Folk art craft Dymkovo toy. Manufacturing technology of the Dymkovo toy
Dymkovo craft is a unique phenomenon of Russian folk art that has come to us from time immemorial. It is believed that it originated in the 15th-16th centuries in the settlement of Dymkovo on the low right bank of the Vyatka River near the city of Khlynova-Vyatka.
NHP "Dymkovo", Union of Artists of Russia, CC BY-SA 3.0In the settlement of Dymkovo, toys were made by whole families. This usually happened during the period when the field work ended, from late autumn to early spring.
They dug and kneaded clay, manually crushed and rubbed lump chalk with paint grinders, sculpted, dried and fired. And then they painted.
Guide to Russian Crafts, CC BY-SA 3.0 The toys were whitewashed with chalk diluted in skimmed cow's milk, painted with egg colors, decorated with large spots of golden sweat.
"Whistle"
holiday tradition
The fair "" was a continuation of the annual commemoration of the inhabitants of Khlynov and Veliky Ustyug, who died during the sad battle, which went down in the history of the city as the Khlynov massacre, when "you did not know your own."
In memory of this event, a memorial cross was erected near the Razderikhinsky ravine, and then a chapel. After that, a riotous merry holiday began, which lasted for three days, where Vyatka residents, young and old, whistled into clay whistles.
Memories of old-timers
The oldest craftswoman of the Dymkovo toy E.I. Penkina recalled her childhood like this:
“... All the townspeople went to Svistunya with their children - for three days the guys whistled into whistles, pipes at home, on the street - and received all sorts of toys for the whole year. Father and mother also used to sell their clay toys - they would give us money for sweets - sweets, gingerbread, and the gingerbread was special - they brought them from Arkhangelsk - more from black dough with white sugar, figured ... ".
Now the holiday has lost its original form. An idea of it is given to us by the creative compositions of Dymkovo craftswomen of different generations, made during the 20th and early 21st centuries.
The press wrote in 1939:
“The colorful multi-colored images of people, animals and birds stand out clearly on the white surface of the walls, preserving both in colors and in forms all the expressiveness of the primitive inherent in a Dymkovo toy.” This is how the Dymkovo relief was born, which firmly entered the arsenal of Dymkovo craftswomen of the second half of the 20th century.
Used materials
The article uses photographs from the Tsaritsyn Museum of Folk and Applied Art of the Peoples of the USSR
Part of the information is taken with permission from the site: dymkatoy.ru - Kirov city branch of the All-Russian creative public organization "Union of Artists of Russia" - Folk art craft "Dymkovo toy"
Regional scientific - practical conference of schoolchildren
"World of Discovery".
Dymkovo toy
Research creative project
Kitova, Daria
Yusupova Violetta,
1st grade students "b"
MBOU "Yagunovskaya secondary school"
Supervisor:
Kalistratova S.B.,
primary school teacher
MBOU "Yagunovskaya secondary school"
Kemerovo
municipal district
Kemerovo district
2016
Content
Introduction……………………………………………………………3
The history of the appearance of the Dymkovo toy…………………5
Practical part………………………………………………..8
Conclusion ……………………………………………………….11
Literature and Internet resources……………………………………12
Introduction
This year we began to study at the Lyubava Fashion Theater. The head of the theater Kalistratova Svetlana Borisovna asked us to think about the theme of our future collection.
Our national Russian decorative art has long been famous for its traditions. Studying it at the lessons of fine arts, we really liked Dymkovo toys - these are whistles in the form of animals, and young ladies. And the patterns with which the toy is painted are simple and fun. But most of all fell in love - these are the ladies. They have very beautiful and varied outfits. And then we decided that our collection would look like a “Dymkovo toy”, namely, in the style of a “Dymkovo lady”.
– Look how good
This soul girl
Scarlet cheeks are burning
Amazing Outfit:
The kokoshnik sits proudly,
The water carrier is so beautiful
Like a swan swims
Sings a quiet song.
Objective of the project – to create a collection of costumes for the theater of fashion in the style of "Dymkovo toy".
Tasks:
Get acquainted with the history of the Dymkovo toy.
To study the features of painting a Dymkovo toy.
Make sketches of costumes in the style of "Dymkovo toys".
