We all heard about them, we adored them, but here at FUNZINE, we’re not the kind of folks who’d get settled with just that. We had to see them in the making. Especially that Easter is upon us. Of course, we’re talking about those awe-inducing, brilliantly-colored, mysteriously created Easter eggs. Heading to the Museum of Agriculture’s Easter exhibition, we met not one, but a whole family of egg decorating artists.
The Rózsas are a friendly bunch; a happy, everyday family. At first sight. But when you get to the “And what exactly do you do?” part, you’ll stop talking and start listening. With glowing eyes, trust me.
The mum, Mrs. György Rózsa uses the batik technique. Not only has she learnt the whole art by herself from old ethnography books, she even invented a new tool that’s less dangerous then the traditional one (which was basically the tiny copper end of shoelaces) and much easier to use. Even for humble mere mortals, like us. “It all started when I looked at those beautifully decorated Easter eggs one spring and I decided to try it myself. Then August came and I was still doing it. It turned December and I was still decorating the eggs. So I thought I might just stay with it. I went to the Museum of Ethnography to have them judged by the folk art expert team. Oh God, was I excited. But they just loved them”, she remembered fondly.
The daughter, Edit accompanied her mother for the museum’s exhibitions and fairs. She was only around ten. One day her mum sneaked off to a short coffee break and left Edit at the stand. As she was kind of bored, the (then) little girl started to copy her mum just to kill time. “After a while, I looked up and got really scared as there was a huge crowd staring at me in front of our stand”, says Edit who got the Young Master of Folk Arts title when she was 27. Her works (both with batik and carving techniques) represent a perfect combo of traditions and new trends. Constantly searching for innovative designs, she also has her trademarks well known in folk art circles: star patterns and little birds.
The dad, György Rózsa is, wait for it, an egg-smith. Aye, that means he’s shoeing eggs. Legend holds that long ago apprentice blacksmiths used to dare each other saying that a real blacksmith could shoe even an egg without breaking it. Going for the most difficult kind of egg-smithing, Mr. Rózsa shoes the eggs from inside. Truly unbelievable. He prefers ostrich eggs to chicken ones as “they’re more likely to survive” him. Having been an aircraft engineer during the war, he’s used to tackling huge objects as well as tiny ones. After the political changes left him unemployed, he decided to go with the family hobby. His works are exhibited all over the world,from London to the Vatican.
Oh, and apparently, the mini members of the family have already grabbed the tools, too…
The Rózsas’ next workshop will be in the frame of the next NAWA meeting on March 26th where guests are also welcome! Or you might contact the family at +36.1.306.6170 (ask for György Rózsa)!
Franciscan House
1025 Budapest, Szilfa utca 4.
Tel.: +36.1.392.5464 (venue), +36.20.365.3169 (NAWA)
www.nawabudapest.com