Rude Osolnik

Master Woodturner — widely admired as one of the finest wood turners in America, whose legacy continues to inspire craftsmen around the world.

Rude Osolnik was widely admired as one of the finest wood turners in America, and his workshops and seminars were in demand around the world. His bowls and signature candlesticks are collector's items, with pieces held in the permanent collections of the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Atlanta's High Museum, the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, the Yale Museum, the Speed Museum, the Kentucky History Museum, the Mayo Clinic, the Connell Gallery, and many other fine institutions.

In 1992, he was presented the Milner Award — the Governor's Award for Lifetime Achievement — by then Governor Brereton Jones. He is honored by the Commonwealth of Kentucky, which presents the Osolnik Award each year to a selected Kentucky artist.

Rude attended Bradley University in Peoria, IL, where he earned both a BA and MA. In 1937 he accepted a teaching position at Berea College in the Industrial Arts Department, later becoming Chairman of the department and for a time running the Woodcraft Department.

In the 1960s and 70s, Osolnik was a leader of the Southern Highland Handicraft Guild and helped found the Kentucky Guild of Artists and Craftsmen, serving as President of both. He was one of the architects of the Kentucky Guild Train, which first began promoting Kentucky crafts across the state. In 1982, he started the ongoing Berea Crafts Festival.

In 1992, Rude collaborated with fellow craftsmen Ken Sager and Dell Stubbs on a Redwood Burl Coffee Table. View the piece →