Create a collection of costumes for the Lyubava Fashion Theater.
Perform with the collection "Dymkovo toy" at the municipal and regional competition of fashion theaters.
Research hypothesis:
We hypothesized that, having studied the historyappearance, manufacture and painting of the Dymkovo toy, we will be able to create a collection of costumes for the theater of fashion.
Planned end result:
Create a collection of costumes for the theater of fashion in the style of "Dymkovo toy" and take part in competitions of Fashion Theaters.
Tomethods that we used in our study include the following:
analysis of ideas about the "Dymkovo toy" among our classmates and adults based on a questionnaire;
analysis of publications and Internet materials on this topic;
analysis of the collected illustrations, photographs and drawings of toys;
analysis of the painting style of Dymkovo toys.
Based on the results of the survey, we concluded:
that out of 30 people surveyed, 15 people know about the Dymkovo toy,
8 people think that the Dymkovo toy is a children's toy, 19 people think it's a souvenir, and 3 people think it's a magic symbol,
only 9 people know how the Dymkovo toy is painted,
and only two people have it at home,
all 30 people want to know more about the Dymkovo toy.
The history of the appearance of the Dymkovo toy.
During the project, we learned a lot of useful and interesting things.
Long ago, thousands of years ago, people could not explain the origin of many phenomena. And the people believed that the figurines of animals and people help them protect themselves and their homes from evil spirits. These toys are called amulets. The birds chased away the forces of darkness, brought light and joy. A female figurine with children protected a mother with children from misfortune and illness.
The Dymkovo toy is one of the oldest crafts in Russia; it has existed on the Vyatka land, in the Dymkovo settlement, for more than four hundred years. After the flood, significant deposits of red clay were discovered here. This incident contributed to the development of first pottery, and then the toy industry. So the Dymkovo toy was born.
This toy is affectionately and tenderly called by the people -haze. Where does such an amazing name come from? It turns out that clay toys were made in winter and early spring, when there was a long preparation for the spring holiday "Whistle" ("whistle"), which has pagan roots and is dedicated to the sun. At the festivities, "Svistoplyaska", people brought small whistles with them and whistled in them all day. Whistling was the main feature, the main entertainment of this holiday. So it happened that "in Vyatka they make toys for whistling." When the holiday ended, painted clay toys were placed on the windows to protect the dwellings. To burn the toys, the stoves were stoked until late at night, and the whole settlement was in smoke, in a haze. From this the name Dymkovo arose, and the toys began to be called Dymkovo.
Why is Dymkovo famous?
With my toy.
It has no smoky color,
And there is the love of people.
There is something of a rainbow in her,
From dew drops.
There is something of joy in her,
We are noble toys
Folding yes okay,
We are famous everywhere
We will love you too!
( Folk art. )
Thundering like bass.
(V.Fofanov)
Clay toys were sculpted and painted only by women and children. Each toy is an author's creative work of craftswomen of hand molding and painting, which exists in a single copy.
The Dymkovo toy is made from local plastic red clay with the addition of river sand. Mixing clay with sand and water, knead thoroughly until a homogeneous mass is obtained. First, large main parts of the toy were sculpted from thick clay dough, and separately small ones, which were then stuck to the main part. The fashioned toy was dried for 2-4 days at room temperature and fired in a Russian oven.
P 
after cooling
product surface
whitened with chalk
diluted in milk.
6-10 colors were prepared for work. The toy is characterized by a simple geometric painting pattern (circles, dots, rings, straight lines, wavy lines) and bright colors, in which there is a lot of red, yellow, blue, green, scarlet, orange.
The toys are fun. Ladies and cavaliers demonstrate their outfits, roosters and turkeys with their magnificent tails resemble a whole flower bed, wet nurses show off charming babies.
Made from clay
Toys for everyone.
Children on a carousel
They sat on the horses.
Here is a smart turkey,
It's all so foldable.
At the big turkey
All painted sides.
Practical work.
Now that the history, manufacturing technology and painting technique of the Dymkovo toy have been studied, you can start making your own collection.
