Johanna Brückner

Ceramicist

When the ceramic bell rings

Johanna works on an electric potter's wheel and uses kilns partly powered by solar panels
Her pieces feature intricate patterns, ornaments and lettering
She also enjoys working with glass to make her ceramic pieces

Johanna Brückner creates door signs, nameplates and house numbers which she crafts with slab-building techniques. After moving to Landshut, she discovered the Ceramics Vocational School, one of only two specialised ceramic institutions in Germany. Drawn to working with her hands and already fond of drawing, Johanna decided to apply to the school. “My passion and early experiences were essential to admission, as I had to submit creative works. I learned everything, from shaping clay to glaze chemistry,” she says. There, Johanna gained the skills and confidence to pursue ceramics professionally. Today, she works extensively with patterns, ornaments and lettering, and she enjoys including glass in her works, too.

Interview

How does your craft relate to Landshut?: Landshut has a long and significant tradition in pottery. The city is considered the centre of ceramic production in Bavaria, primarily due to the abundant clay deposits in the region.
Is there something your clients usually do not know about your craft?: Many clients ask me for RAL, which is a standardised colour matching system, that I work with to match their shutters or doors. I explain to them that unfortunately, there are no official RAL colours for ceramic engobes and glazes.
Why does that happen with colours?: The colour effects of ceramics result from natural materials and firing processes that can never be exactly reproduced. Therefore, I can only approximate tones but cannot guarantee precise RAL colours. Nevertheless, I strive to make the hues as fitting and harmonious as possible.
In what ways have you incorporated technology into your work?: I now use an electric potter's wheel and have two kilns partly powered by solar panels, which make the work significantly more comfortable. However, my basic processing of clay has not really changed.

Johanna Brückner is an expert artisan: she began her career in 1995