Q&A: Ken Crow
Keepsake Artist Ken Crow was asked to give a little more background on some of his ornaments coming out later this year. Here’s what he had to say!
Santa’s Magic Train
Ken: Toymaker Santa is happy and loves to have fun with the things he creates. He was the perfect character to play with a train set!
Off We Go!
Disney Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Ken: Disney characters make animated fun to come to life! When I see a Disney film or cartoon, I want to become those characters and do the things that they get to do. They bring out the kid in me and make my ornaments more fun.
Steamboat Willie
Disney Mickey Mouse
Ken: This year is the 90th anniversary of Disney’s Steamboat Willie, which is where we first met Mickey Mouse. The ornament is in black and white because the original short film was black and white when it came out in 1928.
Featured Artist: Ken Crow
Title:
Hallmark Senior Artist
Started at Hallmark:
August 1979
Started at Keepsakes:
November 1983
Hometown:
Long Beach, California
.
At their core, Keepsake Ornaments crafted by Ken Crow are about storytelling. His 2018 creations feature beloved characters like Mickey Mouse and Santa Claus—take a closer look at them, and you’ll find deep layers of meaning and detail.
Most of us doodled in our notebooks during high school, but Ken Crow’s drawings were a real learning experience. In his 11th grade history class, he discovered that his pictures were worth a thousand words. History teacher, Mr. Ciriello, began letting Ken use creative illustration instead of taking class notes.
During a civil war lesson, Ken drew battle scenes. When Ciriello explained how an economy works, Ken sketched his teacher running a treadmill turning the cogs of an economic engine.
Ken calls Mr. Ciriello’s encouragement the “green light” for his ability to express his artistic sensibility. Ken always understood the power of communicating ideas through art, and he became an editorial cartoonist for a newspaper. Now he conveys a sense of history and emotion in the expressive and complex work he does with Keepsake Ornaments.
But how did Ken go from drawing to becoming an expert in mechanical Christmas ornaments? As a child, he tore apart every toy he ever had to see how it worked. He even made other toys out of the spare parts. For Ken, Keepsake Ornaments will forever keep him connected with that inquisitive kid inside.
Artist Sketchbook: Joanne Eschrich
I wanted to share some sketches and thoughts on many favorite things!
Cross of the Sea
For my cross I created the original using real sea shells. Some of the shells are from my hometown beach…Horseback Beach in Westport, Mass. I love how this turned out!
Angel of Courage
Creating Susan G. Komen Angel of Courage has a special place in my heart for my sister Laurie. I always think of her when working on this one.
I am very inspired by statues and images that provoke my imagination. This is a ’storyboard’ I put together to ’sell’ my idea.
Winter Angel
Two of my favorite photos hanging in my office : )
Joanne with Dave and Don Hall Jr.
Joanne with daughters, Jamie and Anna
Artist Journal: Jake Angell
Friday, May 11, 2018
Thought I would share a bit of my history here at Hallmark. I have been at Hallmark since 2000, my first 3 years were as a contract worker just filling in where I could. I then became a full-time employee in 2003 working in our Gift Wrap and Party areas designing party plates, cups, tabletops, etc. for licensing characters.
My first work in 3D or sculpture was working on a Hallmark Property called Asteroid Andy, created by the wonderfully talented Hallmark artist Peter Martin–I sculpted the characters and props for a video game CD that was part of a Birthday card. This was my first time being able to show people at Hallmark I had a passion for creating 3D/sculptures. It was my start to getting into the Keepsake department, but it would not happen for a few years after this. (more…)
Q&A: Nello Williams
Keepsake Artist Nello Williams was asked a few questions about his creative process and about some of his ornaments coming out later this year. Here’s what he had to say!
Syrupy Snow Cone Surprise
Nello: Many Keepsake fans will remember Chris Webb who worked in Keepsakes several years ago. He owned a number of actual, full sized carnival food machines including a popcorn machine, shaved ice machine, softserve ice‐cream maker, cotton candy maker, you name it. And, he used to bring one or two of them into work for various parties. So thanks to Chris, we’ll always have a soft spot (mostly in our middles) for those types of food machines here in Keepsakes. Once I had done the popcorn machine, I realized that some snow cone machines are similar in form. I wondered also if we couldn’t use the same type of mechanism inside. While I was able to come up with a design that was very much “Nellco” and similar to the popcorn machine, Jean Newton (our engineer) and I ended up having to come up with some other way of doing the “falling snow” effect. Another reason that made me want to do a snow cone machine is that a close friend owns a shaved ice stand that he runs every summer. I’ve given him all of my other Nellco ornaments in the past. And I think it’ll be fun to give him an ornament that he can put up in the window of his stand.
Little Strummer
Nello: At a certain point in my youth I decided that I wanted to be a rock star. In a Jr. High music class they gave us some ukulele lessons. Somewhere in my young mind I thought that having an electric ukulele would be a cool gimmick that would get me a recording contract and then fame and fortune. I’ve always been a big DIY‐er, (something I got from my dad) so I decided to build myself an electric ukulele. I used parts from a cheap ukulele, electronics from a broken electric guitar, a 2 x 6, and some metallic purple spray paint from the auto parts store. It was pretty darned cool. For an amplifier, I took the head off of the arm of an old record player and soldered a plug onto the wires. Alas, having an electric ukulele didn’t lead to fortune and all, but I did get inspired enough to take a guitar class in high school. Some friends and I started a band and had a lot of fun. I still mess around with building and modifying instruments. That DIY streak and creativity are what eventually led me to Hallmark and Keepsakes. My love of making music hadn’t gone away when I got here, so when an opportunity came up to propose some music for an ornament, I jumped on it. That was Ken Crow’s Jazzy Jalopy. I’ve since done the music for a number of other ornaments, along with the song played at the Keepsake Ornaments 25th Anniversary celebration, “A Collection of Memories.” I always jump at the chance to do musical instrument ornaments. I don’t get the chance to do the music in them much anymore, but, that’s okay. Another Hallmarker, Tracy Icenogle, does most of the music for the ornaments and is fantastic at it. Also, I still get to work on a new genre of music at home. I call it “Jangle Metal.” It’s a cross between the melodic jangle of the sixties British Invasion and metal. I just know this will get me the record contract that the electric ukulele didn’t.
Jolly Old St. Nicholas
Nello: We started with a couple of concepts. One was a sort of spinner, where Santa would be suspended in a frame and would be able to turn or spin, and the other with Santa in a chimney. We ultimately settled on the Santa in the chimney. We were each told to design our ornaments according to the style that we’re most noted for. My style is rather retro. So I looked at some of the fireplaces in the art deco style (one of my favorite styles), but decided that something in that style might not be as easily recognized as a fireplace. So, I looked at how things looked in homes from the forties. While not as distinctive a style as art deco, they had a warmth that we wanted—that nostalgic feel that you see in a movie like “A Christmas Story.” For Santa, I looked at books of old advertising clip art from those periods. That gives him a more distinctly retro feel. I do love to sculpt Santa, and I think I’m going to look for more opportunities in the future to use this particular style.