We studied the costume of the Dymkovo lady and found out that the lady’s head must certainly have curls, hats or kokoshniks. On the shoulders - a cape, puffy sleeves. On the bottom of the skirt or apron - frills. In her hands she can hold a handbag, an umbrella, a dog, a rocker.
Look how pretty this soul girl is.Scarlet cheeks burn, amazing outfit,The kokoshnik sits proudly,The lady is so beautiful.Circles, cells, stripes -Seemingly simple patternBut you can't look away.
Started sketching costumes. We were helped by other participants of the Theater of Fashion. Here's what we got.
For five months, together with the head of the Lyubava Fashion Theater, we made costumes for our Dymkovo Toy collection. Our mothers helped us. And here we have such a collection.
We performed at a competition at school and took 1st place, and also received a diploma as the brightest costume., at the regional competition "New Stars" became diploma winners of the 2nd degree.
But they didn't stop there. I made with my mother just such a lady from improvised material and sewed such a wonderful turkey.
Conclusion Souvenir decoration element
We learned that the Dymkovo toy is an amulet, a festive whistle, a souvenir, an element of decoration.
We learned to work with different sources, analyze illustrations depicting toys.
We learned how to make a Dymkovo toy ourselves, though from fabric, but we have a clay toy ahead of us.
Most importantly, they created a collection of costumes in the style of the Dymkovo Toy and performed with it at competitions.
Literature and Internet resources
I. Ya. Boguslavskaya Russian clay toy.- L., 1975
N. M. Konysheva Sculpting in the elementary grades. - A book for the teacher. From work experience. - 2nd ed., revised. - M.: Enlightenment, 1985. http://ped-kopilka.ru/
ttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dymkovo_toy
Dymkovo craft is a unique phenomenon of Russian folk art that has come to us from time immemorial. It is believed that it arose in the XV-XVI centuries in the settlement of Dymkovo on the low right bank of the Vyatka River near the city of Khlynova-Vyatka. It was there that the hereditary tradition of making clay toys along the female line, passed down from mother to daughter, developed and developed. Gradually, dynasties of craftswomen of the Dymkovo toy took shape: the Nikulins, the Penkins, the Koshkins... Each of them had its own characteristics of products in shape and proportions, coloring and ornaments. Here, in the settlement, in the 19th century, from 30 to 50 families of toy-makers lived and worked.
In the past, whole families made toys in the Dymkovo settlement, dug and kneaded clay, manually crushed and rubbed lump chalk with paint grinders, sculpted, dried and fired from autumn to spring. Toward the beginning of the Whistle-Dance fair, which took place on the fourth Saturday after Easter, the toys were whitewashed with chalk diluted in skimmed cow's milk, painted with egg colors, and decorated with large spots of golden sweat. And then on boats they brought bright original goods to the city of Vyatka for a holiday, delighting children and adults with their art. The fair was a continuation of the annual commemoration of the inhabitants of Khlynov and Veliky Ustyug, who died during the sad battle, which went down in the history of the city as the Khlynov massacre, when “you don’t know your own”. In memory of this event, a memorial cross was erected near the Razderikhinsky ravine, and then a chapel. After that, a riotous merry holiday began, which lasted for three days, where Vyatka residents, young and old, whistled into clay whistles. 
Here is how General Khitrovo, who saw this holiday in 1811, describes it: “The inhabitants of the city of Vyatka gather in crowds this day to a small wooden chapel, where they sing memorial services for the repose of the souls of their compatriots and relatives killed that day ... The whole morning is devoted to prayer, and the rest this remarkable day - a walk and amusements. The people gather with small whistles and whistle all day long, walking along the streets, and, standing on the rampart, throwing clay balls into the ditch. In honor of the widows left after the battle, clay dolls, painted and gilded, are sold in those places. This holiday is called in this region "pandemonium". 
Being an eyewitness, the Vyatka writer V.V. Lebedev wrote in Vyatka Notes: “When you get to the square and walk among the whistling crowd, it seems that you are walking on air. Everyone has laughing and some kind of daring faces. Walking people carefully hold in front of their faces a small clay toy, worth three or five kopecks, depicting a two-headed beast or a ram with gold spots on the sides. In the tail of this ram they whistle ... ". 
