In 1933 met Otto Natzler, who had been laid off from a job as a textile designer, although their romance did not blossom until after he divorced his first wife in 1934.

[4] On 11 March 1938, they learned that their works exhibited at the Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne had been awarded a silver medal.

[2] They immediately began preparing to leave for the United States, with the help of Otto's cousin in Los Angeles.

At first, they used a wheel and kiln brought from Vienna, and they made a living by offering individual instruction at their studio as well as selling their work.

Recognition of the Natzlers' work in the United States began in 1938, when they won first prize at the National Ceramic Exhibition at the Syracuse Museum of Fine Arts.

[8] New York Times critic Lisa Hammel remarked in 1986 that her work was "always in equilibrium…Even the most violent glazes are held in a state of restraint by Gertrud's thin, gently curving shapes".

The further the form develops, the more delicate the touch must become until in the end there is simply a describing of the curve, a movement of hands - with the yielding clay in between - that determines the final line.

"[16] The Natzler's pieces Vase, 1965 and Bowl, 1968 were acquired by the Smithsonian American Art Museum as part of the Renwick Gallery's 50th Anniversary Campaign.