Terracotta Paint

Terracotta Paint

By

Jan Skarzynski

Version 1, April 2008.


dy, have you seen my red car? The one like Dad’s.”
“The last time I saw it was in the sand pit James. Look in there!”
“Thanks Andy, I will take a look then we can play races down the slide and onto the path. Will you play with me Andy?”
“Only, if I can have the Ferrari Red car!”
“OK Andy and I’ll have the Racing Green one. I’ll go and look for it in the sand pit. Andy, Andy! Come help! I can’t get the lid off. It’s stuck.”
“I can’t shift it either. You grab here James and help to lift.”
“No it’s stuck Andy. You go to the other side and we’ll try that way.”
“James, I can’t move forward, there’s something stopping me. It won’t allow me to move forward.”
“I know what it is Andy! It’s Orin and his invisible travel machine.”
“Yeah, but he normally parks it behind Dad’s compost heap not here.”
“Orin! Orin!” shouted James, “Can you move your machine over a bit so we can get to the sand pit please!”
“Leave me alone, I’m busy!” said a gruff voice.
“Orin! please! You normally land behind the compost heap,” answered Andrew.
“There’s a pile of logs there and I damaged one of my fins last time,” came a gruff reply.
“Orin, Andy and I have moved them so it’s all clear for you. Please Orin can you move over just a little bit so we can get the lid off the sand pit.”
“I’m busy, you’ll just have to wait until I have finished,” Orin said rudely.
“What are you doing in there Orin? Can we help?” asked Andrew.
“No, go away I’m busy. I have to calibrate my measuring tool, so go away and leave me in peace,” answered Orin more sternly.
“Orin, Dad’s got a new laser measure for his birthday,” said Andrew, “We bought it for him and it measures things with a red light. It’s really good but he hasn’t used it much. Still in the box.”
“What? Your Dad’s got a laser measuring device?” uttered Orin in astonishment as he came out of the invisible travel machine so that he could be seen. “That would be ideal. Do you think I could borrow it for a few minutes so that I can check my measure against it?” said Orin. He was a little wizened old man, no bigger than Andrew but with a pronounced paunch, much bigger than their father’s.
“Yeah, we can find it for you Orin, but please move your machine so we can get our red car from the sand pit,” answered Andrew. Both boys ran off to the tool shed whilst Orin disappeared into his travel machine. A few minutes later they returned breathless, carrying a yellow cardboard box. “James, try the lid again. Orin may have moved the machine.”
“Yeah Andy, the lid is free. Here’s the car. Now we have to find Orin. Orin!” shouted James, “Where are you? We can’t see you!”
“Of course you can’t see me you silly boys,” answered Orin gruffly as he suddenly appeared a couple of steps away from them. “Have you got the device? Oh is that it in the box? You had better come in and help me then,” said Orin as he disappeared again. Andrew put out his arms and felt about until he could feel a rubbery wall. He pushed and suddenly fell through as something gave way as he disappeared from view. James followed more cautiously this time and was slowly swallowed up as he disappeared into thin air.
“Now don’t touch anything!” said Orin crossly. “Give me the box,” he said. Andrew handed over the box and sat on a bench next to James. They watched as Orin opened the box and took out the laser measurer. “It doesn’t work! It’s no good!” muttered Orin.
“Dad says it always helps to turn the thing on Orin, Just push the Black button.”
“Thanks Andrew but it still doesn’t work!”
“Dad always says ‘Check if there’s a battery’” said James smugly.
“What’s a battery and where do I get one?” questioned Orin.
“There should be some in the box Orin,” said Andrew getting up from the bench. He took the device from Orin and found the batteries. “I’ll help you. We always have to help Mum with electrical things. These round batteries provide the power. Now here it is working perfectly. How do you want me to set it Orin? Metric or in ‘Old money’ as Dad says, feet and inches?”
“Well that’s clever Andrew. Metric will do for me. Thank you boys. By the way, what is ‘feet and inches’?” asked Orin rather more kindly.
“It’s an old measure they used ages ago,” answered James. “Twelve inches make up a foot and three feet make up a yard and a yard is about this long,” said James holding his arms apart.
“Thank you James for your clear explanation. Now Andrew can you measure the distance between these two plates please.”



10.35 cm.



“That’s ten point three five centimetres Orin,” answered Andrew holding the laser between two metal plates. “I can get it to four decimal places if you want Orin. I’ll just have to place it on the surface so that it’s steady.”
“Brilliant Andrew. I can finish this job off now. Won’t be a minute,” said Orin looking rather pleased. “I suppose you two now want to go on a trip as a reward for your help?”
“Yes please!” shouted Andrew and James together forgetting about their car game.

