Eight-year-old Kyle Woodward seemed surprised by his own admission about the Precious Moments figurines.
“I thought they were just girls, not boys,” said Kyle, a 3rd grader at Reskin School in Glendale Heights.
“I didn’t really like them before, but now I do, because I know who sculpts them and where they’re from,” he said, “so if there is one with a boy with `Merry Christmas,’ I’d like that one.”
Kyle was impressed, along with his fellow pupils, by the skill demonstrated this week by Makoto Takeuchi in sculpting a Precious Moments figurine clay model.
Visiting from the collectibles’ design studio in Nagoya, Japan, Takeuchi, 28, is one of nine artisans trained to sculpt the figurines.
Takeuchi is scheduled to visit six other U.S. cities in the next two weeks, with stops at stores and elementary schools.
The eight-step creation from the initial color drawing by the creator Sam Butcher to the final handpainted porcelain bisque figurine was explained to the pupils and kimono-wrapped teachers by a spokesman from the Itasca-based Enesco Corp. That company produces the Precious Moments collection.
Takeuchi beamed as the pupils bowed and welcomed him in Japanese, and he smiled in recognition as they sang a short song in Japanese. A gift–a Chicago Bulls golf shirt–brought a grateful bow.
From behind a small table, Takeuchi deftly used the tips of his fingers and short bamboo spears to rub and delicately slice two small globs of clay into a little girl’s head with swooping bangs and a small aproned body.
Seated at his feet, the pupils stared, mesmerized by the movements of his hands and tools.
They oohed appreciatively when he spun the small clay model around, revealing its teardrop-eyed face.
Listening to English tapes back home helped Takeuchi understand the pupils’ questions, and he often smiled in amusement as he eagerly answered.
Takeuchi said he enjoyed his first visit to an American elementary school, thanks especially to the ultimate compliment given to him by one of the youngsters.
“He says he thinks it’s cool,” Takeuchi repeated, laughing.
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