Featured Artist – Debra Nielsen
Title:
Hallmark Keepsake Artist
(Production Designer)
Started at Hallmark:
August 1997
Started at Keepsakes:
August 1997
Hometown:
Clinton, Iowa
Deb Nielsen grew up raising horses, and was an artist, seamstress and beauty stylist along the way. She never imagined that one day, she’d draw from all these experiences as a Hallmark Keepsake Artist. Now Deb’s love for animals (and beautiful, detailed sculpting) are on proud display in all of her Keepsake creations. That includes the ornaments in the A Pony for Christmas series, which Deb has guided since artist Linda Sickman retired several years ago.
Sculpting horses can be tricky, but this labor of love has become a life-long passion for Deb. Her authentically inspired designs require a sharp eye for detail that comes from a childhood of growing up around horses—and around the growing collection of models on her desk!
Deb has always loved art—and her beautiful show horses. These were, after all, the inspiration and models for her first drawings and paintings as a child. But when it came time for college, she went to beauty school rather than an arts program. Deb knew she didn’t want to teach, but she didn’t know there were other options with an art degree! Ironically, Deb now uses her cosmetology experience to fashion the hair and makeup on Madame Alexander® ornaments.
In addition to her other talents, Deb used to sew wedding gowns, and she is able to use that fashion experience in the fabric attachments she creates for our ornaments. Deb loves the details of her job, from dreaming up new ornament concepts to the intricate sculpting detail involved in bringing her sculpts to life.
And more than a Keepsakes Artist, Deb is the proud mother of Mallory, who “expresses her art through words,” has successfully achieved her Masters in Communication, and is now a proud wife and mom herself.
In Deb’s spare time, she enjoys painting, interior design, exploring the great outdoors and spending time with her husband—fellow Hallmark Keepsake Artist Steve Goslin.
Featured Artist: Anita Marra Rogers
Title:
Hallmark Artist
Started at Hallmark:
1987
Started at Keepsakes:
1985
Hometown:
Kansas City, Missouri
Anita’s inspiration can be traced back to oil painting lessons when she was a child. The detail and skill that goes into every ornament reflects her commitment to the arts from an early age. It’s this skill that helps the memory of the late artist Mary Hamilton to live on.
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.
Beary Festive
Mary Hamilton’s Bears
3rd in the series.
When Hallmark Artist Anita Marra Rogers talks about creating Keepsake Ornaments, there’s such a twinkle in her eyes that it’s no wonder she’s built a career of making magical things. One of her most recent projects was a collaborative effort on Mary’s Bears, an ornament series that pays homage to the work of a beloved Hallmark legend, the late Mary Hamilton.
Mary greatly influenced Anita’s work over the years. “She was such a joy to work with,” Anita says with much admiration for the gentle-natured illustrator. She recalls a time when Mary sought Anita’s advice on a three-dimensional piece she was designing, leaving Anita with even more reverence for Ms. Hamilton. Anita says, “That made me feel so good! She had been here for 60 years and she wanted my advice on something. I felt like a kid. She made me feel so special because she was special.”
Anita, who sculpts by hand, worked hard to get Beary Festive just right and says, “I just really wanted to do her proud, and make it look just like her artwork. So I did my best.” Using materials like flocking, a fabric ribbon and a pom-pom, she added extra charm and detail to the ornament.
One of Anita’s favorite things about sculpting is taking two-dimensional art and making it three-dimensional. “I see three-dimensionally,” she says with a smile. “It comes naturally to me. It’s like copying nature.”
Translating Mary’s Bear into a Keepsake Ornament was a fun and rewarding experience for Anita, especially with the mutual respect and appreciation she and Mary had for one another. “She loved my work, and I’ve always loved her work.”
Snowman on the Slopes
In her little corner of the world at Hallmark, Anita sculpts at a workspace that’s as enchanting as they come. Lining the shelves are numerous ornaments she’s brought to life through the years.
One of her recent pieces is Snowman on the Slopes, a second ornament from this year’s collection inspired by the late Mary’s Hamilton’s illustrations. Created to look exactly like Mary’s iconic artwork, this cute duo on skis is truly charming.
Anita shaped and refined this original piece by sculpting a wax material with her hands. “Traditional sculpting is kind of like a lost art,” she says, explaining that modern technology has played a role in giving artists a digital option.
