Rude Osolnik (1915–2001), was an American woodturner, author, and educator. He is considered an important figure within the American studio woodturning movement and in contemporary woodturning in the United States.[1][2] He was the department head in the woodcraft industry program at Berea College for forty years.[3] Osolnik was elected as an American Craft Council (ACC) honorary fellow in 1994.
Osolnik taught at Berea College in Berea, Kentucky from 1937 until 1978, initially working in the industrial arts department and later as the department head in the woodcraft industry program.[3][4] He took a break from teaching to serve in the U.S. Navy during World War II.[4] He also spent a lot of time working at the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.[6]