Shandong Province
QuanBei Village
DaZhao Village
Lang Village
LiShe Village
LuLiu Village
MiaoJia Village
Xiaozhan Village
Nie Jiazhuang Village
Gaomi City
Weifang City
Artist at Work: Nie Xiwei
Nie Xiewei begins the process of making mud dolls (or, as they’re sometimes called, clay dolls) of tigers by digging 1½ meters into the ground outside of the village. The mud he digs up is then pressed thin, mixed with water, beaten with tools, and dried in the sun repeatedly until it becomes a powder. This process ensures that the clay is rid of sticks and stones.
The carefully prepared mud is then wetted, cast into Nie’s own handmade molds, dried, and painted. The molds, which are made of pottery, cement, or plaster, can take up to six months to make, and contain a front and back piece that are pressed together and bound with cowhide. Nie’s tigers contain a squeaking mechanism, representative of a tiger’s growl, within the hollow of the toy.
Once the tigers are cast, bound, and dried, the painting process begins. First, Nie “whitewashes” them with a sealant to create an even surface coating as a base for further artistic details. The sealant is made of glue, white powder, and water, and applied with a paintbrush.
Nie’s wife is often involved in this process. When the tigers are dry, they are ready for painting. A paint and glue mixture is held over a candle to prevent gelling, and Nie’s tigers take shape as he carefully applies pink, dark green, black and yellow paint. As a final touch, Nie’s wife glues small tufts of rabbit hair onto each tiger’s ears.
