Kursk masters revive the lost technology of creating artel dolls

A craft forgotten forever. Kursk masters revive the lost technology of creating artel dolls. In the twenties of the last century, these ladies with character conquered foreign collectors. How to create a new generation of dolls – saw Anastasia Kovalenko. The history of artel dolls began 100 years ago. Then, after the First World War and the Civil War, the young country lay in ruins. Funds were sought for recovery. Artists decided to help the state. They created special societies – artels. Masters drew elegant dolls, and after these sketches themselves made them. All the toys were sold abroad. There was a special demand for colorful Russian souvenirs. In Russia, they could be bought only after the war - in the store "Birch". For currency, says artel toy master Olga Zhikhor. Over time, production stopped. Technology has also been lost for decades. The popularity of dolls has started to grow again these days. Olga Zhikhor for three years creates replicas of old models. Collects measurements and patterns from the originals, studies materials and techniques. Today they sew one of the most famous dolls - a heating pad on a kettle. “Here she has such a heating pad that is put on a samovar and warms the samovar so that it does not cool down,” explains artel toy master Olga Zhikhor. They teach the craft in stages. First they sew the hot water bell. Then torso and arms. The head is a responsible and complex element. “Filled with sawdust and wrapped in puppet knitwear. And you can see these stitchers from behind. That’s the inside out, says artel toy master Olga Zhikhor. The base is done. The most interesting thing is to choose a hairstyle and outfit. Clothes are traditionally Russian folk. Intricate peasant women in painted sundresses, noble merchants in flower dresses Each image is carefully thought out. “You already feel that you have something alive, something interesting. Well, this is a kind of how you sculpt some small child in your hands, says student Tatiana Ilesheva. The ancient craft is in the safe hands of a dozen Kursk masters. In their plans to create an artel doll based on Kursk motives - in the traditional outfit of the region.

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