Clay Idols - Uttar Pradesh
Clay available from surrounding village and location are collected and stored in gunny bags or storage bags to be used on requirement in the making of idol, clay items. As per the quantity of idol to be made the chunks of clay collected are soaked in some amount of water over night or some hours to soak the material completely to make the clay surface soft in nature.
Chunks of clay are powdered to fine form with the help of wooden bat beaten to form fine by the skillful hand of the craftsmen. The thicker pieces are mixed with water to form soft mixture. Right quantity of clay is taken which is mixed with fine sand to form the dough. Little amount of dough is taken and beat with the mushroom shaped tool referred to as Khalbatta to the flat surface with the flat stone, flat surface of clay is cut with a sharp edge knife to the required shape and mold size. The flat cut clay particles are placed on the clay mold by applying little amount of pressure with the tip of the fingers as per the shape of mold. As the flat clay has taken the shape of mold it is applied with water at the edges to fix the clay made to pipe (tube) form to one of the halves of mold to fix the two parts of the mold firmly to each other and held tightly for few minutes. Down part of the idol are flattened and fixed to bottom surface as per the pattern of mold and bottom is holed for the passage of air within. The held parts are kept together for some time and removed, dried under shade till it dries.
It is then fired in Bhatti the traditional open furnace to obtain better durable clay products. Coloring on the clay products are done with enamel paint to enhance the effect of the idol.