The oldest craftswoman of the Dymkovo toy E.I. Penkina recalled her childhood in this way: “... All the townspeople went to Svistunya with their children - for three days the guys whistled into whistles, pipes at home, on the street - and received all sorts of toys for the whole year. My father and mother also used to sell their clay toys - they would give us money for sweets - sweets, gingerbread, and the gingerbread was special - they brought them from Arkhangelsk - mostly from black dough with white sugar, curly ... ". Unfortunately, now this holiday, which existed before the 1920s, has been lost, but the creative compositions of Dymkovo craftswomen of different generations, made during the 20th and early 21st centuries, give us an idea of it. 
It is known that the Dymkovo toy, which has ancient roots, is mentioned in chronicles in the 15th-16th centuries. At the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, it was a single independent figures of people, animals, birds, whistles, carrying ancient images - people's ideas about the world. 
It was then, a hundred years ago, that a serious threat arose to the existence of the ancient Dymkovo craft. The production of Dymkovo toys gradually declined, “did not feed”, as before, and many craftswomen from hereditary families stopped working, left in search of another craft. In the Dymkovo settlement itself, in contrast to the clay toy, workshops for the manufacture of plaster products flourished, which are in great demand among the local population and at fairs in other large cities. Some craftswomen moonlighted "on gypsum", doing their coloring. Only one craftswoman continued to sculpt toys from clay in the old fashioned way. It was Anna Afanasievna Mezrina (1853-1938), whose work became a connecting thread between the past and the future of the Dymkovo craft, a classic for modern craftswomen.
A. I. Denshin and craftswoman E. A. Koshkina
A.I. Denshin Sketch of a toy for an album
A. I. Denshin’s interest in folk art arose after attending Sunday courses in drawing and painting, organized on the initiative of the Zemstvo in 1908 at the Vyatka Technical School. Drawing teacher I. F. Fedorov, a graduate of the Stroganov School of Applied Arts in Moscow, carried away his students with endless conversations about Russian art and Russian artists, about folk art and craftsmen. He gave the first foundations of knowledge on the history of the styles of Russian art and folk art, especially Vyatka, samples of which he collected and collected. This love for folk art, instilled in him, resulted in A.I. Denshin into serious work “on collecting and sketching samples of Vyatka folk art products” throughout his life, which he combined with a passion for painting. After the revolution of 1917 A.I. Denshin was actively engaged in the study and promotion of the Dymkovo fishery. Fearing his death and trying to draw the attention of the new authorities to this problem, the artist creates hand-made albums “Vyatka clay toy in drawings” (1917), “Vyatka clay toy. Dressy Dolls” (1919), “Vyatka Ancient Clay Toys” (1926), published in Vyatka and Moscow in small editions, immediately becoming a bibliographic rarity. A valuable part of the publications was not only textual materials on the history of the fishery, but most of all attracted sketches of Dymkovo toys, made by the artist on lithographic stones, followed by hand-painting with egg colors, exactly copied from the originals. They subsequently became an indispensable material for studying the traditions of craftsmen of all generations.
In addition, the artist also collected and took to the museums of Moscow and St. Petersburg the first collections of Dymkovo toys. So the general public learned about the Vyatka Dymkovo fishery. This activity soon bore fruit. The craft survived in the most difficult times, and in 1934 the oldest craftswoman A. A. Mezrina was even granted a personal pension. In the 1930s, the popularity of the Dymkovo toy increased (publications, orders from metropolitan museums for toy collections, participation in the World Exhibitions in Paris and New York). Denshin attracted back to the craft not only old experienced craftswomen (E. A. Koshkina (1871-1953), E. I. Penkina (1882-1948)), but also interested young people in this art.
The oldest craftswomen and the generation of the 50s
Bezdenezhnykh Z.F. at work.
1960s
Elizaveta Ivanovna Penkina in the 1940s actively developed a fairy-tale theme (since 1938, she was assisted in painting by craftswomen L. N. Nikulina (1906-1961) and E. I. Koss-Denshina (1901-1979)). A significant role here was played by the 100th anniversary of A.S. Pushkin, who suggested folk craftsmen of various crafts, fairy-tale images close to every Russian person. So, E. I. Penkina appeared the compositions “At the Lukomorye”, “Baba Yaga”, where a fabulous hut on chicken legs arose. In 1939, a team of craftswomen consisting of E. A. Koshkina, E. I. Penkina, O. I. Konovalova and Z. F. Bezdenezhnykh under the leadership of A.I. Denshina participated in the design of the hall of the Kirov region in the Leningrad-North-East pavilion at the opening of the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition in Moscow.
