Many excellent and extensively researched works have appeared on the folk art of Kalocsa, a town in the Eastern part of Hungary, generally introducing only a certain aspect of this culture. Some studies emphasize the particular characteristics of its embroidery while others present its local history.

This book was written for those who are curious about the birthplace of Kalocsa’s folk art, the artists who live there, and their treasury of patterns. It is for readers interested in its history, development, and technique of embroidery, riselin, and painting. If the reader happens to take interest in a particular design, instructions for hand or machine embroidery are provided for tablecloths and runners.

The historical overview of Kalocsa in this book escorts its readers on a short trip through time in order to broaden the scope of understanding of the area’s folk art. We can follow and see the essential conditions of change for Kalocsa’s industrial artists, the folk attire tradition, and its adaptation in a new generation. The illustrations depict the treasures found in attics, dresser drawers, and cupboards: documents of an age that speaks through delicate forms and designs.

Kalocsa’s characteristic technique of painting is discussed in one of the chapters and is accompanied by many pictures, providing a deeper knowledge of this form of art. Here we see motifs found on the outer walls of houses, on furniture, and even on porcelain and painted eggs. We are allowed a glimpse into the kitchen of a dilapidated house in Homokmégy which will surely crumble in a few years, sadly burying the traces of a once blossoming folk culture. We visit an elderly woman in Szakmár whose earthen house bears beams dating back to 1826 and a dresser from 1901. One chapter consists of several interviews where we may read about the inhabitants’ lifestyles and some of their customs, all conjured up in each person’s own style of speaking.

Before the folk artists reveal the secrets of their handiwork, we become acquainted with them and are shown samples of their favorite patterns of embroidery. We are shown how their embroidery became more colorful, learn about the system of their compositions, the colors they use, the skills they have perfected, and how they try to make a living in this day and age. Practical guides and useful advice, as well as drawings and photos of each phase help to explain the various techniques of hand and machine embroidery. The book is richly illustrated with color photographs of Kalocsa, its people and its folk art. The final part of the book presents almost 80 needlework treasures, tablecloths, runners, pillows and other items decorated by Kalocsa folk artists.

Author and photographer: Kati Fejér. Hardcover with dust jacket, 248 pages. Published in 2006 in Budapest, Hungary. Bilingual: full text is in Hungarian and English side by side.
Table of contents:
Introduction 6
Historical outline 8
A stroll through the city 12
Meeting the ladies and a young man 46
Garments 64
Ornamental folk painting 88
Hand embroidery 110
Practical guide 140
Machine embroidery 144
Decorating patterns 152
Samples of the art 180

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