Hajnal Gyeviki

Ceramicist

©Zsolt Sosterics

©Hajnal Gyeviki

©Zsolt Sosterics

©Hajnal Gyeviki

Nature nourishing ceramics

Hajnal studies eco-friendly materials and methods to work with
Her chosen material shapes her at least as much as she shapes it
She hopes to explore her own natural glazes

Hajnal Gyeviki practically absorbed the love of ceramics and the humility needed to process it with breast milk: her mother is renowned ceramic artist Sára Magdolna Tóth. "My first solo work was a bird carved from a piece of porcelain found in my mother’s workshop, which I made at the age of three and am still happy with today," she says. The young designer lives on a farm, where she spends a lot of time studying plants, sustainable nutrition and permaculture. Her current plan is to experiment with the use of plant-based ashes and minerals for ceramic purposes. Sustainability is not only an aspect of design, but the basis of her everyday life and her main source of inspiration.

Interview

©Zsolt Sosterics

©Zsolt Sosterics

How do tradition and innovation combine in your work?: I think the traditional or the archaic are close to the contemporary in many ways, be it function, technique or aesthetics. So far, I’ve always worked with traditional methods, but I don’t rule out the possibility of innovation in the use of material, for example.
What do you like best about your job?: The near-earth experience, the anthropomorphic nature of the clay, its expressive power and the many possibilities it carries for solving a complex problem.
What do you think makes an object really good?: It must fit into your natural and cultural environment, affect others and express something of the soul of the creator. The hardest part of my job right now is to transcend myself.
Is your activity related to any local tradition?: Yes, I would like to get the raw materials and the tools from as close as possible, to find out what can be found in my immediate environment. Even if I can’t effectively apply all of these in my work, they may still be conceptual in nature or expressive.

Hajnal Gyeviki is an expert artisan: she began her career in 2015 and she started teaching in 2022