Making Composition Ornament: A Process Unchanged

Since the craft has essentially remained the same over time, a description of its historic manufacture is also applicable today.

In one container, chunks of amber colored pine rosin or the cheaper black pitch were heated in linseed oil until they melted together and combined completely. In another container (often a double-boiler), previously soaked chunks of animal glue derived from skins and hides were cooked and blended into a uniformly thick solution. The two liquid components were then stirred together. This "batter" was made into a pliable "dough" in a way familiar to any baker. It was poured into a cratered pile of whiting and first mixed with a spatula until it was thick enough to be kneaded by hand. Vigorous folding and kneading in of more whiting was done until the composition had a consistency like modeling clay and was completely uniform.

This shows the process of pressing or squeezing compo into a mold using a screw press. Photo: Jonathan Thornton.

To mold a decoration, the compo was first warmed in a steamer, and the mold prepared with a thin coating of oil and a dusting with talcum powder. A piece was then kneaded and folded to produce a smooth and wrinkle-free surface on one side. The good side was placed down over the rigid mold, and pressed in loosely with the fingers, leaving excess above the surface of the mold. A damp board was placed over this and the "sandwich" placed in a screw press and squeezed so as to force the compo into the finest detail. It was then removed from the press and turned over so that the mold could be lifted straight up, leaving the compo stuck to the board. Upon cooling to room temperature, the compo gelled, becoming tough and rubbery (the gelling property is due to the glue component which is chemically identical to edible gelatin). At this stage, it was sliced off the board with a thin-bladed knife. The remaining mass of composition still adhered to the board could also be sliced off and reused.

Composition ornament was often fixed to an already prepared wooden substrate at the factory while it was still fresh and flexible, but could be dried and shipped to the final user, who would make it flexible again by steaming on a cloth stretched over a container of boiling water. Instructions for doing this, as well as suitable brads for "fixing," were supplied by some manufacturers.

Ornament is being sliced from a pressing board. Photo: Lenna Tyler Kast.

Originally meant to copy other materials such as wood, plaster, and stone, composition had its own unique properties and advantages that were soon exploited in both technical and artistic terms. It has distinct characteristics in each of its three states: pliable, rubbery, and hard. When warm and pliable, it can be modeled by a skilled worker and it is capable of receiving the finest detail when squeezed into a mold. After it has chilled to room temperature and is gelled, it is rubbery, flexible, and tough. The detail is essentially set and cannot be easily damaged as the ornaments are manipulated.

Gelled composition ornaments can be easily bent over curved surfaces without cracking, and unlike a rigid cast material such as plaster, they can be stretched or compressed somewhat to fit a design without damaging the detail. An egg and dart motif, for example, could be made to come out evenly at the corners without making a partial egg or dart. The sculptural vocabulary from the maker's mold collection could be re-arranged at will into larger decorative schemes. In fact, any smaller component of a decoration from a single mold could be sliced free and inserted into any location.

Composition could be carved to heighten detail, correct defects, or undercut ornaments-that were, of necessity, straight-sided-so that they would release from the rigid molds. This could be done in the gelled state or, with more difficulty, after it had finally hardened to stone-like solidity.