An artistic expression ...
“Reborning,” as it is most often referred to, is a most impressive art of creating a realistic doll with as much detail as possible to mirror a human baby. Reborning is a very time consuming craft that takes tons of patience, precision and dedication to see the finished product through, slacking on nothing. I am a detail-oriented person and quite the perfectionist, see
ing myself as my only competition. I am a self-taught Reborn Artist and I’ve come a long way, taking the tools associated with the craft and bringing together a product I am proud of. It wasn’t until recently, my grandfather told me that his father worked at a doll factory over 85 years ago. He would take home the parts that hadn’t met quality control and my great-grandmother would repair them. She would paint them, add eyes and sew together some fabric for a body. My grandfather would then go out into the street in search of straw in order to stuff them with. I never had the pleasure of knowing my great-grandparents, but this thing we had in common connected me to them in a very special way. Although I did love and appreciate dolls as a kid, I much more enjoyed a good cardboard box, some paper and Scotch tape. The creative energy that often makes me restless was coursing through my veins even back then. Upon painting and assembling my first baby doll I felt an enormous sense of … dare I say awe, at what I had created. This started me on my search for those who may benefit from these special dolls. I tend to think there’s a stigma attached to dolls in general that prevent some from appreciating the art itself. I’ve come across some people who are terrified of dolls. And so I would definitely agree a lifelike doll is not for everyone. DeLuca Dolls are not intended for actual childlike play. They are delicate to some degree and must be handled carefully. Therefore I do consider them for the more mature individual. It takes many hours, days and most often weeks to complete each baby. The vinyl head and limbs are painted layer after layer in order to achieve the look of real skin. Carefully placed veins and capillaries are subtle and appear to run under these layers of “skin”. Toning, shading, mottling, blushing, and sometimes even milk spots and stork bites are added. The vinyl is baked to seal in each later of paint. The hair is micro-rooted by hand with the finest and softest authentic kid mohair. It is then sealed from the inside so that your baby’s hair can be moistened and styled. Open-eyed sculpts will have mouth-blown glass eyes because the realism of these eyes are breathtaking. Magnets will be added by means of attaching the pacifier and/or hair bow accessories. Dolls are filled with super soft polyfil and weighted with glass beads to imitate a normal newborn weight. And as with any newborn, you’ll find the head will need to be supported too. I normally will add a baby-fat insert to the bottom to fill out the diaper better, which adds tremendously to the realistic feel. The doll is then dressed in newborn clothing, purchased specifically for them and never worn/used otherwise. These babies are beautiful to look at, so comforting to hold and will be sure to capture your heart. If you are interested in a very special baby doll, please visit eBay where I am currently selling under eBay ID – "delucadoll11". Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments at [email protected].
