Don Reitz

Don Reitz
Don Reitz in 2009
Born	Donald L. Reitz (1929-11-07)November 7, 1929 Sunbury, Pennsylvania
Died	March 19, 2014(2014-03-19) (aged 84) Clarkdale, Arizona
Alma mater	Kutztown State Teachers College Alfred University
Employer	University of Wisconsin
Known for	Salt glaze pottery
Notable work	Sara Period Clay, Fire, Salt, and Wood
Awards	American Craft Council's Gold Medal
Website	donreitz.com

Donald L. Reitz (November 7, 1929 – March 19, 2014) was an American ceramic artist, recognized for popularizing salt glaze pottery in United States and affectionately nicknamed as "Mr. Salt." He was a teacher of ceramic art at the University of Wisconsin–Madison from 1962 till 1988. During this period, he adapted the pottery firing techinique developed in Middle Ages, which involved pouring salt into the pottery kiln during the firing stage. The method had been in use in Europe but largely unknown in the United States studio pottery.

In 1982, Reitz was in a serious car accident involving a truck and was hospitalized for several months. While recovering from his injury, he began to create a series of ceramic pieces that came to be known by the collective name the Sara Period, named after his niece who sent him drawings which he incorporated into his large clay pieces. In the 1980s and 90s, he was involved in collaborative wood firing, which had him traveling to many pottery studios to use different kilns for their characteristic results.

In 2007, Reitz suffered a heart attack and would undergo close to a dozen surgeries, including a valve replacement. Yet again, he continued producing works with the help of studio assistants. Some of the works from this period include totem pole-like cylindrical statues named Kachinas, after the spirit beings in western Pueblo religious beliefs; he spent much of his later years at his residence Clarkdale, Arizona, where he maintained a pottery studio.

Reitz died on March 19, 2014, at the age of 84 of heart failure and was eulogized by The New York Times and the American Craft Council. His works are featured in several museums including the Smithsonian Institution, American Museum of Ceramic Art, and Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Early Life and education

Pitcher, Coffee Pot, and Teapot, 1962 stoneware

Reitz was born on November 7, 1929, in Sunbury, Pennsylvania, just over a week after Black Tuesday. He was raised in Belvidere, New Jersey. He had difficulty in school because of his dyslexia, and therefore preferred working with his hands.

In 1948, he enlisted in the Navy, and served for five years as a diver. He later had several other occupations including working as a butcher. He spent his days as a butcher and would paint at night. He eventually decided to attend college utilizing the G.I. Bill. He attended Kutztown State Teachers College, where he studied painting in the abstract expressionism movement and only discovered his passion for working on the potter's wheel in his last semester. He graduated from the college in 1957 with a bachelor's degree in art education.

Reitz went on to attend Alfred University's New York State College of Ceramics. At first, his work involved functional pieces in the "modernist-style." Reitz graduated from Alfred with a Master of Fine Arts degree in 1962.

1962–1982

Trophy Bowl, ca. 1962 to 1982. Salt-glazed stoneware

Further information: Salt glaze pottery

After graduating from the College of Ceramics, Reitz began teaching at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He took over teaching ceramics, a position that had become available when Harvey Littleton, the previous ceramics teacher, had instead began a glass program at the University.

Teaching allowed him the freedom to explore new techniques and more abstract forms. Early in this period, Reitz began exploring other form of pottery, moving beyond the functional tableware. While attending Kutztown College, he had read an article in Craft Horizons written by Peter Voulkos which had partly inspired his interest in ceramic art. Reitz was influenced by Voulkos' maxim, "No rules, only concepts." Voulkos continued to be his role-model and later colleague. According to Peter Held, curator of ceramics at Arizona State University Art Museum, the two artists "inspired each other with their boundless energy and penchant for disregarding prevailing orthodoxy in teaching and technique."

At Alfred Univesity, he had been exposed to and had began experimenting with salt glaze pottery. He continued to use the technique which he found to be much more attune to his style, as it retained the marks made by the artist's hands. The method results in brownish "luminous colors and a sparkling surface." He taught the method at the University and popularized the method to the point that he earned the affectionate moniker of "Mr. Salt" Some art historians like Martha Drexler Lynn and fellow potters like Phil Rogers have referred to him as a pioneer of salt glaze in US studio pottery.

In 1977, he was named a Fellow of the American Craft Council.

Sara Period

Sara’s Dream, 1984. Earthenware, low-fired salt with engobes

In 1982, Reitz was involved in a serious truck accident. He was hospitalized for several months, at which time, he began a mail correspondence with his niece Sara. His niece, who was receiving treatment for cancer herself, would send him get-well cards which contained pictures she had drawn. Reitz began incorporating her drawings in his ceramics, "tracing them into large platters of clay" and other ceramic vessels.

His series of works during this time came to be know as the Sara Period. Reitz would say of the series, "The Sara series is very important. It was a healing series, a spiritual series, and we both valued it so much." His niece would recover and he would continue to create ceramics well into the 21st century.

Later years

Florida Kachina, 2009. Wood-fired stoneware

Later in the 1980s and 90s, he became involved with wood firing ceramics as a collaboration with several artist, traveling to many ceramics studios to utilize different kilns for their varied effects. In 1988, he was given emeritus status at the University of Wisconsin, but continued to work at his private studio in Clarkdale, Arizona and in collaboration with the Northern Arizona University's Don Bendel in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Reitz was named on Ceramics Monthly's list of "greatest living ceramic artists worldwide" in 1988 and 2001. In 2002, he was awarded the American Craft Council's Gold Medal award.

In 2007, he suffered a heart attack and underwent a series of eleven surgeries, including a valve replacement. However, he continued producing works for several more years, this time, with the help of studio assistants and collaborative artists. He would take elements they molded in cylindrical shapes, modify and assemble them into abstract sculptures, statuettes and table top pieces.

Reitz died of heart failure on March 19, 2014, at his residence in Clarkdale, Arizona; he was 84 years old.

His works are featured in several museums including the Smithsonian Institution's Renwick Gallery in Washington, DC, American Museum of Ceramic Art, Museum of Arts and Design, High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia and Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Notable exhibitions

• Don Reitz: Clay, Fire, Salt, and Wood, touring exhibition in 2005
• Don Reitz at the Belger Arts Center, Kansas City, Missouri, 2012

Sources

• Brandenburg, John (2013-04-17). "Ceramics show's rough expressiveness draws in viewers". The Oklahoman. Archived from the original on 2017-04-12. Retrieved 2017-04-12. {{cite news}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
• Fox, Margalit (2014-03-29). "Don Reitz, Who Made Dirt and Salt Into Art, Dies at 84". The New York Times. Retrieved 2017-04-12. {{cite news}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Held, Peter (2011-08-20). "The Fearless Nature of Being: The Legacy of Don Reitz". Sculpture Objects Functional Art + Design. Archived from the original on 2017-04-12. Retrieved 2017-04-12. {{cite web}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
• Hernandez, Jo Farb (2009-10-01). "Don Reitz: Out of the Ashes". Ceramics: Art and Perception. 77: 3–7. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Koplos, Janet; Metcalf, Bruce (2010-07-31). Makers: A History of American Studio Craft. University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 9780807895832. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Lynn, Martha Drexler (2015). American Studio Ceramics: Innovation and Identity, 1940 to 1979. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300212730. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Peterson, Susan; Peterson, Jan (2002). Working with Clay. Laurence King Publishing. ISBN 9781856693172. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Rogers, Phil (2002). Salt Glazing. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 071364821X. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Shaykett, Jessica (2014-03-25). "Remembering: Don Reitz". American Craft Council. Archived from the original on 2014-03-30. Retrieved 2017-04-16. {{cite web}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
• Spencer, Laura (2012-10-11). "Artist Don Reitz, Art As Discovery At The Belger Arts Center". KCUR-FM. Archived from the original on 2017-04-16. Retrieved 2017-04-16. {{cite news}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
• "Donald L Reitz", United States census, 1930; Sunbury, Northumberland, Pennsylvania; page 6A, line 33, enumeration district 75, Family History film 2341825, National Archives film number T626-2091. Retrieved on 2017-05-15.

External links

• Autobiography
• Video on YouTube – Don Reitz working on a Hexaptych in his studio in Clarkdale, Arizona