I have included both the making and buying of Reproduction dolls as one guide, because to some extent, the criteria is the same.

First, let me take you throught the steps of making a doll..  For the antique and for the originals of today, a talented person must first sculpt the head and possibly the body, if it won't fit a standard body.  Now, this is not a quickie deal !  I've done this, so I know.  It is painstaking, time consuming and can be so disillusioning.  We think that to take a clump of clay and make a humanistic face is not so hard.. Well, you should try it.  It's for the chosen few..

Anyway, next the mold must be made.. While this is not a brain-teaser, it does take some know how and of course the time and materials to get it done..  I've made molds and purchased molds.. Some are good, some better and some awful!  I guess my own probably  fall some place in the middle.. Certainly not good enough to go into the mold business.

Now, the quality of that mold makes a big difference when one starts to make the head it is reproduced from.(Well, yes, even the mold is a reproduction).  If it is of fine quality, then the proceeding will be much easier.  But even a head that looks really good in the antique, will have it's own little problems when you start to reproduce it.. A couple of for instances:  The SFBJ 238 has small eyes for the size of head.. One eye is not really in line with the other, the Huret head I'm working on slightly bows it's head,  and as you reduce things in size all the problems are made bigger!  So, you try, in the greenware stage or even in the mold making stage, to correct those problems..  Sometimes you can make it better, sometimes not. So whether you are making or buying, you need to take this into consideration.

When the mold is completely dry, it can be poured.  If it is too dry, then it must be spritzed with distilled water, then banded with large rubber bands, especially for this purpose..  Then the slip(porcelain which is in liquid form.. about like thin pudding) can be poured into the mold..  Then there is a waiting period while the mold absorbs the liquid portion of the slip , leaving a layer of porcelain.. Usually about the thickness of a nickle..  At that point, the slip is poured out of the mold, leaving the shell inside.  the mold must then sit, suspended on something (I use sticks) for about 30-40 minutes until the shell is hard enough to hold shape.  At that point the mold can be opened and the greenware head removed.. OH! but, first, one must make sure there are no gouges, pinholes or other repairable damage to the head.  The area of the pour, which is called "spare". must be removed.. The pourer must know if the doll has pierced ears, etc. which must be done at that stage.  Then the head is left to dry completely..  usually 3-4 days.

I am taking you through the steps that I take, but some may take more or less.

When the head is dry, the green ware is handled very carefully.  It is like compressed powder at this point. Many people no longer clean greenware at this stage as inhalation of the powder can cause lung problems.  I clean off the mold lines, cut out the eyes, ream out the ear pierce and clean up anything that looks like it needs it..This takes at least 40 minutes on most heads.  And hopefully, I don't lose track and squeeze the piece or let the knife slip and it breakes.(especially when cutting out eyes.. ).If not,then I fire it to an .018 in the kiln.  This is called soft firing..  When removed, the head is put into water.. It is fired just enough not to melt.  I soak at least overnight..but have left them in the water for days and days.  Then I clean the head again.  this time making sure that I find every little pit or scratch, etc. and fix it. Another 30 minutes or so of work... Then it is fired to cone 6, which is called High Fire.  There are lots of technical things that go on, that I am not covering..

While the firing is going on, I always have this nagging in the back of my mind.. I've had plenty of kiln loads( about 6-8 heads) that I lost because of the kiln misfiring..  I really made a mess a while back, when I put a 6 in the cone setter and then accidentally put .018 witness cones next to my greenware.. Needless to say it was all ruined when the .018 cones became a puddle.  So, this is just another one of those things that happen to the doll maker.  It's a loss of time, slip, cones, electricity, etc. Happens when your mind gets too much going on at once!

If a piece is glazed, there is more to be done..  After the head , arms, legs or whatever is cleaned for the last time. And is still in the soft fired stage. You must paint them with glaze, which is a liquid.  Again, more handling as the bottom of the piece that touches the kiln shelf must be cleaned off. (Glaze on the kiln shelf is a real mess to clean up). Make sure there are no puddles or runs.  .  I fire this twice.  I give the piece one coat of glaze, fire to a cone .016 giving it 5 hours to reach that temperature. I have to wait until the next day to open the kiln.    Then I give them a second coat of glaze and fire to cone 6.. Takes about 8-9 hours.  Again, have to wait till the next day.

Then it's time to paint... But, of course, prior to painting, a person has to research the doll they are going to paint.  I search thru dozens of books looking for the best pictures of that particular doll.  Sometimes, there is a work sheet available that another doll artist has published..  That helps to some degree.  My preference is to have an antique right in front of me.. But, not possible with some of those $50,000 dolls! You must decide what shade the skin tone is... if painted eyes, well, there are many shades of blue/brown.  the lashes..  Not all lashes are the same.. In fact, there are hardly two alike.. do they slant out or in or are they straight?  Are there many or just a few?   The brows are even worse, believe it or not..  There are dozen of different kinds of brows.. The french brows tend to be a like type... but, the german brows are a miriad of choices.  some are wispy, fly away, some are perfect little brows.. There are one stroke.. The ladies have their very own style and  it goes on and on.. I would venture to say that I spend anywhere from an hour to days looking for the pictures and making those decisions..

Then start to paint.. First the lashes(did I tell you have painted on one head an entire day and then wiped off the lashes again?) and then fire to.018.  I do this, because it might take me several days to finally get the lashes and I don't want to smudge them!  Then Paint the first coat on the brows, the eye dots, the nose dots and put the first coat on the mouth.  Fire to .018.(if you have painted eyes, you would do the ires in this fire)

Next, if you have painted eyes, do the pupil... the second coat on the brows, the center of the nose dot, the highlight on the mouth. Fire to cone .018.

This fire is for the flesh color if you poured in white porcelain. fire to cone .018

Last fire(we hope.)  Touch up or detail anything that needs it, blush the cheeks and fire to cone .018.

It 's not unusual to fire it yet again, when you find you need just a little more shading in the mouth, another coat on the brows, more cheek blush,etc. etc.

After the doll is fired and you are content with it..  Notice I didn't say HAPPY.  I'm never happy.. I can always find a flaw.  then you have to set the eyes if you didn't paint them, find a neck button and mount it on the perfect body.. Then dress it..appropriately.

How many hours are in a doll..  I have estimated somewhere between 80 and 100 hours are in each doll from start to finish..

Should you make or buy a reproduction doll?  Here is the bottom line.. You can see the amount of work and worry that goes into making one..  If you see a doll, and it doesn't really matter if it's antique, artist or a reproduction or even a mass produced one...and that doll speaks to you and you love it and you can afford it and you will enjoy it... Then by all means.. Buy it or Make it.. You will never be sorry..