After teaching sculpture and drawing for several years, Gertraud started her own Studio in 1987 in West Hoathly. The first students arrived and since then the Studio has expanded greatly.

Gertraud says 'Teaching individuals and working artistically myself at the same time was a great and unique discovery for me. The mutual support and inspiration are a great asset for each others' development.'

She exhibits through the Surrey Sculpture Society, Manchester Art House and other galleries and sells her work to private clients.

'What moves me most are the processes of development in space and time - metamorphosis! Working in sequences, where one form relates and develops to the next is expressive of a wholeness which relates to life as such. It is important to me that every sculpture is in itself an organic whole, where each part relates to the whole like a limb to a body or a branch to the tree trunk.'

'I don't buy my stones. I find them in the bed of the river Sera. There I find my boulders which I carve. I am intrigued by their journey from high up, down the river, their biography manifesting itself in fault lines, hardness and softness, texture, colour and shape. Usually sculptors want a flawless piece with universal hardness and texture, without surprises. But it is this individuality of every piece which speaks to me and invites my creativity. When I start a piece I have no model and no concept: the theme slowly emerges through the dialogue. Working mainly by hand without air-pressure tools, I feel an atonement with the stone, which is my small contribution to the violating of the landscape and the thrown away stone.