If That Figurine Could Talk!
“DO BE careful! I would hate to see her broken!” Jane usually says that as she shows me off to her friends, especially if any one of them dares to touch me. Well, I am a prized possession. And I know that both John and Jane value me—they handle me so carefully. But if truth be told, I am not that easily broken.
Looking out of my delicately painted eyes at people who admire me, I often chuckle to myself at the processes necessary to make me. No human could possibly stand up to such a rigorous experience! It’s an interesting story.
Sticky Beginnings
China clay, my main ingredient, is ground together with white granite and calcined animal bone, mixed with water. The balance has to be just right. Electromagnets draw out any iron particles that may be in the creamy liquid, or slip, as the trade calls it, after which water is squeezed out until it looks like a lump of Plasticine.
The slip is next pushed into a pug mill, which is like a giant mixing machine, to be poked and kneaded. A vacuum pump removes all air bubbles, which would cause my clay to crack when it is eventually heated in the kiln.
My designer has made a model of me that is about 13 percent larger than I will eventually become. And little wonder! I shrink as I am put through a kiln three or four times at temperatures ranging from 1,500 to 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit [800 to 1,200° C.]. Oh, yes, there are yet months of work ahead before I am able to smile at you as only I can. Let me tell you more.
Assembling the Pieces
Do you think I am cast in one piece? Most people do, but nothing could be further from the truth. I am cast in many plaster molds that draw the moisture out so that my clay sets firmly. When my caster eventually opens his molds, there I am, but rather disjointed—my head here, a leg there, my skirt carefully laid elsewhere. Oh, how I long to be put together!
With gentle hands my assembler now takes hold of me. I am glad he has noted the rough edges left by the molds. Carefully he cleans them off, including that ugly seam around my head. I feel better already! With great skill he connects my arms to my body, making sure my muff is positioned just right. With the deftness of a surgeon, he joins and welds until no one would ever guess my life had been so fragmented.
Now I stand to dry. As no telltale cracks appear, I am ready for my tests of fire. The kiln is heated, and I am gently conveyed into it, along with many other figurines.
Decoration
A voice of authority says of me, “Best!” I have made it, and now I stand in line to be taken to the decoration department. I am going to be covered with a glass commonly called glaze, which means I have to be plunged into a vat of the liquid. Then, into the kiln I go again to come out sparkling and shiny, ready for my on-glaze coats of color.
I am painted freehand, which is why no two of us figurines are exactly alike. It takes years of training, and the young lady who will paint me says she must brush steadily but quickly. Otherwise, lines may appear where the paint dries.
Do you like my eyes? They are most difficult to do. One day I heard a painter confide to a friend that he has to rest me firmly against the bench and take a deep breath and hold it until the extremely fine strokes of the eyes, pupils, and brows are all completed. Breathing or moving in any way can spoil a brush stroke in a split second, I heard him say.
So now I am dressed, and I am called Autumn Breeze. On my base my name and my maker’s name are carefully stamped—a seal of approval, you might say. A final firing to set my appearance, and I am ready to go anywhere in the world.
In fact, I was destined for the home market and stayed in England, which is where John saw me. I am glad he did. Jane, his wife, was so happy when he gave me to her to commemorate their 25th wedding anniversary. It was then that I first heard Jane say: “Oh, we must be careful! I would hate to see her broken!” It is good to know I am safe in their hands. And it is so nice to give pleasure—and to be appreciated.
[Pictures on page 26]
The assembler connects the various pieces of the figurine in preparation for the kiln
The slip pouring from the pug mill into a plaster mold
Opening the plaster molds
After the glass glaze, a figurine is painted freehand with multiple coats of color
Facial details are skillfully applied
[Credit Line]
All photos: Courtesy Royal Doulton
[Picture Credit Line on page 25]
“Autumn Breeze,” courtesy Royal Doulton