Don Reitz

Renowned potter Don Reitz is credited for bringing salt glaze pottery in the United States to the height of its popularity. Reitz first began creating art at Kutztown State College in Pennsylvania in 1957 when he was 30 years old, an opportunity which was granted to him by the G.I. bill for his service in the Navy. He went on to receive his MFA at New York State School of Ceramics at Alfred University in 1962, where he was first introduced to salt-glazing by Dick Leach. Reitz writes, “I remembered what Peter Voulkos once said: ‘There are no rules, only concepts.’ I was living my life this way, but I had been living art by the rules. Salt changed that for me.”

Salting pottery was not common at the time, although the practice dated back to its practical applications in the 12th century. Drawn to the physicality of the salting process, Reitz wanted to share his knowledge of the underutilized technique. In 1963, he held his first summer session as an instructor at Penland School of Crafts and continued to return there every summer until 1982.

For 26 years (1962-1988), Reitz taught Ceramics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. When he attended Pennnsylvania State University’s first Supermud conference in 1966, he met Peter Voulkos, who became a life-long friend. As Reitz continued to teach, his interest grew in constructing his own kilns, and in the late 1980s, he built his own wood fired anagama kiln. He spent his retirement in Clarksdale, Arizona, where he continued to experiment with varying forms and techniques in ceramics until his death in 2014.

Ceramics Monthly named Reitz one of the greatest living ceramicists twice: in 1988 and 2001. Reitz was deeply involved in the ceramics community as President and Fellow of the National Council on The Education of Ceramic Arts, trustee of the North Central Region of the American Craft Council, and a board member of the World Craft Council. Reitz’s work is held in the collections of the Weismann Art Museum, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, High Museum of Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum, and Mint Museum of Craft + Design, among others. In 2004, the Chazen Museum of Art in Madison, Wisconsin held a retrospective of Reitz’s work.

[Source: Museum Staff]