Trudy Strauss Ceramics

Trudy Strauss, a local Denver artist, was born Gertrude Nachmann on March 25, 1915, in Rastatt, Germany. She is the second of the five daughters born to Karl and Elsa Nachmann. Trudy dropped out of high school in 1933, when Hitler came to power, due to the rise in anti-Semitism. She then enrolled in the Conservatory of Music in Karlsruhe, Germany, where she had a Jewish teacher. In 1935, she left Germany for America. She first traveled to Paris to visit a friend, and from there, she took the ship in Le Havre to New York. A few months after Trudy left for the United States, her sister, Rosie, left for Palestine. Their parents and three other sisters were all eventually able to join her there. All four of Trudy’s sisters permanently settled in Israel. When Trudy arrived in New York, she lived with relatives and worked as a housekeeper. Then, she met her husband, Alfred Strauss, and they moved to Pittsburg. Next, they moved to a kibbutz on a farm, where their first daughter, Miriam, was born. Then, in 1942, they moved to Sharon, Pennsylvania, where their second daughter, Judy, was born. In 1947, they moved to Denver, Colorado. They lived on 44th and Zuni when their son, Rick, was born. In 1952, Trudy started working as a piano teacher, charging $1.50 a lesson. Then, in the early 1960s, she began making ceramics at the Opportunity School, and in 1968, Trudy joined the Colorado Potters Guild.