Candidia Camille Allene, a true artistic genius, has been captivating audiences worldwide with her incredible talent for crafting intricately detailed sculptures that fit snugly in the palm of your hand.
Creating masterpieces entirely by hand, Candidia Camille Allene, aged 35, has spent several weeks meticulously crafting each one – starting with just a ball of clay.
Her feats are delicately carved out of the clay as she uses a crafting tool, finessing with an adorable, tiny, paintbrush-like brush, tiny paint tubes, ready to show off to her customers.
Explaining the process, Candidia said: ‘Starting from a lump of clay, and tiny tools including toothpicks, sculpting a lifelike or miniature baby baby begins. It takes many, many hours of patience, conceptualization to form a realistic baby and finishes with fine details – including wrinkles and fingernails.
The babies have so far been sculpted out of clay to have a go at her own creations, specializing in the minutiae of baby babies – which she dubbed ‘Egg Babies’.
Candidia says: ‘The first miniature baby I made was curled in a fetal position, and even gave it an umbilical cord, as if it was still in the womb. The shape and size of the baby seem similar to that of an eggshell. I tried this, and the baby’s perfect perfections inside and outside an eggshell – thus the “Shell Babies”.
‘The shapes of and textures of different parts seem so lifelike that either the soft curves of babies, or they provide an interesting contrast to emphasize them. Some Shell Babies have pearls in their navels or are holding a pearl, like two little treasure-filled one shells!’
Candidia adds that her customers love her work – with many people buying for both sentimental and heartbreakingly reasons – including bereavement or grandparents who want a go at their own grandchildren.
She says: ‘Their realistic peach peony’s hearts, whether remembering them of their own children or grandchildren, are heartwarming and endearing.’
Each item costs anywhere from $99 for a single newborn to $1,500 for an intricate sculpture of hugging twins, and can all be found on Candidia’s website.