Otto Gerharz

Born 1927 in Heiferskirchen,

Gerharz began his education in art, but this was interrupted by WWII, and when he returned to his education in 1946, it was at the Fachschule in Höhr-Grenzhausen in the chemical-technical field, leading to being an engineer in ceramics two years later.

In 1951, he became plant manager at Ruscha and was responsible for developing new glazes, including Vulcano. He worked closely at Ruscha with designer Kurt Tschörner, and when Gerharz began his own company in 1964, Tschörner did the designs. The combination of these two talents resulted in some amazingly glazed Fat Lava pieces of pottery. When Gerharz retired, his son, Otto Gerharz Jr. took over operations.

Vulkano Decor Ruscha Form By Kurt Tschörner Glaze by Otto Gerharz Snr