 |
||
|
17/04/2008 12:57 PM - (SA) Reborn artists bring dolls to life 180408
Erica and Yvette, both from Gordon's Bay, are reborn doll artists and according to Erica, two of the first to bring the art form to South Africa when they started their reborn doll business, Sweetpeas in a Pod, in 2006. While arranging three of their "babies" on the couch, Erica and Evette explain that a reborn doll is a vinyl baby doll that has been customized by a process of painting and enhancement to resemble a human baby and the process is referred to as "reborning". The technique, which was developed in America, has evolved over the past five years as hobbyists and doll artists have refined the painting techniques and added technical enhancements. It is not difficult to understand why people confuse these dolls with real babies. Every detail, from the fine curls of hair, to the tiny hands and dainty toenails, is perfect and the clear blue eyes staring back at you, almost too lifelike for comfort! In fact, when one of the dolls was used in a window display at a baby shop in the Somerset Mall, one lady who was passing by became so upset about the fact that they had a real baby in the window, that she had to be calmed by the management! According to Erica, the "brains" behind Sweetpeas in a Pod, she stumbled across reborning by accident when she was surfing e-Bay looking for dolls and saw a photo of a baby for sale. On closer inspection, she realised it was a very lifelike doll and fascinated, began researching the art form. "I spoke to Evette about starting a reborning business and after presenting a business plan to our husbands to get the necessary funding, we ordered our first kit from America in 2006." The kit contains a vinyl head, arms, legs and a body, which have to be assembled and then painted to produce the lifelike doll-babies. Erica and Evette initially practised their painting techniques on one of their daughters' old dolls, and then started working on their first "proper" reborn doll. The have not looked back since and thus far have produced 22 dolls, each one completely unique. The dolls are put on auction on e-Bay or advertised on their website, www.sweet-peas.co.za. Erica and Yvette mostly create custom-made dolls for collectors who put them on display, but have also had the odd request, such as the woman who was expecting twins who ordered two dolls so that her husband could practice on them! "One lady bought one because it was the splitting image of her grandson, while we have also had grandparents who wanted us to make dolls that look like their grandchildren." The process of creating a reborn doll is fairly complicated and one doll can take from two weeks up to a month to make. "You have to visualise what the child is going to look like, then get the parts and choose a pallet (colour) for the skin. We have learned that less is more, you have to keep it simple," says Erica. They begin by painting layers using various techniques to add to the appearance of translucent skin tones, with effects such as veins, blotching, and "milk-spots" to resemble the skin of a newborn baby. "We use up to 12 layers of paint to get the depth and the parts have to be baked in an oven several times so that the paint can go into the vinyl." Hair and eyelashes, usually fine mohair, are applied strand be strand using rooting tools and felting needles, to give it the fluffy appearance of baby hair. The body is then stuffed and weighted to give the effect of holding a real baby and the parts assembled. "It is very satisfying when you're finished, especially when going out to the Mall to buy baby clothes and people stopping us to see," says Erica. "Our first doll was in fact sold out of a coffee shop in the Mall!" Yvette says she gets rather attached to her "babies", but enjoys delivering them to their new "moms". "New mommies receive a birth certificate and adoption sheet and even get ?screened? before adoption!" she says. Before delivery, the dolls are bathed and their hair shampooed, and after being powdered, are dressed in new clothes. They are delivered wrapped in a blanket, just like a real baby. Do they know of anybody who has actually treated the doll like a real baby? "Internationally there has been some controversy about women treating them like real babies," says Erica. "But these are reborn dolls, not babies. We are artists and what people do with them afterwards is their business!" Erica and Evette, who are registered members of the Lifelike Reborn Artists Guild, would love to share their knowledge with others interested in reborning and if enough interest is shown, are willing to present workshops. Anybody interest in learning the art of reborning, may phone Erica on 083 406 3744 or Yvette on 072 906 3551.
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
