The Soldner Center for the Arts and Innovation, a rich cultural art center which has been bringing transformative experiences to both viewers and artists since 2021, recently closed registration for its annual poetry workshop: “A Year of Poetry and Introspection.”
This workshop, done in collaboration with poet, author and friend of the Soldner family, Heather Swan, is dedicated to Ginny Soldner, who along with her husband, Paul, built the center over the course of many decades after purchasing the land in the 1950s. The workshop will include a three-day, in-person gathering at The Soldner Center, and additional meetings will be held over Zoom starting in July and concluding in May of next year.
In speaking with Stephanie Soldner, director of the center and daughter of Paul and Ginny, she stated this program is a special way to not only honor her mother, but to bring new life into the center. Though Ginny’s primary medium of art was painting, she was also what her daughter described as a “shy poet.”
“My mom took workshops and classes from the very early days of Aspen Word, which used to be Aspen Writers Workshop, and she had been influenced to write,” Stephanie told The Sopris Sun. “She was a fairly shy poet, so I have not published her poetry [and] nor did she.”
Stephanie is excited to see how the program, being a year-long as opposed to the single day it was afforded in the past. It began as a nature writing workshop with Swan having been the guide since its inception. Following some participant feedback and a subsequent discussion between Stephanie and Lonnie Buerge, treasurer of The Soldner Center and a fellow poet, they decided to make it a year-long hybrid workshop.
“People said they’d really love it if this wasn’t just one day, if this could carry on for longer than that. So [we] got to thinking, ‘Why not try to make this into a year-long opportunity for a select group of poets?’” Stephanie continued. “They don’t have to be professional. They can be amateur. That’s where we came up with this idea that honors Ginny, and also delves deeper with a year of introspection.”
In addition to the poetry workshop, The Soldner Center has two additional programs slated for 2025. For one, Nicole Gogolak will host “Art In The Open: Plein Air Painting,” which will actually take place on both the summer solstice (June 21) and autumn equinox (Sept. 20).
“[Nicole] is open to anybody who wants to try something different. She’ll be offering different kinds of materials for people to experiment with and I think that will be lovely,” said Stephanie. “Each one of those days will culminate in getting together with some drinks and refreshments in a miniature gallery show here at the center, where participants will be able to appreciate each other’s work. I think that’s a lot of fun.”
Another 2025 program: “Western Kintsugi and American Tea” to be hosted by John Domenico will teach participants the beauty of repairing broken things through the principles of mindfulness and respect. Kintsugi is traditionally recognized as an art form where ceramic bowls are broken and repaired with lacquer and gold dust. For this workshop, participants will discover that there is still value, and perhaps even more beauty, in the work they’ll create after repairing broken items.
“To quote Leonard Cohen, ‘There’s a crack in everything, and that’s how the light gets in.’ It’s that same philosophy, just because something is broken doesn’t mean it’s invaluable,” concluded Stephanie. “In fact, it’s the break and then the repair of that break that becomes even more powerful and beautiful. It’s a beautiful philosophy and way of living with the fragility of life, but at the same time finding ways to be healing and strong.”
Registration is still open for these latter two programs. For more information or to register for upcoming workshops, visit www.soldnercenter.com