The press in those years wrote: "The colorful multi-color images of people, animals and birds stand out clearly on the white surface of the walls, preserving both in colors and in forms all the expressiveness of the primitive inherent in the Dymkovo toy." This is how the Dymkovo relief was born, which firmly entered the arsenal of Dymkovo craftswomen of the second half of the 20th century.The outbreak of the Great Patriotic War dealt a big blow to the resurgent Dymkovo industry. The craftsmen were out of work. At first, it seemed that in such a difficult time for the whole country, clay toys were not needed. But soon the optimistic Dymkovo toy again became a success, there was a great demand for it. In 1942, the production of toys was resumed. Alexey Denshin wrote in the newspaper: “The Dymkovo toy was then proof of the invincibility of the Russian folk spirit, which was also manifested in the field of folk art. As a cheerful, warlike song that raises the spirit of a fighter in the great struggle against a bloodthirsty enemy, so the Dymkovo toy these days played the role of some kind of bright, cheerful factor of the perennial creative forces of the people, their genius.In 1943 the decision was made to resume the apprenticeship. And in February 1944, the Presidium of the All-Union Cooperative Association "Artist" decided: "Indicate to the board of the Kirov Association that the main type of production of the Partnership is the Dymkovo stucco toy as a product of folk art, intended for export. The partnership is obliged to focus all its attention on the quality of the toy, on the development of artistic and creative initiative among the toy masters to create original samples and on the further involvement of new personnel in this type of creativity.After the Victory over fascism, reborn from the ashes, the country again turned to the joyful creativity of the Dymkovo craftswomen. Funds were allocated to improve their working conditions, to train young people. But organizational difficulties did not allow to solve this problem on the ground. In addition, the older generation of craftswomen (E. I. Penkina, E. A. Koshkina) and A. I. Denshin are dying. In 1955, labor agreements were concluded for the training of young craftswomen. In 1956, there were already eight craftswomen of the Dymkovo toy, among whom were the young E. Z. Koshkina (1914-1993) and Z. V. Penkina (1897-1988), daughters-in-law E. A. Koshkina and E. I. Penkina. Their names will soon become famous.Since the late 1950s, a revival of art crafts began in the country, interest was shown in ancient national roots, and the problem of traditions and their development was studied. The Dymkovo craftswomen begin their creative take-off, the search for new solutions. The demand for a toy increased, it began to be divided into two categories: more traditional (“mass”) and exhibition. The last group of products was more often made for numerous art exhibitions - regional, zonal, republican, all-Union, international and even personal. Publications in the capital and local press, the attention of specialists, museum workers make the names of craftswomen famous.In 1955, well-known craftswomen E. A. Smirnova, Z. I. Kazakova, A. V. Kuzminykh came to the craft as students in the future. In 1958, Z.V. Penkin and E.Z. Koshkin were also accepted for their joint training with Z.F. Bezdenezhnykh and L. N. Nikulina another "star" group of students: L. S. Falaleev, L. A. Ivanov, A. P. Pechenkin, A. F. Popyvanov, V. P. Plemyannikov, N. P. Trukhin , A. I. Vorozhtsov, N. N. Sukhanov, G. I. Baranov.
