I make Babies..... - ThinnerTimes

gina0922 · 04-13-2008, 01:16 PM

LOL

Got your attention didn't it! Yes, I do make babies. I am a Vinyl Doll Artist in my spare time. I can create full term and preemies babies. They are weighted to feel like a real life baby. Basically, I take plain old vinyl dolls, remove the factory paint and then I paint them, using a heat set paint. This art is also called "Reborning". It can take days to paint the dolls to give them the illusion of a babies skin. So thin you can see the capillaries and the tiny blue veins that look like is down under the skin. I add hair which is really Angora Mohair, it's so soft it is the closest to feeling like babies real hair. This done by using a special tool that roots only 1-2 hairs at a time. It can sometime take 40+ hours to do a baby who has a lot of hair.
I used to sell them on ebay, but now I only do custom orders as it can take up to 4 weeks to complete one doll. But when the customer receives there new "baby" they have an Heirloom Quality Collectible that can be passed down.
Here are a few pictures of babies I have created. Some were sold on ebay while others were custom orders...

Mavisavis · 04-13-2008, 01:35 PM

Wow, you do an awesome job...what a talent you have. If you go under classifieds you could advertise for others to order.

Vim&Vigour · 04-13-2008, 01:51 PM

Interesting job Gina!
I saw a very good documentary a few months ago showing a woman in the UK (who also deals with the US) in producing reborns. Often her customers were grandmothers who missed their grandchildren having moved far away and mothers who lost babies... The psychology around the art has a large net of pros and cons, but from an artistic point of view, it is very impressive! Not least the weight "ballast" that makes the babies floppy or heavy in the right places. How did you come into this line of work? Have you painted on porcelain before? A very very meticulous and time consuming job - how is your back?
A long way by means of introduction, but WELCOME to Thinner Times Forum - a great bunch on here. Congratulations to your terrific weight loss! Keep going!
Cheers,
Vim (in London UK)

MiladyB · 04-13-2008, 01:57 PM

Wow, Gina those babies are amazing!! I can see why it would be so extremely time consuming. Thank you for sharing a glimpse of your talent with us. It just helps us to get to know you better.

gina0922 · 04-13-2008, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vim&Vigour

Interesting job Gina!
I saw a very good documentary a few months ago showing a woman in the UK (who also deals with the US) in producing reborns. Often her customers were grandmothers who missed their grandchildren having moved far away and mothers who lost babies... The psychology around the art has a large net of pros and cons, but from an artistic point of view, it is very impressive! Not least the weight "ballast" that makes the babies floppy or heavy in the right places. How did you come into this line of work? Have you painted on porcelain before? A very very meticulous and time consuming job - how is your back?
A long way by means of introduction, but WELCOME to Thinner Times Forum - a great bunch on here. Congratulations to your terrific weight loss! Keep going!
Cheers,
Vim (in London UK)

Vim,
Thank you for the kind words! Yes there is or has been a lot of debate about this art form. For some people it is very unsettling and "creepy" as I have heard some say. Some are amazed that it isn't a real baby. Believe me, I took one doll with me to Walmart to size clothes for it and get some groceries at the same time and it took me almost 3 hrs to get out of that store. People were actually walking the isles trying to find the lady with the doll that looked like a real live baby!

I met another reborner who has created a couple memory babies for 2 women who had lost their infant. I don't presume to know why these ladies would want a memory doll. Perhaps it helped them to grieve. People collect many things, some are strange, some are not. It's all in the eye of the collector.
I have never painted on porcelain. I have always been crafty and artistic. I started out wanting to learn how to sculpt. During my research I found more and more references to "Reborns" I was curious so I googled it and that is how I got started.
It is very meticulous and believe me if I didn't have a good light and great big magnifier I wouldn't be able to do it! Funny you should mention my back, I have Sciatica as one of my como's. I'm guessing it's not from the dolls though! LOL