Nestled between Burlingame Ranch and the Maroon Creek Club, the former home of artists Paul and Ginny Soldner is unlike any other property in Aspen.
One of the five buildings, an A-frame, has a wall so steep it’s almost vertical — a strategy to maximize solar heat in the wintertime. Another structure, in the shape of a beehive, is dizzying in its symmetry, and vibrant with its gallery of Ginny’s paintings. Lichen grows on the exterior of a chalet-style residence; much like Paul’s studio for ceramics, it features stones he gathered himself from the sprawling former field behind the property.
“My folks were all about really encouraging people to take risks, to try things, and these buildings exude that,” said Stephanie Soldner, the daughter of Paul and Ginny. She now oversees the property, lives onsite and leads tours.
“I really believe that when people come here, they're so astonished by the environment that they're in that they tend to open up,” Stephanie said over tea in the eclectic A-frame earlier this year. “People sometimes walk in and say, ‘Oh, my soul feels at home here.’”
Her tours highlight the unique design of each structure, built by hand throughout the latter half of the 20th century on what was once an abandoned potato field. But each walkthrough is more than a crash course in distinctive architecture, as Stephanie speaks about the Soldners’ philosophy and the impact they had on fellow creatives.
Paul Soldner co-founded the Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass Village, taught at the Claremont colleges in California, and mentored some of the Roaring Fork Valley’s best-known contemporary artists, like Kris Cox and Alleghany Meadows.
He held seven patents for pottery equipment, and pioneered a kiln firing technique called “American Raku.” Ginny was also an artist — a painter and poet — and together, they fostered a sense of community that encouraged curiosity and experimentation. (Paul, in particular, would orchestrate parties with students from Anderson Ranch, and continued to host gatherings after Ginny died in 1995.)
“They both just had a constant inquisitiveness, they also, as I mentioned, really wanted to encourage people to take risks and not be afraid of failure,” Stephanie said.
When Stephanie inherited the place after Paul died in 2011, she had to take some chances herself to preserve her family’s legacy. At the time, she was “land rich and cash poor,” she said.
“I really had no idea how I was going to go about taking care of this place, let alone figuring out what to do with it in the future,” she said.
So she designated a wildlife conservation easement on part of the property, which brought in some funding and tax credits to ensure Stephanie could take care of the property through her lifetime. And a few years ago, she established a nonprofit, which technically rents the land from her family; the organization is focused on the long-term potential for what is now called the “Soldner Center for the Arts and Innovation.”
“Paul and Ginny were so community-oriented,” Stephanie said. “They loved having all kinds of people come through, I knew that it needed a life, and it needs energy.”
The nonprofit status is relatively new — just a few years old.
But a National Council first convened about a decade ago to form a mission and vision for the place oriented around “curiosity, creativity and community.”
Stephanie said the center has already implemented tours and workshops to fulfill phase one of the vision. (This summer, programs include workshops on writing, fashion design, ceramics and tea ceremonies; the season’s tour schedule kicked off on June 6).
Now, she said, it’s time to think about “phase two” — the development of a residency program with some small casitas onsite for participants and staff.
An artist in the program might go work at Anderson Ranch; a scientist could collaborate with the Aspen Center for Physics; an instrumentalist could work with the Aspen Music Festival and School. And when they come back to the Soldner Center at the end of the day, “the idea is that they would have an opportunity to get to know each other, to cross pollinate, to perhaps come up with some ideas they hadn't ever thought about before,” Stephanie said.
Stephanie said this grand vision for the Soldner Center requires a master plan, which is now in the early stages of development with some board members, architects, designers and land use professionals.
It’s going to take several years to finalize, and it’ll need county review and approval. Stephanie said she’ll be willing to adapt to different outcomes, but she’s optimistic about the prospects, citing a quote often attributed to Goethe, the German poet.
“It is, ‘Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.’” Stephanie said, adding later: “It's my dream and hope, based on Goethe’s quote, that we have to begin it and try.”
