In doing a search I found this interesting article which I am reprinting from Ray Baker's blog.
How To Find The Best African American Reborn Dolls -Article
* By Ray Baker
Ray Baker
My website was founded because of the lack of information and availability of ethnic Reborn Dolls. I started the site to help fellow reborn enthusiasts track down the best African American Reborn Dolls available on the Internet today.
View all articles by Ray Baker
Not everyone understands reborning, to the uninitiated it's a world of strange obsession, to the folks that do understand, it provides endless hours of irreplaceable pleasure. That pleasure is derived from beauty, artistry, and uniqueness of each doll, because just like human babies, reborn dolls come in every conceivable shape size and color - nowadays there are Caucasian, Asian, and African American Reborn Dolls.
The African American Reborn Dolls are particularly difficult to find, as the majority of artist that make the dolls concentrate on Caucasian babies. I started my website dedicated to finding new African American Reborn Dolls because even now, with the vast power of the Internet, African American Reborn Dolls are very difficult to track down as there are only a very limited number of artists who specialize in these African American Reborn Dolls.
Reborn dolls are exactly as they sound, they are dolls that have been stripped of their factory finishes and been "reborn" and transformed in to realistic looking babies. After having undergone a number of processes including repainting, re weighting, and the addition of realistic hair, special effects such as tears, a heartbeat, and tiny imperfections are created to make them appear even more lifelike. While this may not sound particularly difficult to do, it is a very challenging art form and the most respected artists can command several thousand Dollars for each doll.
Reborn doll artists use very careful processes to make an ordinary cloth and vinyl doll look
exactly like a real baby. The dolls are custom colored using multiple layers of specialist paints to give the 'babies' their skin tone to make them appear as closely related to their own ethnic groups as is possible, like the African American Reborn Dolls for example. Whilst all kinds of different dolls can be used to make reborns - these dolls are not made for play, they are collector dolls made to be cherished and admired.
The demand for the dolls at the high-end of the market is always extremely strong, but probably the fastest growing category is with the African American Reborn Dolls, albeit from a much smaller base. This is partly due to the fact there are fewer artist making African American Reborn Dolls, but also because the rarity makes them a very good investment - having said that, I must stress that the vast majority of collectors collect for the love of their hobby (many would never consider selling any of their dolls) and have little interest in making profits.
Collectors and enthusiasts from all over the world are constantly adding to their assortment of beautiful babies. The world of reborns is a friendly close-knit community and you will always find helpful and friendly advice - you'll just need to ask. I have been collecting unique dolls all my life, and I have always enjoyed artistic and creative pursuits, but when I first discovered reborn babies my passion was truly ignited. These delightful little babies are so beautiful which is testament in large part to the talented artists who share their art with the reborning community. You may have already guessed, that my particular passion at the moment are the African American Reborn Dolls.!
SOURCE : How To Find The Best African American Reborn Dolls -Article....
Oh how I love art and music festivals! Especially in a city that definitely knows how to do it right- Philadelphia, PA. My love, my home, my city of brotherly and sisterly love! I had a great opportunity to visit my birthplace and attend the West Oak Art and Jazz Festival yesterday, June 22,2008. It was purely a blast. In full disclosure, I wanted to see in person, Sharon Tucker, one of the well known, African American doll artists on the east coast. Sharon was conducting a doll workshop there and I wanted to meet her and learn from her. Indeed I did. She was so open and willing to share which I believe is rare for African American doll artists and any profession to do for some reason. Giving back is of primary importance to Sharon who shared with me how frustrating it was when she started, 15 years ago, for others, particularly African American doll artists, to share with her various doll making techniques. Her workshop was to put together a doll. It was demonstration and lecture on the art of doll making and what is important to remember. My eyes were attentive and stayed placed on her as she took us through a quick run through of a doll making excercise. I was so amazed at her style and grace and that she "got real" with me and others she encountered. This personality sold me and in fact I purchased two of her dolls to take home with me. 
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