“Now where shall we go?” said Orin rubbing his beard. “I know! We will go to the other side of this Earth planet, somewhere a long way from the sea so I can do some more calculations. Now sit down and I’ll set the course.” They felt a slight shudder like the feeling you get in a lift at the department store when it’s coming to a standstill.
“Are we there yet?” asked James.
“Of course we are James,” answered Orin as he poked his head outside. “It’s a bit dusty out there with lots of people working away at something. Off you go and don’t stray too far. I will join you when I have finished my calculations.”
“Can we have the necklaces so that we can speak and understand the people here Orin?” asked Andrew.
“There you are and just be careful now. Need to get you back safe and sound to your Mum and Dad.”
“Thanks Orin. See you later,” shouted James as he plunged outside followed by Andrew. They found themselves on the edge of a shallow pit with lots of people digging and carrying baskets full of brown earth.
“I should get out of the way you two!” shouted a boy. “You’re in the way of the clay carriers there and you’ll get pushed into the pits if you’re not careful. Come over here!” shouted a young boy as Andrew and James scurried over to join him. “Where have you two come from? Haven’t seen you here before?”
“Oh we just dropped in to have a look around,” answered Andrew.
“Yeah, we just want to see what’s going on here,” added James.
“Well you two look really strange with those funny clothes and eyes and pale faces. Even your eyes are blue. We get all sorts here but I haven’t seen any thing like you. Yet you speak my language. That’s odd!” said the boy.
“This is Andrew and I’m James,” answered James. “We are only here on a short visit. Can you show us around and tell us what is going on here.” Turning to Andrew he whispered, “I think we must be in China. He just looks like Wong the Chinese kid at school.”
“Hey! What are you whispering about?” asked the boy as they watched a stream of men carrying baskets full of brown clay.
“By the way, my name is Win. My father works at the clay moulding factory just over there. Let’s go and see him. He may give us some clay to play with,” said Win who ran off with Andrew and James following.
“What are those men carrying Win?” asked James.
“Oh! just clay from the pits. It’s soaked over there and cleaned up so that it’s fine clay for the moulds. Come on hurry,” answered Win. “I have some food for my father and mother and I don’t want to be late.” They arrived at a covered workshop and saw lots of men pressing sheets of clay into moulds. “Hi Dad, I’ve brought some friends along to watch you work. Can we have some clay bits please Dad?” They watched Win’s father carefully tap out of his mould a front chest piece of armour which he carefully stacked with lots of others on a plank.
“These need to dry and set a little before we join the fronts and backs together. After we join the lower parts and then they will go into the kiln for the firing,” said Win’s father.
“Are you making Terracotta Warriors?” asked Andrew.
“I don’t know anything about ‘Terracotta Warriors’,” said Wim’s father. “We are making an army of clay soldiers for the Emperor Chin. Here kids, some bits of clay to play with. Now Win take the rest of the food to your mother and show your friends the work in progress as you go.”
“Thanks Dad. Come on you two lets go to the kilns and see the soldiers,” shouted Wim who ran off in the direction of a smoking kiln. “Look, look, they’ve just opened a kiln. Look at all the new soldiers. Don’ t touch them! They’re red hot.”
“But they have no heads or hands,” said James.
“Those are put on later after they are painted. Then they add all the real weapons,” shouted Wim as he ran off into another shed full of headless soldiers who were being painted in vivid colours. “Hi Mum, I’ve brought you food and some friends to see the painted soldiers. Can we help Mum? Please.”
“Here, take some brushes and you can paint the armour in these colours,” said Wim’s Mum and showed them what they could do. “Just be careful and don’t get any paint on your clothes. It’s a devil of a job to wash out.”
“This is like painting by numbers Andrew.”
“Yeah, but you don’t get the chance to paint the Terracotta Warriors everyday James,” whispered Andrew.
“I haven’t seen pictures of painted warriors like this, have you Andy?”
“Mum’s got a small warrior, a General, on the sideboard but it’s all grey and dull.”
“Do you want to see the fully finished soldiers?” whispered Wim. “Come on but we have to be careful and slip past the guards. Bye Mum. Off to show my friends the finished heads,” shouted Wim with a knowing wink to James and Andrew.
“Just look at you!” scolded Wim’s Mum, “You’ve got more paint on yourselves than on the soldiers. Be off with you!”
“Come on you two. We are off to the trenches to see the finished soldiers being put into position,” whispered Wim. “We need to wait for the guards to change and then we can slip into the trenches and see just how big the soldiers are.” They sat on a bank overlooking a series of trenches and watched men trundle wooden boxes down slopes.
“What’s in the boxes? They look like coffins,” asked James.
“The boxes contain the soldiers. They have to be handled carefully when they are finished. I hope the guards change soon then we can slip in and see everything.”
“Wim, here is a present from me for you to play with,” said James giving Wim his Racing Green sports car from his pocket.
“What’s this? Never seen things like this before,” answered Wim with a puzzled look on his face.
“Here Wim, you can also have mine. It’s a model car Wim,” followed on Andrew. “You can ‘brum’ it on the ground like this and it will roll down a smooth slope. You can have races. Mine is in Ferrari racing red.”
“Well thank you friends. I’ve never seen anything like this before. You will have to explain more about these things,” said Wim looking very pleased with his gifts. “Come on, the guards are changing, our opportunity to slip in, Come on quick and keep low!” They followed Wim, keeping doubled up as they ran down the slope into the trench. There they were suddenly confronted by rows of highly coloured soldiers in full armour.
“Wow! They seem to be alive Andrew!”
“I didn’t think they would be so big James. Are these weapons real Wim?”
“Oh they are real Andrew. If we creep along we will see the fitters dressing the soldiers but keep quiet, we don’t want the guards to catch us.”
“How many soldiers are there here Wim?”
“Dad says there are thousands in different trenches and some have horses and chariots. We’ll go there next. Now look ahead. You can see the fitters putting spears and swords onto the hands of the soldiers.”
“Andy, look over there.”
“Oh yes, they are the kneeling archers. I’ve seen them in a book that Mum’s got back home.”

