What is Reborning?
The customized art of creating a beautiful , realistic version of a live, breathing baby from and ordinary vinyl doll, or doll kit. Each artist uses their own techniques and personalities to bring to "life" a doll, thus making each one, an original one of a kind baby (aka OOAK). Due to a recent UK Documentary titled "Fake Babies", it has given a new awareness to the Reborning art. Reborn Artists prefer the term "reborn" as it describes the "rebirth" of a doll. Reborn babies have also been featured, recently, on The View, Dr. Phil, Inside Edition and 20/20.
My Goal
I spend days, sometimes weeks, creating each baby. It is a very intensive process that involves disassembling a baby doll, removing factory paints, sanding the head, replacing the body, ( or using a reborn kit )replacing the eyes, painting on multiple layers of Genesis Heat Set paints (which are permanent), micro rooting the hair (which takes the most time), selecting the layette, weighting the body to perfection, photographing to capture the correct color of the baby. The hours spent are endless. It truly is a labor of love! The results produce a lifelike baby that can be treasured and passed down through generations. Once reborned, these dolls are not meant for young children, but the grown "child at heart".
Experience
I retired from nursing, after a 12 year career as a Neonatal Intensive Care Nurse due to a severe latex allergy. Over the years, I have looked at infant skin tones from a 24 week gestation newborn with the shiny, transparent skin, to the growing preemie with the visible veins, but lanky limbs with no fat. Also, the newborns with a full head of hair and blotchy skin tone, to the bald baby with peaches and cream complexion. I've paid close attention to the forcep marks from a difficult delivery, to the jaundiced, yellow skin (that a lot of breast fed babies have), to the scratched faces babies have made due to the need to make contact--and their face is the closest thing. I try to portray this look, and features in each baby I create. Each one is different, just like each newborn is different. If one of my babies touches you in some way, please bid for there will never be another exactly like it, and no way for me, even with the same sculpt, to duplicate it exactly. Each baby is truly a One of a kind.