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Ishmael Soto(1932-2017) Austin Texas Studio Pottery Sgraffito Owl Plate 10.75".<br>No cracks, chips, or restorations.<br><br>Ishmael Soto, longtime Austin ceramicist and teacher, died Monday after a battle<br>with cancer. He was 84.<br><br>“Ishmael’s passing is a loss for us all in the community,” said Sylvia Orozco,<br>director of Mexic-Arte Museum. “He was a great human being, teacher and artist.<br>Ishmael was one of the first, if not the first Mexican-American Austinite to<br>become a professional visual artist.”<br><br>Artist and teacher Ishmael Soto died Feb. 27 at age 84. Contributed by Tahila<br>Mintz<br><br>Soto won many prizes and was exhibited frequently in group and solo shows.<br><br>A native Austinite, Soto earned his first degree from the University of Texas<br>and his second from the famed Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan. His 57th<br>Annual Potters Show and Sale took place in December 2016. He taught ceramics at<br>UT for seven years — one of the first Hispanics to teach in the art department<br>— then at St. Edward’s University and Austin Community College for a total of<br>more than 30 years..<br><br>“He was a modest, generous mentor and major inspiration to many artists,” said<br>his widow, Cynthia Leigh. “He taught thousands of students over his lifetime.<br>Many of his students decided to become artists from his encouragement and<br>support. He did not try to mold his students to imitate his work; he encouraged<br>them to follow their own artistic path and draw on their own talents”<br>tw250
