Everyday People: Doll artist Jo Shortéy

Ordinary dolls are taken apart piece by piece and stripped of all their color.

Four days later, Jo Shortéy will use the pieces to create a new doll that looks like a real newborn baby.

Shortéy, of Knob Noster, is an artist who creates lifelike baby dolls complete with eyelashes, hair, veins and spotted colors.

“I love babies. I truly love babies,” Shortéy said.

She has collected dolls since she was a child. Three years ago, she realized that not all baby dolls look like real babies; she began researching reborn dolls and took a class on how to make them.

“Learning to make these little things was a dream come true,” Shortéy said.

Shortéy starts out with a regular vinyl doll that she buys from a store. The doll is stripped of all its factory color and any hair is removed. She takes out the eyes and disassembles the body parts, then she gets to work.

Shortéy uses heat-friendly paint and begins painting the doll with veins and highlights on the doll’s skin. She can also make the doll appear to have skin that is flaking or peeling, like some newborns have.

“As you do each layer, you see a little bit more life and that’s what makes it exciting,” Shortéy said.

Shortéy uses about eight layers of paint on the dolls and after each layer, the doll is placed in an oven and baked for 15 minutes at 275 degrees.

“As I look at it, I see it and add to it. I think that’s the artist in me,” Shortéy said.

Once a doll is painted, she will begin placing the hair, one strand at a time. She uses mohair, which is a soft goat hair, and adds the appropriate amount depending on what age her doll is supposed to be. Shortéy adds glass eyes and then fills the doll’s body with weights so the arms, legs and head will drop like a real newborn’s would.

“No baby is ever alike,” Shortéy said. “Everything is unique.”

Sharon Chiles, owner of Chiles Art and Doll Gallery in Clinton, said reborn dolls are very popular.

“She does a wonderful job,” Chiles said of Shortéy’s creations.

Shortéy has one of her dolls on display at the gallery. Chiles said many people have to stop and take a second look when they walk by it.

“They just look like a brand new baby; it’s amazing,” Chiles said.

After the doll is complete, Shortéy will add new clothes and other details such as hair bows or pierced ears.

“I have a lot of fun with the babies,” Shortéy said.

For more info

Jo Shortéy’s dolls sell for $350 or more and she does do commission work.

People interested in Shortéy’s work can contact her by e-mail at vanvleetjo@yahoo.com.