The folk art of Hungary is known to be colorful, floral and decorative. Dating back to the ninth century, with colorful embroidery, pottery and lace, these folk arts are part of the Hungarian cultural identity.
This tradition continues in artist Ibolja Mesaros Stinehart. Stinehart, known as Ibi, (“Ee-bee”), has begun an art business offering porcelain cups, plates and other items, hand painted in the tradition Hungarian folk style with florals, birds, and animals.
Stinehart was born in the City of Subotica, which today lies on the southern border of Hungary in the northernmost region of Serbia. When Ibi was born, Subotica was still in the former Yugoslavia. The town is still of about one third ethnic Hungarian population today.
Ibi had graduated high school and was attending college in her hometown when, after much deliberation, she followed her brother, sister and mother and immigrated to the United States in the mid-1980s. Today, she works as a dental hygienist at Baldino Dental Arts in Allentown.
One day two years ago, Stinehart, who had always painted and made arts and craft items, made a personalized cup for her sister Valerie, as a birthday gift.
“I have always been exposed to art since growing up in Subotica. The city center and the architecture are beautiful,” she says.
Stinehart painted the birthday gift cup with a floral pattern with reds, blues, greens, pinks, and violets. She posted a photo of the painted patterned cup on social media, and it proved to be a big hit. To her surprise, people who saw the cup wanted to know if they she could make them one of their own.
“I was wondering if I could figure out the whole process of starting a business when one customer sent me a message: ‘Please, make me three mugs, one for my mom, one for my sister and one for me,’” she says. “I started thinking more seriously about the business part of doing art, how much to charge for items, how to ship the items safely, how to advertise, how to create a website and so on. There was excitement that came with sleepless nights.”
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Stinehart works full time and paints at night and on weekends. She had studied to be a dental assistant in Europe before moving to the U.S., and says that the dental training came in handy in terms of the intricate painting that she now does at a small scale that she does.
“I must have a steady hand at both. If I am not steady, I can mess up the painting or a patient may have unnecessary pain in their gums. I don’t wish for either, so I am very careful,” she says.
Ibi creates the patterns and templates with the use of her computer. She meticulously transfers the pattern onto the porcelain cups, plates and pitcher by the use of transfer paper. The alignment must be perfect on the curving pieces.
Once the pattern is applied to the pieces Ibi uses acrylic paint and small brushes. She also uses a magnifying loop to assist in seeing the intricate work.
Cups take a week or more from start to finish. After she paints them, she lets them dry for a few days before doing any touch-up work that is required. She uses a transparent enamel to seal the colors.
“The cups and dishes are microwave safe, but I do recommend gentle handwashing,” she says.
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Stinehart has always had a strong artistic leaning and has always been a maker.
“Besides traditional Hungarian patterns, I have always been drawing and oil painting. I love painting and making art. I could paint all day. I just put on some instrumental jazz and disappear!” she says.
Many of the porcelain pieces are personalized with people’s names, and many of those are gifts.
“Many people who purchase the pieces have ties to Hungary or other eastern European countries. The folk art reminds them of their homeland, their grandmother, or their town. They also work well with the ethnic foods,” she says.
As Stinehart is a relative newcomer to the word of the professional arts, she is full of excitement and energy. Having begun her business on a whim, she is responding to the obvious need for the Hungarian folk art in this area.
“I just started doing art fairs and street fairs. It is a lot of work bringing the porcelain, which must be carefully wrapped. Since most of the work is personalized, the street fairs are helpful to get the work seen and to get my name out there,” she says. “Then people will order with me online. It is still a very personal business.”
Stinehart’s folk art has done well at the recent Allentown Art Walk and at the New Jersey Hungarian Festival in New Brunswick. Her hand-painted soup tureen won 2nd place at the 2023 Art Walk competition.
She says her husband, Mark, is very supportive of the business and helps her with the street fairs and shows. He helps set up and break down, and carefully pack the porcelain.
Her sons, Philip and Daniel, are also supportive, she says. Daniel is also learning the folk art himself. Guided by Ibi, he is assisting with the painting and learning the rest of the business.
“He is a good student, and his work is wonderful,” she says.
Looking to the future, Stineharts’s goal is to one day have her own studio/gallery.
“I would like to have my own studio/gallery where I can display my work and teach small groups to paint,” she says. “I wish to help preserve the folk art for the future generations to enjoy and admire.”
Artist Ibi Stinehart paints a mug in a Hungarian folk-art style.,
