Pottery

In accordance to the low-fi, off-grid statement of the Kék Tanya / Blue Farm, I regularily fire my earthenware pottery with wood. The clays are natural clays sourced from the Carpathian Basin, and I have experimented with clays especially from the pit the farm building was originally built out of as well. I shape my pots on a manual kick-wheel, or sometimes using only my hands using techniques that date back even to the Stone Age. I enjoy making objects that are decorative as well as suitable for use. I believe that archaic man also created life into space around him in such a way that its use made it beautiful at the same time. Even as we define the word: "Creation," it is the direct product of the Creator itself. This may be interpreted to be the direct materialisation of the soul on Earth as we know it, evoking a transcendent state in form.

My favorite shape is the jug and its variations. I also like to make smaller, decorative chandeliers, or mugs and bowls. I can also produce series, but I also have a fondness for creating unique items. All of them have a speciality in their technical execution.

I am only able to fire if the potters' kiln is full. So, in the case of a unique order I am only able to fullfill the request with a deadline if I am able to fill the kiln.

The pottery can be à la nature, polished, glazed only on the inside, or glazed on the inside and out. Their capacity to hold water increases in this order. According to fragility, polished pottery is the strongest, as the clay particles are compressed in the process of the making.

The color of the pot is defined by the oxides that are found in the clay, the chemical reaction of the flames, the technique of the firing process and the oxides applied in the glazes. Because the direction of the flames cannot be entirely controlled, the endproduct always holds surprises, which adds to their magic. The pictures in the gallery bring forth the range of colors that can be produced. Some of the items of the gallery are for sale, others can be partially reproduced.
The shape of the pots is also influenced by the firing temperature. I personally prefer to fire at a high temperature, so the pots slightly melt into a more compact form. In these temperatures, some pottery starts to melt, producing all sorts of interesting shapes that deter from the perfect circle.

I find pleasure in holding workshops, courses either at the Blue Farm, or elsewhere. I have experience in other cultures both through volunteers and myself growing up in the United States and traveling around Europe with my work. I was in the last class of the pottery department in the vocational school in Hódmezővásárhely, one of the most famous centers of Hungarian pottery. The daily training was an intense two years between 2012 and 2014. Since then I had spent 5 years studying traditional pottery and 5 years reconstructing archeological finds for historical re-enactors. In the years I also had the honor through a national grant to spend one week each at the workshops of some of the best potters nationwide. With the production of historical reconstructions from the bronze age to the late medieval ages I was able to travel throughout Central Europe. Today I like to utilise this knowledge to create my own forms. Throughout the years I had built five potters' kilns alone and with groups, and apart from this I had directed many pitfires.
I had a fellow carpenter construct a cartwheel for me to the likes of the bronze age - medieval potters' general tool. It is great for engaging the audience at events. The casual bystander can get a couple of seconds' worth of intense, hands-on experience of a manual potters' wheel without having to immerse themselves deeper into the art of throwing.
I enjoy teaching both regionally and internationally. In the summer of 2024 I had the particularly avid audience of potters from Paris and Marseille at the Blue Farm with the cooperative organisation of Manestèque Atelier-boutique solidaire.

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