Featured Artist: Anita Marra Rogers
Title:
Hallmark Artist
Started at Hallmark:
1987
Started at Keepsakes:
1985
Hometown:
Kansas City, Missouri
.
A talented painter as a child, Anita now sculpts her ornaments by hand. Her attention to detail and use of materials for added charm are partly what define her style. The rest is a knack for warmth and cheer, and preserving tradition in a way that never goes out of style.
Horses, dogs and unicorns—typical subjects for children’s artwork. But Anita Marra Rogers didn’t draw like a typical child. Her mother quickly recognized that early talent, and she signed Anita up for oil painting lessons. At age 19, Anita used those paintings in her portfolio when she applied for a job with Hallmark. As good as those paintings were, she was turned down.
A few years later, a Hallmark sculptor looked at those same paintings of seascapes and landscapes. He saw talent. He told Anita that she simply wasn’t doing the kinds of images Hallmark wanted. He invited her to come in and see what the Hallmark Artists were working on—whimsical animals, warm Christmas scenes, wintry landscapes. Anita tried her hand at one, sculpting a deer and a bunny looking sweetly at each other over a snow bank. As soon as her friend saw it, he told her that her Keepsake Ornament career had begun.
Hallmark wasn’t Anita’s first sculpting assignment. As a child, she made animal shapes out of cotton candy for her brother and sisters. There’s still a touch of sweetness to every Keepsake Ornament she creates.
Artist Journal: Debra Nielsen (Creation & Molding Processes)
Monday, November 19, 2018
All of our ideas start with a concept idea, like my 2019 Pony for Christmas unicorn sketch shown here. We may do a story board with more photos or sketches to show the inspiration behind our idea also and help “sell” the idea. The next step is to actually sculpt the ornament in a special wax that is made for us here in-house. I use a hot tool designed originally for dental work. I can also start by melting a larger piece of wax in a toaster oven (not used for food!) and pinching it to shape first. Then I can add and subtract with the hot tool or dental hand tools. My favorite tools are actually made from old paint brush handles and exacto blades that are ground to a point. The wax can also be smoothed with sand paper, nylon hose, and chemicals. Then finally I clean the sculpt surface with rubbing alcohol.
We also separate out parts of the sculpt so it can molded properly by our Prototype studio. I have photos here of the display they have set up to show their process. They make a rubber mold of our sculpt, cast a “white body” in that mold for us to paint, and then make a gray mold sample to make a permanent mold from. So finally I paint the “white body” ornament and share my design with the team for final approval. This painted piece is the master that is followed in production. Every artist has unique methods they use in their work process. And as you can see, this process is a team effort.
Featured Artist: Matt Johnson
Title:
Hallmark Designer
Started at Hallmark:
2012
Started at Keepsakes:
2012
Hometown:
Fresno, California
.
From action figures to family scenes to the elegant beauty of Hallmark Heritage, Matt is an artist of many moods and scenes. What’s at the center of it all? A love of all things holiday, and the wonder it instills in all of us, child and adult alike.
Matt has designed for companies all over the United States, but his appreciation of toys has stuck with him since childhood. Toys play an especially important role in Christmas, a holiday that gives Matt the inspiration he needs when it comes to crafting tree-worthy trimmings in the Keepsake Studio. He admits “there’s just so many people around here that make it feel like Christmas all the time!”
Matt graduated with an Industrial Design degree from the University of Kansas, and continues to be a student of product design as he follows his passion for ornaments, toys and games. As someone who appreciates fun, creative and offbeat entertainment for kids, the Keepsake Studio was just the place for Matt to work, but an opening wasn’t so easy to come by. After a few years of working in the Midwest and along the East Coast, Matt made the move back to Kansas City with his family—and, as luck would have it, an opening in Keepsakes was waiting for him.
The work of a Keepsakes designer is a challenge, but Matt is happy to see his designs inspire wonder for kids and kids at heart.
Artist Journal: Tammy Haddix
Tuesday, October 23, 2018
From the sketchbook of Keepsake Senior Artist, Tammy Haddix.
This first sketch is of my DREAM Noah’s Ark if there were no limits. It would have movement and even lights or music, and there would be two of every animal—it would be completely over-the-top! The sketch is shown next to the ark I actually created in 2007, which was a simplified version of the sketch, but still one of my favorite ornaments!
The second grouping of sketches were drawn during my time at Hallmark Live around St. Patrick’s Day. I like to sit and sketch while I wait for visitors to come through the Hallmark Visitors Center in Kansas City.
As many of you know, I am a gnome fanatic! They make me very happy—I just love them! These last sketches are of a couple of ideas I have for wall clocks. I would love to find the time to create one of these for myself someday.
Feel the Magic: Robert Chad Mary’s Angels
Sketchin’ and Sculptin’
Get a peek inside Keepsake Artist Robert Chad’s process as he explains his approach and philosophy. Watch as Robert brings his 2019 Mary’s Angel Ornament to life.
UPDATE (10.23.18 @ 8:43 AM) – Here’s the wax originals to go with the video. -Robert Chad
UPDATE (11.22.18 @ 9:32 AM) – Added finished prototype image to end of carousel.