About the work of the Laureates
She prefers traditional plots (animals, birds, ladies, nannies, peasants), in the image of which she always looks for characteristic features from life, interpreting in her own way. Creating her compositions, E. Z. Koshkina used a laconic language, discarding unnecessary details - embellishments, striving for symmetry, balance, carefully finishing each toy in molding and ornamentation. The color scheme characteristic of Koshkina is also calm and slightly whitened. Monumentality with an average size, frontality and symmetry are inherent in the craftswoman's toy. In 1961, Zoya Vasilievna Penkina had her true masterpiece - the figure of "Mother of Many Children". Here the theme of motherhood, traditional in a clay toy, was developed. Before us appears the image of a nanny-nurse in a high kokoshnik, in a jacket with puffy sleeves, to the base-skirt of which are attached children's figures "small small less". In her arms she holds two more swaddled babies. Monumentality and tranquility fill this composition with its amazing rhythm in the placement of figures, the ratio of masses, as well as in the repeated repetition of rounded lines formed by the heads of children, in the edge of the kokoshnik and apron. The 1960s-1970s were the heyday of the talent of Z. V. Penkina. She boldly took on many new topics, developed from options. Zoya Vasilievna worked a lot, quickly, “telling” in modeling with her hands and at the same time commenting aloud on her compositions. The cheerful, naive character of Penkina, her feelings were reflected in the living quivering clay, leaving traces of the master's fingers. In her work, the fairy-tale theme, begun by her mother-in-law E. I. Penkina, continues to develop. The craftswoman became the author of a number of multi-figured compositions and compositions-sets from 4 to 80 works, united by a common plot. Such are the compositions "Teremok", "Little Red Riding Hood", "Mitten", "Goat and Seven Kids", "Geese-Swans". “The Tale of Tsar Saltan”, “Ruslan and Lyudmila” and “The Tale of the Priest and His Worker Balda”, inspired by the images of the great poet A. S. Pushkin, she loved, stand out for their design. In addition to the main characters and showing the main events, a golden-domed city appears here, reminiscent of St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow with domes. Designed for a circular walk, it surprises with a variety of shapes, stucco details and ornaments on a white background. The abundant use of gold leaf enhances the sense of fabulousness. For the first time, an architectural motif of such a large size appeared, which is part of a large composition and at the same time can exist independently.
Olga Ivanovna Konovalova (1886-1979) - hereditary craftswoman, daughter of A. A. Mezrina.
She adopted from her mother the main circle of traditional images of ladies, riders, couples, birds. The craftswoman especially loved to convey the diversity of character in the modeling of animals (deer, cows, hares, bears), whistles. Among the plot household and fairy-tale compositions, one can distinguish “Boating”, “Wedding of Animals”, “Riding from the Mountain”, “Turnip”, “Old Man with a Basket”. She was the first to start sculpting "The Lady on Legs". OI Konovalova's Dymkovo toy is characterized by small size, the desire to convey movement in plastic, and a variety of ornaments.
Ekaterina Iosifovna Koss-Denshina (1902-1979), the wife of A. I. Denshin, began to work independently in the 1940s. Her creative searches brought a lot of new things to the development of the Dymkovo craft. The craftswoman created many plots and compositions that have already become traditional. While working on the toy, I thought over the image immediately from the point of view of modeling and painting. She is the author of many ornaments from traditional elements: circles and dots, straight and wavy lines, a cage. In addition, after the death of her husband in 1948, E. I. Koss-Denshina for many years carried out, in fact, the artistic direction of the craft.
The creative path of the oldest craftswomen, the works they created, which are stored in museums, and all their complex but interesting lives are a very valuable and important stage in the preservation and development of the traditions of the Dymkovo craft. Each of them is a legend that cannot be forgotten due to the significance of their contribution to the common cause. A modern craftswoman, mastering an ancient craft, will never pass by their work, but will definitely look into the face of each toy. Only then can you understand the essence of the Dymkovo toy if you treat the past, the fate and creations of each predecessor with deep respect. And it will always be so, as long as this ancient Vyatka craft is alive.
The craft of making clay painted toys in the settlement of Dymkovo, located opposite the town of Khlynov-Vyatka on the other side of the Vyatka River, arose in the 15th–16th centuries. Researchers associate the appearance of the earliest whistle toys with the pagan holiday of inviting spring. The characteristic, recognizable style of the Dymkovo toy developed in the middle of the 19th century. under the influence of urban life and porcelain plastics. The art of making toys was passed down through the female line. The traditional process of making a toy consists of several stages. The figurine molded from red clay is carefully dried and fired in a kiln, then covered with chalk ground and painted with tempera paints. A characteristic technique of Dymkovo craftswomen is the decoration of some figurines, as a rule, female, with small squares of gold leaf.
