Don reitz ceramics artist biography

Don Reitz. Where Mr. Reitz had been trained to make pots on a wheel, glaze them delicately and fire them to a genteel finish, his work soon assumed a muscular anarchy. No longer content to rely on the wheel alone , he pushed, pulled, prodded, punched, pinched and poked mountains of clay into vast abstract forms, often incising them with markings that were as essential to the finished piece as the construction itself.

He was known in particular for reviving the centuries-old technique of salt firing , in which salt added to a hot kiln yields textured surfaces far different from those made with conventional glazes. Clowes said. Reitz to salt, then meat led him to dirt. Donald Lester Reitz was born on Nov. Dyslexic, he preferred working with his hands to schoolwork.

Enlisting in the Navy in , he spent five years as a salvage diver and afterward plied a series of trades — truck driver, sign painter — before settling into a career as a butcher. Reitz wrote in a autobiographical essay in the magazine Ceramics Monthly. Smithsonian American Art Museum. Lacoste Gallery. External links [ edit ]. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Don Reitz.

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Don reitz ceramics artist biography

Don Reitz in March 19, aged 84 Clarkdale, Arizona. University of Wisconsin—Madison. Elements that had been fashioned into cylindrical shapes were taken by him and modified before being assembled into abstract sculptures, statuettes and table top pieces. Reitz passed away on March 19, , at the age of 84, at his home in Clarkdale, Pennsylvania, due to heart failure.

Don Reitz was an internationally renowned ceramic artist known for his classical pottery forms and intellectually provocative works. He began experimenting with salt added to the clay and hot kilns to create textured surfaces far different from the prevailing cultural winds of the time. Don Reitz was an internationally renowned ceramic artist known for his impetuous approach and his use of centuries-old techniques.

He often worked with unfired clay and rejected traditional figurative approaches, opting instead for deceptively childlike designs that were intellectually provocative. Reitz was a Professor Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin and a member of a small cadre of midcentury artisans who sought to expand the orthodox definitions of ceramics.

He was particularly interested in salt firing, a centuries-old technique that had been neglected in modern ceramics. His work soon assumed longer content and was shown in museums such as the Daum Museum and Mint Museum. Reitz was included in various auctions, including Dress Rehearsal, and was part of a small cadre of midcentury artisans, many of whom started as sign painters.

Reitz, a Professor Emeritus, was impetuous in his approach to ceramics. He once used banana peels to poke mountains into the clay. His work often included immense, integral parts of the piece, demonstrating a muscular anarchy and a spontaneous response. He was even known to salvage dive for objects that he could incorporate into his work.

Ken Ferguson Modern Ceramic Artist. Ruth Duckworth. Laura Ann Fry. John Glick. Edith Heath. Karen Karnes. Cliff Lee. Harrison McIntosh. Maria Longworth Nichols. Winnie Owens-Hart. Kenneth Price. Don Reitz. Daniel Rhodes. Michelle Erickson. Michael Frimkess. Double Wall Footed Bowl. E John Bullard Collection. Hanging Basket. Photo: TMP. Covered Jar with Branch Finial.

Broccoli Bowl. John Bullard Collection. Trophy Bowl. Photo: Daniel Swadener. Sara Series Shield. Monumental Covered Jar from Sarah Series. This Too Will Pass!! Platter-Sarah Series.