My experience in making dolls is on going, even after almost 20 years. There is always something to new to learn; a trick to use; tools to maneuver; a new technique. All of that keeps me going. I use commercially available porcelain slip for my dolls to insure it has the proper consistency. Whether I am pouring a doll for myself or for one of my students it is always an adventure. Will it pour right, will it be the proper thickness, will it have voids, will the elastic bands that hold the mold together snap, any of which will mean starting over. Now I wait. The newly poured dolls must be leather hard before they can be un-molded The time necessary for proper drying depends on many factors; the temperature, the humidity, the type of slip and the mold itself.
Once leather hard the doll is ready for the un-molding. Once successfully out of the mold the parts are actually slightly larger than they will be when finished as the porcelain will shrink when it is fired. Now it is time to prepare the leg and arm openings, clean the eyes and mouth, and make sure that the opening are the correct size. The poured doll, called greenware, is now dry and ready for cleaning, which is smoothing the porcelain, cleaning the seams, sizing the eyes, smoothing the rough edges, detailing the fingers and toes. The cleaning process is done with a variety of tools, techniques and a few trade secrets. Once the doll parts are cleaned and smoothed to my satisfaction they are ready for the first firing in my kiln. This process fires at an internal temperature of 2194 F, and generally takes about 6 hours to fire and approximately 12 hours to cool down. The doll parts shrink to the appropriate size, due to the moisture being removed by firing and now must be checked for cracks and conformity. A too thin body/head can warp, then must be replaced. The doll is in a porcelain bisque state now and must be polished to a smooth finish, cleaned and painted. I use various abrasives to clean the doll at this point. Now the doll will start to take on its character. The face is then painted. Once I am happy with the smoothness and painting of the face and body, the doll is ready to be fired a second time at a temperature of 1285 F. to allow the china paint to do its magic. This firing is only about 2 hours. The fun part is putting the finished dolls together and dressing them. At this point the eyes are inserted depending on the head, the body, arms and legs must be attached, the wig and or eyelashes must be attached. When all is done, there is such a feeling of accomplishment and each doll has developed its own personality, based on the total experience. Once you experience a hand made porcelain doll that is polished, you can feel the difference between them and the collector dolls that are mass-produced. Try it some time.
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