It is believed that the trade for the manufacture of clay painted toys in the settlement of Dymkovo on the low right bank of the Vyatka River near the city of Khlynova-Vyatka arose in the 15th-16th centuries. It was here that the tradition of making clay toys developed and took shape, passed down exclusively through the female line, from mother to daughter. Gradually, dynasties of craftswomen of the Dymkovo toy were formed. The products of each such dynasty had their own characteristics in form, proportions, color and ornaments.
The emergence of the earliest Dymkovo toys - whistles - many researchers associate with the Vyatka spring festival "whistle dance" or "whistle", the first descriptions of which date back to the beginning of the 19th century. Whistle was timed to the fourth Saturday after Easter and was associated, according to legend, with the day of commemoration of those killed in the fratricidal "Khlynov massacre", which took place in 1418 between the Vyatchans and Ustyugs near the walls of the Khlynov Kremlin. Ancient funeral feasts among the Slavs were accompanied by whistling and dancing. This pagan custom was also observed later, as clearly evidenced by the feast of Whistleblower (originally “Whistle Dance”), which was preserved in the Vyatka region until the beginning of the 20th century.
The holiday began with a memorial service, which was served in the chapel near the Razderikhinsky ravine. And then the townspeople arranged fisticuffs, drank wine and had fun, which was accompanied by singing songs and whistling whistles. A fair unfolded on the main square, for which the Dymkovo craftsmen made hollow clay balls - “sharysh” and clay toys in the form of ladies, gentlemen, various animals and cheap whistles in advance.
Here is how N. Khitrovo describes this holiday, which took place in 1811: “Today, on this day, the whole morning is devoted to prayer, and the rest of this memorable day to walking and amusements. The people gather with small whistles and whistle all day long, walking along the streets, and, standing on the rampart, throw clay balls into the ditch, where the city children gather to collect them; it often happens that the balls hit them in the head and break through until they bleed; but that doesn't stop them from continuing the fun. In honor of the widows left after the battle, clay dolls are sold in those places, painted with different colors and gilded.(Calendar of the Vyatka province for 1893. Vyatka, 1892).
By the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, the holiday had changed a lot, but the custom of whistling into whistles remained: “When you get to the square and walk among the whistling crowd, it seems that you are walking on air. Everyone has laughing and some kind of daring faces. Walking people carefully hold in front of their faces a small clay toy, worth three or five kopecks, depicting a two-headed beast or a ram with gold spots on the sides. They whistle in the tail of this ram ... "- this is how the Vyatka writer V. Lebedev described this holiday in the first third of the 20th century (Lebedev V. Vyatskie zapiski. Kirovsk, 1957). The main place in the holiday began to belong to the fair, where, along with other goods, clay toys and whistles were sold, in which children whistled for several holidays. The last time the whistle was celebrated at the turn of the 1920s, and in 1979, on the occasion of the City Day, elements of the holiday were revived in Kirov.
The traditional process of making a toy, which has survived to this day, consists of several stages.
In the summer, the Dymkovites harvested local red clay and crushed it by hand or ground lump chalk in paint grinders, and in the rest of the year they were engaged in the manufacture of products.
First, a figurine is molded from well-prepared and carefully mixed red clay. A feature of the Dymkovo craft is that the toy is molded from parts, and not from a single piece of clay, as is done in other places. Before firing, the toys are thoroughly dried and only then are fired in the oven. Previously, it was a Russian furnace, and now it is a muffle furnace, heated to a temperature of 900º.
The fired Dymkovo toy has the usual red-brown color for clay. After firing, the toy was whitewashed - chalk was stirred in milk and the figurine was dipped into this solution, which was covered with a dense white layer. Then the toys were painted using dry paints rubbed on the egg. Modern masters use gouache diluted on an egg. Dymkovo toys are characterized by bright colors and simple geometric patterns.
A characteristic technique of Dymkovo craftswomen is the decoration of some figurines with small squares of gold leaf. At the final stage of painting the toy, the craftswoman, wetting the brush in a raw egg, gently touches a golden square or rhombus with it, and then applies it to the figurine where she considers it necessary. As a rule, rhombuses of golden sweat were applied to the hats and kokoshniks of young ladies, to combs for roosters, etc.
