Mud Toy Making - Madurai, Tamil Nadu
The process starts by blending of clay by using a clay rolling machine. Blended clay is mixed with small amount of water to avoid the clay from drying as the clay idols are made in large quantity. The sculptor sculpts the model required using clay modelling tools and the idol is kept aside for drying.
Chalk powder is sprinkled on the idol after it is completely dry. Chalk powder is applied on the idol to fortify itself from PoP sticking on minimal details. The artisan, with the help of clay, builds a wall and boundary around the idol. Thick liquid PoP is poured quickly on top of this idol. This is left for drying. After the PoP is dried on one side, it is flipped over and kerosene is applied on the idol after which PoP is poured on the other side as well. The drying time of PoP is about 7-10 minutes. Kerosene is applied to ensure that clay model does not stick to the PoP.
The artisan marks the mould with a metal scrapper on both the sides with parallel lines which makes it easier for the mould to break open in the centre. The mould is split into two halves and the clay inside is taken out. The leftover clay bits are cleared out and the mould is brushed clean. The two halves of the moulds’ edges and corners are evened out using a metal scrapper. Now the mould is ready to be used further.
Clay is filled on both the halves of the mould and the mould pieces are fixed together. The mould pieces fixed are removed in less than 5 minutes’ duration. The output idol is ready for the finishing process.
During the finishing process, the artisan ensures there are no air gaps in the idol. If any gap is found it is filled by using very minute amount of clay and is smoothened using water and clay sculpting tool without damaging the originality of the idol. A hole is made on the bottom of the idol for air to ventilate inside, this helps the idol to dry in less span of time. The idols are not kept under the direct sun for drying. They are let to dry gradually in room temperature.
After it is dried, white primer layer is applied on the idols as a base for coloured paints. This primer is smoothened and evened with sand paper after it is dried. This makes the application of colourful paints easy. Desired paints are applied on the idols using brush to make it attractive and captivating.
Flow Chart:
