How the green-flamed one became Gmunden’s landmark

It is quiet in the painting workshop of Gmunden ceramics. 24 ceramic painters are highly concentrated on painting the plates, bowls and cups with the typical motifs of the world-famous manufacturer. Four of them are also skilled at flaming. This is the term used to apply paint when a hose (“painting horn”) is used instead of a brush. This technique is only used in Gmunden and has been passed down from generation to generation for centuries.

Each plate is unique

When the flamers quickly draw their bows over the plates, it looks child’s play. “But it takes about two years to master the flamer,” says Sabrina Santner. The 40-year-old from Grünau has been a ceramic painter and flamer for 25 years. “Experience and routine are the be-all and end-all,” she says. “You have to guide the painting horn at the right speed, there has to be just as much space for the last bow as for all the others, and the line has to end exactly on the dot.” Santner flames 800 to 1000 pieces of tableware a day. “Sometimes there are two or three that don’t turn out well, but we can usually send them all off for firing,” she says. Santner loves her job. “I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.” The fact that she has to concentrate fully for eight hours every day doesn’t bother her. “Other people have to do that in their jobs too,” she says simply.

The flaming and painting of the dishes is the reason why every product from Gmundner Keramik is unique. “Each of us has our own style,” says Sabrina Santner. “I can tell straight away whether I flamed a plate or one of my colleagues did it.”

Roots in the 18th century

The pottery trade in Gmunden can be traced back to the High Middle Ages. Originally, the colours were dabbed onto ceramics with sponges – or “poured” as it is also called. Archaeological finds show that the first spraying techniques were used in the city from the 18th century onwards – initially in a rather robust manner. The flame-shaped streaks of colour that ran down the stripes on the sides of the jugs are, according to some experts, the reason why the spraying technique was eventually referred to as “flames”.

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