Potters from Szentes
1. Berényi family
Workshop of Bálint Berényi 
Products of Bálint BerényiBálint Berényi used to live at 14 Jókai Street and got his licence to carry on his trade in 1904. During the first half of his career he created pottery of varied forms and shapes and he assembled his objects from many different parts. His pieces of work feature green, blue, yellow and maroon colours. During the second part of his career, he created black pottery, but the shapes he had originally made did not change. He made his pottery by a technique called reduction burning, and polished the texture of the objects. He did not make objects to be sold in the market and he did not make things for everyday use either in the early 1940's. However, he was a regular participant of trade fairs and exhibitions. He won several awards at the Budapest Trade Fair. His son called László Berényi did not work at his father's house but rather built a workshop of his own at the Street of Jugmakers. He sold his pieces of work at the market and mainly made plates, dishes, jugs and casseroles.
István Pardy is working
The potter is kneading the clay
2. István Pardy
He was born in 1917 in Börvely which belongs to Romania nowadays. His family moved to Szentes from Debrecen. He got university diploma in Szeged during the 1940's. After the Second World War he attended a course about pottery. After his teacher's death he continued the tradition of making black pottery. In 1978 he moved to Asófő from Szentes. He died in 2000.
3. Tibor Janó
He was born in Szentes on 29 August 1968. In the years of 1985 and 1986 studied to be a sculptor from Tamás Görgényi. He learnt the basics of black pottery making of Szentes from László Bese who followed his career throughout. After graduating from college, he taught at Ferenc Deák Elementary School, which became his second home. He continuously taught himself and participated in potter's camps on a regular basis. He got a craftsman's certificate, which enabled him to learn the basics of the trade completely. He has taken part in several exhibitions and on two occasions, was a participant of the 'Festival of Crafts', representing Csongrád county. He wanted very much to introduce pottery to as many people as possible. He thought that Hungarian and international pottery would gain more respect this way. He died in 2007 under tragic circumstances.
4. László Bese
László Bese was born in Szentes on 1 August 1926. He started his studies on 1 April 1940 at 14 Korsós Street where he started a began a potential apprenticeship on a one-month probation. Thanks to his educational activity of several decades, the black pottery of Szentes is becoming more and more popular. Several of his students are improving the techniques and motifs they had learnt from him. Also, they are adding their own and individual styles to them.
László Bese only creates black pottery, and decorates his pieces of work with polished plant patterns. Among his creations, objects for everyday use can also be found, such as pots, jugs, flour-jars which he made during the years of his aprenticeship. However, most of his items are ornamental dishes, mainly amphoras and Roman vases. For polished decorations, he uses the motifs 
having been collected by graphic artist István Drahos. He is an active participant of fairs and markets. He takes orders but he will make only black colour pottery, on the basis of previous arrangement. He holds displays of his activity both in his own workshop as well as in the garrison club.
Contact:
Address: Szentes, Jókai street 61., 6600.
Telephone: 63/322-844
5. Károly Bors
He was born in Szentes, on 7 May 1951. He studied to be a precision instrument mechanican and got his qualifications in 1969. Black pottery was starting to raise his interest around 1985, whose tricks he learnt from László Bese. Folk pottery did not fulfil his imagination since he did not want to copy the art of craftsmen working 50 or 100 years before. He saw the technology of chiselling at a course in Hódmezővásárhely which he completes with open work ornaments. He likes creating plates as they provide him with a big surface to decorate.
Contact:
Address: Szentes, Tóth József street 36., 6600.
Telephone: 30/3915437
6. Barbara Kádár
She was born in Szentes on 18 February 1975. Following her elementary and high school studies, she went to the Catholic Teacher Training College in Zsámbék from 1995 to 1999. From 2003 to 2005 she attended the Handicraft School of the Cultural Centre of Békés County where she qualified as a potter. After studying for two more years at the same place, she got potter's instructor's qualifications there in 2007. She got to know this profession in the László Hegedűs House of Garrison, in the workshop of Little "Gölöncsérek" and learnt the basics of making black pottery from László Bese. It is László Hugyecz who taught her about the creation of glazed dishes and motifs of objects of everyday use. Among the followers of László Bese, she is the most important one in terms of continuing the traditions of making black pottery Szentes style.
Contact:
Address: Szentes, Tóth József street 18/a, 6600.
Telephone: 63/314-185
E-mail: kadarbarbara@freemail.hu
7. Ilona Wolford
She was born in Szentes in 1954. After leaving from high school, she would have liked to go on with her studies at a school of applied arts. However, after her high school leaving examination, her life took an other turn and she stayed in her home town. She realized only later that she had not managed to realize too many of her dreams and ideas yet. She was attracted by pottery so she went to László Bese who lived in the house where she herself had been born. She learnt the tricks of the trade within half a year and soon started to create products to be sold. She produces vases, jugs, dishes, plates, candle sticks, jars, ashtrays, night candles, jewellery boxes and many other types of objects. She is happy to have visitors in her workshop and executes orders, too.
Contact:
Address: Szentes, Pintér street 1., 6600.