The well-recognized style of the Dymkovo toy developed in the middle of the 19th century. under the influence of urban life and porcelain plastics. If the zoomorphic whistles associated with the pagan ritual retained archaic features for a long time, then other products turned into works of small plastic like porcelain figurines: young ladies in dresses with crinolines, ladies in capes with umbrellas, gentlemen in top hats, soldiers, etc.
In the past, making Dymkovo toys was a family business. At the end of the 19th century, the fishery fell into decline. The Dymkovo toy was supplanted by factory molded plaster figurines imitating porcelain items. However, in the 1930s, the Soviet authorities began to revive some folk crafts, including the Dymkovo toy. With the support of the first researcher of the craft, the artist A.I. Denypin, several hereditary craftswomen organized in 1933 the artel "Vyatskaya toy" (since 1948 - the workshop of the Art Fund of the RSFSR).
The Dymsky craft does not have serial production, and each figurine, even today made by hand, is individual and unique. Currently, the Dymkovo toy is a piece of decorative sculpture, a popular Russian souvenir.
Dymkovo toy- clay sculpture, a separate art form. It is characterized by a certain whitewashing and bright painting.
Clay for manufacturing was traditionally mined in the settlement of Dymkovo, which is on the low bank of the Vyatka River near the city of Kirov. The collected red clay in the settlement used to be chopped with a shovel, mixed with fine river sand - there is a huge river beach nearby. So, the clay, after mixing, was turned over many times, moistened with water. In the old days, they generally kneaded it with their feet.
Now the craftswoman does not dig clay and does not knead it. The preparation of the material takes place by machine, in one of the ceramic industries. Clay comes to the workshops ready-made - polyethylene packages-briquettes of 10 kilograms.
Sculpting toys.
Each toy from a piece of clay to a finished sculpture performed by one master. If earlier a craftswoman spent a lot of time preparing clay and whitewash, now more attention is paid to the process of modeling and painting toys.
Pieces of clay are separated and rolled into balls. Separate parts of the toy are made from balls. The Dymkovo toy is different in that it is made not from one piece of clay, but from several. A ball of clay is rolled into a pancake, a cone is made from the pancake - the lady's skirt is ready. It is hollow inside with walls 4-6 mm thick. The walls of the cone are leveled by turning the workpiece in their hands. Then, moistening with water, attach sausage handles, a head ball. All from small pieces of clay.
All the main elements of the toy are made first. All joints are smoothed with a damp cloth. It turns out like a single whole. Then they decorate the toy with details - a kokoshnik, a clutch, a handbag, a dog, pigtails, a hat, etc.
Drying and roasting.
The molded workpiece is dried for 3-5 days, sometimes longer, in air. In the old days a toy fired in Russian kilns. They put it directly on the firewood, or on an iron baking sheet.
The clay begins to warm up and soon becomes as if transparent - it glows with an even red color in the fire. This was the end of the firing process, and the toys slowly cooled in the extinct oven.
Now the toys are being burned in muffle furnaces at temperatures over 1000 degrees. This high temperature gives the clay even more strength. The ovens are quite large and toys are loaded in batches. Again, the craftswomen do not take away precious time for uncreative processes.
Whitewashing and painting toys.
After the oven, the workpiece turns brown-red. For whitewashing in the old days they used a solution of chalk in milk - they dipped the whole toy. Milk on the surface turns sour and forms durable bright film of casein glue. Whitewashing is a characteristic feature of the Dymkovo toy.
Now whitening is done with the help of tempera white, which is applied with a brush.
The final part of the process - painting.
First, let's talk about the old traditional way of painting:
Dry paints were rubbed with an egg, peroxide kvass or vinegar was added. The color scheme was not rich, only the main tones. Compositions from soot to magenta and chromium have been used. These paints seemed to give some of their color to the workpiece and sounded muffled. In the 20th century, they used gouache, also diluted on an egg. Now they use bright acrylic paints - very resistant.
Brushes are used mainly soft, of different sizes. Thin brushes allow the craftswoman to bring small details into the plot - this is not always good, as it leads to a glut of the plot.
Pieces of gold leaf or gold leaf - a mixture of zinc and copper - are glued on top of the paint. They glisten and give along with bright colors the dazzling charm of the Dymkovo toy.
