IT is a strange yet extremely delicate hobby that Canadian sculptor Camille Allen, 25, has mastered. Inspired by her husband’s grandmother, who taught her how to sculpt life-size dolls, sculpting minute and intricate dolls is a hobby that has now become a full time job for her.

To the naked eye, the sight of an extremely small realistic-looking baby fast asleep in the palm of the hand is something that fools people to think the dolls are real.

Making miniature dolls is not an easy task. Allen initially began by trying different things to come up with the perfect miniature baby. The first one she made was curled in a fetal position, which she even gave an umbilical cord as if it was still in the womb. The baby was small enough to fit in an eggshell.

“I tried this and the baby fit perfectly inside an egg. This was how the idea of ‘Egg Babies’ was born,” Allen said. After the eggshell baby she made a baby that could fit inside a seashell thus creating the idea of a “Seashell Baby.”

The eggshell baby reminded her of how fragile new born babies are and how gently they need to be treated. “Some ‘Shell Babies’ have pearls in their navels or are holding a pearl, like two little treasures found in one shell,” said Allen, who says babies are gifts to be cherished.

“These sculptures are a reminder of how beautiful these babies are when they are small and how sweet they look,” she added.

Allen’s interest in sculpting began in 2001. She’s loved babies since she was a young child and with encouragement from her husband and her husband’s grandmother, has managed to direct her talent into a full time job.

Now her babies have become internationally loved and renowned collectibles. Pictures of the babies have been circulating on the Internet in forwarded e-mails that also recently reached the Kingdom with a message: “Miracle Born Babies.”

Some people said that the sculptures had been made from marzipan, or almond and sugar paste. However, this is not the case. “This is not true of course but many people still ask me if they are made from marzipan,” said Allen.

Allen, however, prefers to use polymer clay when sculpturing. This type of clay, although being soft, can be worked upon to contain the smallest detail even if it is a fingerprint. After the sculpture is done, Allen puts the sculptures in an oven to harden. Allen’s favorite ones are the two to four inch miniature babies.

It takes many hours and lots of concentration to work on a single sculpture, said Allen, adding that she spends hours working on small details that includes hair and wrinkles. Finally the sculptures are painted to add an element of realism to them.

She added that someone added pictures of her work in an e-mail containing the picture of a premature baby in a forwarded email. “Someone put my baby sculpture photos with the e-mail, so people are seeing them through that e-mail. Some people think that my miniature baby sculptures are real premature babies,” she said.

A life-size baby may take months to complete. Miniature babies take several days to several weeks, depending on how complex the sculpture is. “Making a baby sculpture involves a lot of patience. To complete it, it will depend on how I am feeling and how long I can concentrate at a time. Sometimes my eyes get tired sculpting a miniature so I take many breaks. It is very time consuming,” she said.

People have positively reacted to the miniatures, said Allen, adding that her work has touched people’s hearts reminding many of their own children. “They deeply affect women who have lost children or a pregnancy. I have received hundreds of touching e-mails,” she added.

A sample letter she received read as following:

“Dear Camille, Thank you. You have touched my heart with your sculptures. Our baby girl died at 4 months gestation. Your miniature babies.... I don’t even have words to explain it. Your babies are beautiful and remind me of Anna, so tiny, yet so perfect. Thank you for your work.”

Allen’s customers are also fond of her work. “The size of three inches is the most desired, its the size that can fit in the palm of your hand. I think the tiny size of the babies makes people think of how tiny and delicate newborn babies are, and they want to protect them,” she said.

Living in a small town in Powell River in British Columbia , Allen started a website in 2003 to allow her work to reach the widest number of people. She also used to receive custom requests for dolls to look like babies in photographs sent to her. However, she no longer takes custom requests and prefers to sculpt taking inspiration from within instead of looking at photographs.

Although Allen prefers to do everything from beginning to end by herself, she now uses the help of a manufacturer to reproduce her babies making them affordable and available to the widest numbers of people possible. Her babies are shipped across the world including Canada, US, UK, Scotland, Italy, Australia, Japan, Denmark and many other countries.

In addition, Allen is now expanding her activities to different types of babies. “I have so many ideas for the future, I could keep sculpting babies forever and not get tired of it,” she said, adding that one of her future plans is to create a baby in an ostrich eggshell. For Allen, the accomplishment of one project is the beginning of another.

She added that she does not consider her babies as being Canadian, but rather as representatives of humanity. This is especially the case since she tries sculpting babies of various ethnicities.

Babies are available for sale on Camille’s website:www.camilleallen.com and vary in prices between $75 to $4,000.