„Drinking from the cup is a way of life”, he aptly put it Simon Edina ceramic artist one of your customers. It's an idea I can easily identify with as we nibble on butter-parsley fried chicken thighs with deep-brown honey beets and carrots from the ceramic azure plate. I visited Edina Simon's home and workshop in Esztergom, where I had such a panoramic view of the basilica that I thought for a second that if I really wanted to, I could just stroke the dome. But it is not a miracle here, it is an obvious decorative element, like the many cherry blossoms, cachepots and birds in the garden, all of which proclaim the creative power that lives within the walls of the St Thomas' home.
„After the last station, take a sharp left, then a sign will tell you you're in the right place,” say the locals as you make your way to the top of the Calvary. If I were a painter, I couldn't paint a more fabulous scene in Simon Edina's portico: narrow cobbled streets surround the house, with a small chapel on the hilltop overlooking the basilica. But I can't get lost in Amélie's wonderful world now, I have to concentrate on my subject, which is, of course, food, or rather serving.
Art, kitchen
"It's all about the view," I tell Simon Edina, as we arrange the food on the chosen plate for the photo shoot. By the way, I heard this from an old food photographer colleague when I asked him to share a few tips. And another photographer taught me that for authenticity, it is very important to take the picture from the angle you are looking at the food while eating.
Functional beauties
„But, more importantly, it has to appeal to the emotions,” says Edina Simon, and we both agree that a dish served in a special dishware makes the dining experience even more fulfilling. „Most people have several different mugs at home, and often the mood determines which one they drink their morning coffee from. I create objects that are fun to live with, that you can hold on to and relate to. And when I create, I experience my mood, my feelings, and work them into the clay, but of course I don't ignore the needs of my customers or the seasons.” It is these that give life to, or rather preserve, the wonders of nature in the most beautiful sets, such as the poppy, the spring field, or now, the rosehip. In addition to beauty, Edina also pays attention to practicality: her ceramic porcelain dinnerware is dishwasher-safe and can be microwaved.
No two are alike
As we rummage around the serving area for a pickle dish, we notice that the plates and bowls we use are very similar, but all slightly different. „I can't make two alike, and I don't aim to. One of the most exciting things about the process is that there's a lot of contingency,” I find out, and really, what did I expect, this isn't IKEA, this isn't a production line.
Connection with the earth
And what else, besides uniqueness, attracted you to this career? I'll find out after our lunch, sipping ginger tea. „Originally I wanted to be a graphic designer, but I didn't get into Fine Arts. But as luck would have it, I ended up working as a valet for a ceramicist.” Even as a child, Edina loved to carve and make clay, so being exposed to clay was a familiar experience for her.
„I had the same comforting feeling I had as a child with this old new experience: it was so ancient and natural to be connected to the land. For me it gives me an experience of wholeness, because it has all four elements. Clay is the element of earth, water is needed to shape it, air is needed to dry it, and fire is needed to burn it.” Edina didn't have to say goodbye to graphic art completely either, as there are plenty of patterned plates, bowls, cups, mugs and vases in the workshop. „One of the greatest joys is to make colourful, drawn dishes, so I can live out all my artistic desires at once.”
Art therapy
And this joy can be shared with others, and we can not only be passive recipients of unique ceramics, but also get closer to this special world in a series of workshops. „Once you feel the tension release of the clay and the flow of the wet clay spinning on the disc, you will be my returning guest,” says the ceramicist in his farewell.
The fifth element
As creators, we ourselves will be the fifth element - this is the seed of a thought I sow on the way home, but the sublime realisation soon fades as I ponder, after so many special ceramic dishes, how I will make the chipped one-plate plates feel good to serve dinner to the family. I think I'll soon be joining the ranks of the liberated clay tappers.#
