A Doll Restoration The little cook

These parts were in a box of dolls I got from Germany. While the head is not from this body it seemed a possible fit. The first thing to do was to make a mold of the head and the body separately. . I use a wooden form with oil clay in the bottom. Putting the parts into the clay and spraying it with Pam as a mold separator is the first step. Then mix and pour pottery plaster over to form half a mold. After that is set the mold is turned over the clay removed and plaster poured again. Then clay in a liquid form is poured into the dried mold. The plaster pulls the water from the slip leaving a thin layer of clay in the form of the doll part. The parts are removed from the molds and trimmed,and joined with more slip. The result is then dried and fired and glaze applied.

This is the result after painting the glaze over the bisque fired clay figure. The other pieces are ready for the final firing. What happens in the kiln and reduction chamber are really random. The kiln firing is controlled by a computer and when the piece reaches 1750 degrees the kiln is opened and the pieces transferred to a pressure cooker with flammable paper and wood shavings or leaves in the bottom. The paper will burst into flame and when the lid is placed on the fire burns up the oxygen resulting in a reduction. After 12 minutes in the vacuum chamber pressure is released and the lid removed... the smoke and fire have changed the colors into what will be the final product. It isn't always what we expect.

My little cook is looking like he was in the fire and that is within my shabby/folk art style. Future ones will have different colors but this little fellow in blue jeans and cooks clothes is done. Restored from fragments and ready for someone to collect. He and other figures are available at www.etsy.com/shop/oscarcrow.