive Marer Collection of Contemporary Ceramics. In 1990, Scripps received an NEA Grant to research and organize an exhibition titled, "Paul Soldner: A Retrospective,'" that travelled throughout the United States.

Soldner retired from Scripps in 1991. He lived and maintained studios in [[Aspen, Colorado]], and [[Claremont, California]]. He died January 3, 2011, in [[Claremont, California]].<ref name=":2" />

== Awards ==
* 1992 Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from [[Westminster College (Pennsylvania)|Westminster College]], New Wilmington, Pennsylvania.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://asuartmuseum.asu.edu/sites/default/files/soldner_paul_biography.pdf
| title= Paul Soldner Biography}}</ref>

* 2003 Honorary Doctorates of Fine Arts from Bluffton College, Ohio<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.artnet.com/artists/paul-soldner/ |title=Paul Soldner on artnet |work=artnet.com |year=2013 |access-date=January 22, 2013}}</ref>
* 2008 Awarded the Aileen Osborn Webb Gold Medal by the [[American Craft Council]], New York City, New York.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.craftcouncil.org/magazine/article/aileen-osborn-webb-awards-2008 |title=Aileen Osborn Webb Awards 2008 &#124; American Craft Council |last=American Crafts Council |work=craftcouncil.org |year=2013 |access-date=January 22, 2013}}</ref>

== Bibliography ==
*''Nothing to Hide Exposures, Disclosures and Reflections''  Clay Times Inc., (2008) {{ISBN|9780981629612}}
*''Kiln Construction'' American Craftsmen's Council (1965)
*[http://www.craftcreativitydesign.org/resources/makers-textbook/ Makers, A History of American Studio Craft] by Koplos, Janet & Metcalf, Bruce; University of North Carolina Press, July 2010, {{ISBN|978-0-8078-3413-8}}, 544 pages, 409 color and 50 b&w photos, notes, index

== Film and video ==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Year
!Title
!Type
!Notes
|-
|2005
|''Paul Soldner: Playing with Fire''
|documentary
|Film was directed by Renée Bergan.<ref>{{cite web|title=Paul Soldner: Playing With Fire|url=http://www.playingwithfirethemovie.com/|access-date=4 September 2010|publisher=Renegade Pictures}}</ref>
|-
|2000
|''Paul Soldner, The Courage to Explore''
|documentary
|
|-
|1992
|''Paul Soldner: Thrown and Altered Clay''
|documentary, school video
|<ref>{{Citation|last1=Hubbard|first1=Tom|title=Paul Soldner: thrown and altered clay : a retrospective.|date=1992|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/179568634|place=Aspen, Colo.|publisher=Crystal Productions|language=English|isbn=978-1-56290-508-8|oclc=179568634|access-date=2021-02-03|last2=Hubbard|first2=Lorry|last3=McCurdy|first3=Richard|last4=Soldner|first4=Paul|last5=Crystal Productions}}</ref>
|-
|1989
|''Paul Soldner Thoughts on Creativity''
|documentary
|Made by American Ceramic Society, Southern California Section Design Chapter,
|}

== Collections and exhibitions ==
Soldner's work is included in the collections of the [[Victoria and Albert Museum]] in London, the [[Los Angeles County Museum of Art]] (LACMA), and the [[Museum of Arts and Design]] in New York City.<ref name=":2">{{cite news|last=Grimes|first=William|date=January 8, 2011|title=Paul Soldner Dies at 89 - Ceramist Created Sculptural Vessels|work=[[The New York Times]]|location=[[New York, NY|New York]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/08/arts/design/08soldner.html?_r=0|access-date=January 22, 2013|issn=0362-4331|quote=His work is included in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum of Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Museum of Arts & Design.}}</ref>

Work can also be found in the following galleries:
*[[American Museum of Ceramic Art]], Pomona, California.<ref>{{cite web|title=American Museum of Ceramic Art|url=http://www.amoca.org/about-amoca/|website=AMOCA.org|access-date=29 May 2015|archive-date=30 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150530001609/http://www.amoca.org/about-amoca/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Paul Soldner's exhibition "Inferno" was featured for the opening of the museum in Sept. 11, 2004
*[[National Gallery of Australia]], Sydney, Australia
*[[National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto|National Museum of Modern Art]], Kyoto, Japan
*[[Oakland Museum of California]], Oakland, California
*Scripps College, Claremont, California.
*Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American Art, Washington, D.C..
*[[Taipei Fine Arts Museum]], Taipei, Taiwan

== See also ==
* [[Claude Champy]], French ceramist who worked with Raku-ware

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Official website|http://www.paulsoldner.com/}}
*[https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-paul-soldner-12457 Oral history interview with Paul Soldner, 2003 April 27-28], [[Archives of American Art]], [[Smithsonian Institution]]

{{American Craft Council}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soldner, Paul}}
[[Category:1921 births]]
[[Category:2011 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Aspen, Colorado]]
[[Category:American potters]]
[[Category:American ceramists]]
[[Category:Otis College of Art and Design alumni]]
[[Category:Bluffton University alumni]]
[[Category:University of Colorado alumni]]
[[Category:Artists from Colorado]]
[[Category:People from St. Clair County, Illinois]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel of World War II]]