Khokhloma toys and dishes - a tradition that has become modernity

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:44

Khokhloma painting, like the Dymkovo toy, Vologda lace, Pavlovo Posad shawls and other crafts reflect the spirit and traditions of our people. Today, interest in this art form is constantly growing. Khokhloma toys, painted dishes and furniture are becoming not only museum exhibits, but also an organic part of our life. They will be discussed today.

Followers of icon painters

It is not known for certain how Khokhloma painting appeared. According to modern ideas, the fishery has been around for more than 300 years. It appeared in the Trans-Volga region, where the territory of the Koverninsky district of the Gorky region is now located. Khokhloma toys and kitchen utensils are distinguished by a special honey-gold color of the background or pattern details. That is what makes the painting unique. It is believed that the technology for obtaining such a shade was taken by the masters from the Old Believers. They knew how to give the icons a golden sheen without usingprecious metal.

Technology

Regardless of what Khokhloma painting covers: toys, dishes or furniture, the principle of coloring is the same. The wooden blank is covered with primer and drying oil, and then rubbed with aluminum powder. Previously, tin was used instead, however, modern technologies make it possible to produce aluminum in large quantities, and therefore it is now used in the process of creating Khokhloma utensils. The product covered with metal powder is painted. Then I cover it again with drying oil and two layers of varnish, after which the workpiece is sent to the oven. From there, the painted objects come out already golden. Under the influence of high temperature, a special coating changes the color of the product, and the metal layer gives a characteristic shine.

Beautiful and strong

The color characteristic of Khokhloma is obtained due to the special composition that covers the pattern. However, the value of such products is not only in their beauty. The varnish that protects the painting is particularly resistant. He is not afraid of either high temperature or mechanical stress. Khokhloma toys can be safely given to kids. Even if the children decide to bathe them in ice water, nothing will happen to the painting. The same applies to dishes: cups, plates, jugs and spoons covered with Khokhloma are not afraid of either boiling water or cold.

Khokhloma toy: history

Of course, dishes and interior items were covered with Khokhloma first of all. In the 17th century, when it is believedthis type of painting appeared, tin powder was expensive, and therefore not everyone could afford the products. However, the Khokhloma toy gradually appeared. Drawings using traditional elements began to decorate small figurines of animals and people.

Most often toys were made of wood. Living material lends itself well to processing and is relatively inexpensive. For the manufacture of their goods, toy masters used birch, aspen, pine and linden. From region to region, the preferences of artisans varied depending on the prevalence of a particular type of wood. Of the tools for making toys, an ax and a knife were used, sometimes a chisel.

Semyonov Khokhloma

Of course, the conversation about the folk toy will be incomplete if you do not remember the matryoshka. For many, the history of its occurrence may be an unexpected discovery. Matryoshka came to Russia at the end of the 19th century from … Japan. Its prototype was the Indian patriarch Jarma, who, according to legend, spent nine long years in fasting and meditation, as a result of which both his arms and legs fell off. The stamina of the sage was also respected in Japan, where he was revered as a god and called Daruma. Numerous figurines depicted him without arms and legs. Gradually, a tradition appeared to put one mini-sculpture into another - and so on up to seven “layers”.

The souvenir was named Fukurumu and in this form came to Russia. Seeing him, the artist Sergey Malyutin was inspired to create a new toy. Instead ofan old man without arms and legs, he depicted a red-cheeked beauty in a headscarf. And so the matryoshka appeared. Gradually, the tradition of making such a toy reached the city of Semyonov and remained there. Masters here make and paint nesting dolls today. Often, the so-called Semyonov Khokhloma is used to decorate toys. It is distinguished from the traditional one by large and bright flowers, a slightly different color scheme.

Khokhloma today

Folk crafts and traditions in our time are of interest not only to historians. A variety of masters turn to them: from simple needlewomen to eminent fashion designers and designers. Thanks to the rapid development of information technology, today it is quite easy to find material on the topic. And to the question of how to draw a Khokhloma toy, you can easily find the right answer. Craft tourism is also developing, when masters go to the homeland of a particular type of art and learn it directly from the keepers of traditions.

Khokhloma toys still delight children who love everything bright and unusual. Many teachers, in order to develop artistic abilities in their students and arouse interest in traditional culture, conduct classes that teach Khokhloma techniques. Know and respect this type of painting and abroad. Tourists from different countries, returning home, bring nesting dolls, kitchen utensils and even furniture covered with Khokhloma painting as a gift. Now we can say with confidence that this type of folk art has found its niche in the modern world and more than one generation will be inspired by its rich patterns.