By Tracy McKenna

From her home in Philadelphia, Laura Tuzio-Ross shares her earliest doll memories. “When I was 3 years old,” recalls Laura, “my aunt sent me a set of some baby paper dolls. All but one was wearing a snow suit. I wanted a snow suit for all the babies, so I watched as my mother carefully traced around the baby and drew a lovely snow suit for it, which she then colored and cut out to complete my set. It was my first art lesson.” 

From that point on, Laura began to draw and design her own paper dolls and clothes. Her interest expanded to include three-dimensional baby dolls she could cuddle in her arms. Her mother encouraged her in that direction as well. “Every Christmas,” says Laura, “my mother would make new clothes for my baby dolls. It was always so exciting to wake on Christmas morning and see all the little diapers, sun suits, and rompers appear before my eyes. Those handmade clothes done by my mother were always my favorite presents.”

After high school, Laura attended the Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia where she majored in fashion illustration. She spent the next 11 years working as an illustrator and graphic designer for the Campbell Soup Co. During this period, just for fun, Laura drew pastel portraits of children.

In January 2004, Laura came across the term “one-of-a-kind” and began to investigate further. She found some tiny hand-sculpted babies in an online auction and decided it was something she would like to try. “I started with 4- to 5-inch babies and sculpted one each day for 11 days and offered them to collectors. By the time I had made baby number 11, I was receiving e-mails from so many people requesting custom orders that I could no longer offer my work through auctions. Within three months, I sculpted my first life-sized baby, Ming Mei, for a doll show in Massachusetts.” The demand for Laura’s babies continued to increase.

Laura’s one-of-a-kind babies are made from ProSculpt®. She uses acrylic eyes for her awake babies and the highest-quality mohair, which is rooted, then pressed into the unbaked sculpt and baked to ensure it remains permanent. Laura’s mother sews all of the bodies for her babies. With fiberfill and pellets, the dolls are made to reflect the weight and feel of a “real, live baby.”

In late 2004, Laura began to offer limited-edition silicone babies to collectors. First came Braydon, a 20-inch baby boy, followed by 16-inch preemie Jessica. Both babies were editions of 20, and collectors could choose hair and eye color as well as Caucasian or biracial skin tones. Suki, a 23-inch Asian baby girl, came next in an edition of 15. These were closely followed by Taylor, an open-eyed baby, and Tristan, a peaceful sleeper. Both Caucasian babies were in an edition of 15 and collectors could choose not only hair and eye color but also whether they wished their new baby to come home dressed as a boy or girl. 

Today, Laura offers baby Bella, a biracial open-eyed baby girl inspired by her real-life daughter Isabella, again in an edition of just 15. As with her original works, Laura hand-paints all of her silicone babies and uses the same quality hair, eyes, and bodies. The babies all have hand-rooted hair and eyebrows. All are hand-signed and numbered, and each receives a certificate of birth.

In addition to her limited-edition and original pieces, Laura has also started producing miniature babies in resin. The first is for a group called We Love Black Dolls.   “I was asked to sculpt the group’s club baby for 2005 in a 6-inch size,” says Laura. “These babies, as with all other resins, have hand-painted eyes and hand-applied mohair. They usually come with bunting, blanket, or display basket.

“I also have quite a few of my babies in reproduction in silicone-vinyl for Home Shopping Europe through MasterPiece Dolls. I try to offer the same variety of ethnicities and expressions as with all my other babies,” says Laura. “I feel it is important to have some of my pieces reproduced so that more collectors have the opportunity to own one of my dolls.” 

On a more personal level, Laura explains, “I am an artist in every sense of the word. I am messy and disorganized, yet laid-back and very down-to-earth. My art takes over my life and my house. It is not unusual to find doll heads in the oven, legs on the table, and mohair on the couch. Art is extremely difficult to contain, and it is impossible to be neat and tidy. I can become also so focused on the face I am sculpting that I completely forget about making dinner and doing the laundry.”

When asked about her hopes for the future Laura replies, “I wish to continue to make collectors happy with each new baby. I am excited to still be at the beginning of my new career.”

One look at the soulful expressions and uncannily real expressions on Laura’s babies leads one to believe that she may, indeed, get her wish.

Buy this Issue: October 2006