The Artist
Paul Buckner was born in 1933 in Seattle, Washington. He received a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Washington, and a Masters of Fine Arts degree from Claremont Graduate School in Claremont, California. He spent a year of advanced study at the Slade School, University College, London, as a Fulbright scholar in 1961-62. He also served in the U.S. Coast Guard during the Korean War.
Buckner joined the University of Oregon faculty in 1962 and retired in June 1995. He was head of the sculpture department during much of his tenure. His thirty-three years of teaching and sculptural practice influenced the program and its students. As he said, “the forms of the human figure are source enough for a life’s work.”
His creative work can be seen across the region in over twenty-five collections including Timberline Lodge; Olympic College, Bremerton, Washington; Salem Civic Center; University of Oregon Museum of Art, Eugene; Scripps College, Claremont, California; and numerous ecclesiastical and private collections. Mr. Buckner carved the 14 Stations of the Cross that were installed at St. Mary’s in 1981. He passed away on February 1, 2014.
The Holy Water Stoup
At the Easter Vigil Service in 1978, St. Mary’s congregation participated in the blessing of a Holy Water Stoup carved by Paul Buckner. It was a memorial to William Stubbs, a long time member of St. Mary’s.
A Holy Water Stoup is a basin near the entrance of the Nave at the back of the church that contains holy water. It is appropriate to make the sign of the cross with the holy water when entering the church, recalling that it is by the water of baptism that we enter the church, the Body of Christ.