“Now what have we here?” shouted a voice as both Andrew and James were grabbed by the scruff of their necks and dragged upright. “You two are in deep trouble and your other friend will be caught next time he comes here again.”
“We only came to look,” pleaded Andrew as the guard dragged them up the slope out of the trench.
“Can’t have people like you spoiling all the hard work here,” shouted the guard shaking them roughly.
“But we didn’t touch or harm anything. Only wanted to see the finished soldiers,” whimpered James.
“Rules are rules and you two are up before the Captain and in deep bother. Come on. Stop wriggling or it will be worse for you!”

Suddenly they were flung forward as the guard toppled forward and fell on the ground with a thud.
“Come on you two run,” shouted Orin. “The travel machine is just here. I came to find you and saw you being man handled roughly by that guard. Come on quick before he gets up!” Andrew and James jumped up and ran after Orin. The guard was taken by surprise but quickly got to his feet and gave chase. Suddenly he saw James then Andrew just disappear into thin air as if by magic. He stopped, looked around, scratched his head and thought he must be dreaming. He then decided to go back to his post and say nothing. How could he tell his Captain that he lost two boys just like that?

“Whew! That was close,” said Andrew. “How did you find us Orin?”
“Yes thanks Orin. I was very scared then, but I didn’t cry.”
“Well I had finished my jobs and decided to inspect the surroundings. My black box told me we were in China at the time of the Chin Empire,” said Orin
“We know that already Orin. Wim told us but how did you manage to save us?”
“Well Andrew, I was inspecting a spear when I heard a commotion and saw you two being dragged off. I had to save you so I tripped the guard up with the spear and you know the rest.”
“Thanks, we are very grateful aren’t we Andrew,”
“Yes Orin. Thanks. Have you got anything to get this paint off. Mother will murder us when she sees us in this state.”
“Off you go boys, we are home. If I were you I would creep in to your house quietly and change your clothes before your mother sees you. Go on off with you.”

Andrew and James quickly ran to the back door, opened it quietly and silently climbed up the stairs trying to avoid making them creak. They got to their room and quietly crept in without noticing their mother watching them from the next bedroom.
“OK, what have you two been up to and why the creeping about? Normally you come up those stairs like a herd of elephants,” said their mother advancing towards them.
“Oh nothing Mum! Just playing Indians stalking buffalo,” answered quick thinking Andrew.
“By the looks of it you’ve got most of the war paint on your clothes. Just look at the state of you. I just hope it washes out!”
“We’ve just come back from China and seen the Terracotta Warriors being made,” said James looking worried. “Orin took us and he saved us from a guard who was taking us to prison.”
“Look at the state of you! Prison would have been a good place for you two! Now where did you get that paint? Have you been at Dad’s paint store?”
“No Mum. Honest. Dad locks up his paint now,” answered Andrew. “We were helping Wim’s mum to paint the warriors and some must have gone on our clothes. It was an accident Mum. It’s the truth.”
“That fairy of yours needs to take better care of you,” said their mother smiling.
“Mum, mum the warriors are really big. They are bigger than Dad.”
“Yes Mum they are also painted in brilliant colours and have real weapons. They not dusty and grey like your model Mum.”
“OK Andrew and James. Enough of the tales. Get changed and wash your hands well and come down for some supper before early bed.”
“Mum you don’t believe us do you?” pleaded Andrew.
“Andrew, I suppose you will now tell me why the warriors were made in the first place.”
“Yes Mum I can tell you it they were made for Emperor Chin to protect him in his next life,” answered Andrew.
“Emperor Chin was very important and he joined all of the different countries into one China. That’s what Orin told us,” said James.
“And he gave them a written language which could be understood by all in China. It’s not letters, more like words or pictures that can be understood by all,” added Andrew.
“Well I give up with you two. Just get cleaned up and come down. You can tell Dad your stories tonight. He likes your tall tales,” answered their mother. She left them to get changed and walked away shaking her head.

“James, don’t tell Dad that we have left his laser measure with Orin.”
“OK Andy I won’t tell but Dad won’t notice. He doesn’t use it much anyway.”
“James, have you got that lump of clay that Wim’s Dad gave us?”
“Yes Andy. It’s still squidgy.”