Daniel Leș

Casa Olarului

Ceramicist

©Matei Plesa

©Sorin Onisor

©Matei Plesa

©Ingrid Fedor

Mixing tradition with a simple life in pottery

Daniel uses traditional techniques from the Dacian times
He started experimenting with clay in his father’s workshop as a child
His creations reflect his love for people, rural life, nature and God

Living in Maramureș, one of the most beautiful regions of Romania, Daniel Leș appreciates the values of simple life, such as authenticity, inner peace and tranquillity. His father, the painter and potter Ioan Leș, taught him pottery, drawing, painting and ceramic modelling. The life in his grandparents' village has inspired every aspect of his work. He built his own studio over two decades ago and uses old techniques – known since the time of Dacia – working only with clay, water and fire. Daniel is a master in the art of figurative ceramics, his creations being included in numerous exhibitions and museums worldwide. In 2005, he opened "Casa Olarului" (The Potter’s Guesthouse) together with his wife, where visitors can attend pottery demonstrations and take lessons.

Where

Interview

©Matei Plesa

©Matei Plesa

How would you define what you do?: I carry on the tradition and honour the memory of old masters. I convey that every vessel is precious because I made it with my hands. I combine the art of pottery with the one of modelling when I build the characters from the village of my childhood, or even from the contemporary village.
In what way is your craft linked to the territory?: In 1780, there were 50 potters in my town. After 160 years, their number had dropped to seven. The processing of clay and the techniques used in modelling vessels did not differ much from the techniques of other ceramic centres in the country – the objects made in the centre of Baia Sprie belong to the family of glazed and unglazed Romanian ceramics. Today, my workshop is the only one open here.
How do you express tradition and innovation in your work?: The technique I use is a traditional one, passed down from generation to generation. What I bring that is new to pottery is that I make it available to people: creating objects that carry them to the ancients, to the settlement – I bring up the past in every vessel – but they can take it home and make it part of their present.
What does well made mean to you?: A vessel is well made when it conveys something to me. It doesn't have to be perfect. You can often see the traces of my fingers or the tools I use on the surface of the objects I make, in the same way that we bear the traces of the experiences we go through and it is the imperfections that make us special.

Daniel Leș is a master artisan: he began his career in 1992 and he started teaching in 2005