Lee, a trained nurse, entered the world of lifelike baby dolls after she was in an accident that had left her bedridden. She said, “I was sculpting little things, here and there, until 2010. After my accident, though, I discovered these clay dolls on eBay. After delving deeper, I found silicone babies and have been enamored ever since.”

Having grown up in a tight-knit family in California, Lee was encouraged to pursue her artistic leanings, but with a pro­viso. “Growing up, I always found new creative endeavors, like jewelry making, drawing, knitting, crocheting, and more,” she said. “My parents — like most Asian parents — wanted the arts to be a hobby for me. They worried that an artist couldn’t sup­port herself. Until I was injured in 2010, my primary occupation was a nurse.”

In fact, when her collectors ask her how they can start to make a doll, she is pragmatic and encouraging. She said, “I tell them, just buy a bar of clay and some sculpting tools and start from there. Don’t compare your first work to those who have been sculpting for years.”

Thinking back on her early endeavors, Lee is straightforward in her self-critiquing: “When I first started, the sculptures were monstrous! They really were. But my grandmother was always my biggest sup­porter. She hugged them and told me she loved them, which kept me going. Now when I look at those babies, I realize she was just saying that to keep me motivated.”

Her grandmother’s strategy did work, because Lee has continued to create and to improve with each and every new character. She has also won awards for her silicone babies at the ROSE International Doll Expo in Utah. “My grandmother always received one of the first dolls in every edition I would make. She collected them on her bed and bought them new out­fits. She’s not with us now, but she was my biggest supporter.”

Living among Lee’s dolls is one of the facts of life that her husband had to learn to accept. “He had to get acclimated to the clay doll heads/parts sitting on my sculpting table! My kids have grown up with my dolls around and love attending the doll shows. My parents are now very proud of my babies, and my husband has grown to do a lot of the behind-the-scenes work. He does the photography, the videography, and my website.”

When Lee decides to name one of her newborns, she is once again drawn back to her family connections. “Personally, I prefer two-syllable names for my dolls. This is just my prefer­ence. All of my kids have two-syllable names, so it reminds me

of them,” she said. Besides their name similarities, Lee’s dolls also remind her of how she felt when she welcomed her own children home: “Babies inspire innocence. When I looked at my babies and other babies, I couldn’t help but smile. I hope that is what collectors feel when they see my dolls. I hope they see the love and the work that goes into these ba­bies. I try to attend doll shows annually and meet with friends and collectors there. Seeing new work and collectors with their babies definitely inspires me. Spending time with like-minded artists and collectors, and seeing how much these babies mean to them, inspires me to work harder.”