Polish artist left her mark on local culture

In her various studios in the East End, designer Irene Pasinski Sailer had her own version of a Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.

"Irene was a member or involved with almost every cultural and artistic group in the city," said Bill Kolana, her former intern and business associate. "And this included memberships in the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and Western Pennsylvania Society of Sculptors.

Irene Pasinski Sailer, of the Blackridge neighborhood in the east suburbs, died on Wednesday, June 19, 2002, at the LGAR Health and Rehabilitation Center, Swissvale. She was 78.

"It's been reported that the city of Pittsburgh ranks fourth as the best city for arts in the country," Kolana said. "And Irene certainly helped bring it up a couple of notches."

Kolana recalled how he started his design career with Mrs. Sailer. "We both had Polish backgrounds. Our families were friends. While I was still attending Carnegie Mellon, I would work for Irene in the summers.

"It was fun working for Irene," Kolana said. "She helped me to produce quality work, which helped when I joined her firm after I graduated from CMU. Even after I bought the business from Irene in the 1990s, she continued to consult for me. Irene lived to work."

In 1956, Irene Pasinski began her career as a designer following her return from Europe, where she had studied at both the Ecole du Louvre and Institut d'Art Applique a l'industrie in France on a Fulbright scholarship.

Irene and her husband, Edmund Pasinski, whom she met while attending CMU, spent five years in Germany, where he was employed as a civilian for the Army. Irene Pasinski was commissioned to design china for several of the prestigious German china houses.

Upon returning to Pittsburgh, she opened her first studio at the corner of Centre and Morewood avenues in Oakland, and later a studio in Penn Circle South, where she specialized in product design, graphics, packaging interiors and sign systems. She also taught in the Department of Pointing and Design at Carnegie Mellon University.

Upon Edmund Pasinski's death in the early 1970s, she married Paul G. Sailer, an avid collector of Pennsylvania glass. The collection they amassed was donated to the Senator John Heinz Regional History Center. Paul Sailer died in 2000.

Through the years, her one-person shows were exhibited at the Ward-Nasse galleries, both in Boston and New York City; the Chautauqua Art Association Gallery in Chautauqua, N.Y.; Lincoln Center and Avery Fisher Hall, New York City; and Seton Hill College, Westmoreland County.

In 1976, she represented the United States at an International Design Workshop as a guest of the Hong Kong government and the Hong Kong Industrial Design Association.

Born and raised in Herron Hill, Irene Waichler was one of three children in the family of Anthony and Mary Lorenz Waichler, who had emigrated from Poland in the early 1900s. Before World War II, Anthony Waichler was employed with the Polish Consulate and, in later years, with the Polish National Alliance, both in Pittsburgh.

As youngsters, the Waichler children, along with their parents, attended the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church on Polish Hill and involved themselves with numerous Polish gatherings, festivals and events.

While attending Schenley High School in Oakland, she attended Saturday art classes at the Carnegie Library in Oakland. In 1941, following graduation from Schenley High School, she enrolled at what was then Carnegie Institute of Technology, where she received her degree in industrial design.

Richard Waichler recalled how his sister tried to impress his children and the children of friends with the theme that education was the key to success. "Irene, my sister, Jane, and I all graduated from CMU. We were the first in our family to receive a college education.

"Irene was a very kind and caring woman with a big heart," her brother said. "She never hesitated to help someone who was in need. She had endless energy and would see any task she undertook to its conclusion."

Mrs. Sailer is survived by her stepdaughter, Judith Rocker of Ohio; two stepgrandchildren and three stepgreat-grandchildren; and a brother, Richard A. and his wife, Nancy, of Oak Park, Ill. She also was the sister of the late Jane McShane.

Friends may call from 3 to 9 p.m. Sunday at H. Samson Inc., 537 N. Neville St., Oakland. Services and interment are private. A memorial service will be held at 4:30 p.m. Monday at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Fifth and Shady avenues, Shadyside.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, 6300 Fifth Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15232 or the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh, 937 Liberty Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15222.