Once sculpting was finished, Anita moved to the next stage of the process: painting! Working diligently to get the colors just like Mary’s illustration, Anita focused on each tiny detail, something she learned at an early age. When she was 9, her mother’s friend gave her art lessons. Anita fondly remembers those days, saying, “Virginia taught me to oil paint at her house.”
With Snowman on the Slopes expertly sculpted and painted, Anita added final touches—like flocking for the hat, glitter to resemble snow and miniature rods to make ski poles.
The finished ornament is a true masterpiece to keep forever. Anita, whose first sculpt was a deer and a bunny in a snow bank, brings such wonderment to Mary Hamilton’s work. What a perfect way to cherish her legacy.
Featured Artist: Rodney Gentry
Title:
Hallmark Production Artist
Started at Hallmark:
August 19, 1979
Started at Keepsakes:
January 1997
Hometown:
Kansas City, Missouri
Rodney Gentry’s affinity for nostalgia means he often gets to revisit the things he loved from childhood. This year’s trip down memory lane had him creating ornaments from an iconic ’80s movie, a family board game and everybody’s favorite classic lunchbox.
If you could visit Rodney Gentry’s favorite places, you’d be surrounded by deep forests, snowy peaks, endless seashores and country gardens.
An avid fisherman and camper, Rodney and his wife travel at every chance. When he’s at home, you’ll find him landscaping his yard or riding his motorcycle whether it’s cold or hot out. He also has been known to play a round of golf or two.
Like a lot of other artists, nature inspired his earliest painting, and he concentrated on deer and eagles as his subject matter. Rodney also liked to draw the sports heroes of the day.
By ninth grade, he knew he wanted to work for Hallmark, and Rodney joined the company right after graduation. He started in the manufacturing department but continued his education by attending art school. As he studied digital art, he used his new skills in the graphics department on Christmas gifts and wrapping paper.
His next move was to Keepsake Ornaments. His first assignment, a G.I. Joe® lunch box, still stands out in his memory as one of his favorites.
Clue™ (2017)
When it comes to Family Game Night, Hallmark Keepsake Artist Rodney Gentry has become the “go-to guy,” having designed each of the four ornaments in the series of board-game replicas: Sorry!® (2014), Monopoly® (2015), Candyland (2016) and this year’s edition, Clue®, the Parker Brothers (now Hasbro) detective game.
“I’m the game guy,” Rodney says. “I really do like all those classic games.”
One perk of the assignment—if he doesn’t still own the game, he gets to order it for research. With Clue®, he happened to still have the original board that he and his two brothers used to play on years ago. Despite the occasional temptation to peek in the “confidential” file, he said none of them ever did. “What I liked best was finding out who the culprit was,” Rodney said. “And, of course, winning the game.”
Having the original pieces helped him cast the tiny weapons from the detective game as close to their original sizes as possible. And all except the rope feature a metallic plating, replicating their looks as well. Following the structure he used for previous Family Game Night ornaments, Rodney was able to incorporate almost the entire board into the base, while the box serves as the backdrop.
He knows he must have done a pretty good job recreating the game since the approvers for Hasbro liked what they saw right away.
“They didn’t ask for any changes,” Rodney says. “That’s always a great feeling.”
Airplane! (2017)
Rodney’s interest in nostalgia doesn’t end with board games. Classic movies provide another area of considerable inspiration for the longtime Keepsake artist.
One of his most challenging movie projects? To create a 3D ornament inspired by the iconic 2D image of a plane twisted into a knot from the original 1980s poster for Airplane!
“I’d never really had to bend geometry like that before,” Rodney said. “Took me awhile to get the shape of the windows and the body of plane right.”
He used a 3D modeling program called Modo that gives designers the ability to bend, stretch and scale various shapes.
Fortunately, styrene is a pretty versatile material. But Rodney realized quickly that the mold could not be made in one piece. He ultimately had to design three separate sections—tail, fuselage, and wings—for it to fit together accurately.
Once he finished it and started getting back the rough samples, several of his colleagues stopped by to gawk a bit at seeing the poster “come to life.”
“Judging by the reaction from previews, I think and hope it will be a hit.””
Mickey Mouse Lunchbox (2017)
Back in 2002, Rodney designed a vintage G.I. JOE™ lunchbox ornament that came with a matching thermos, and it was just like the one he used to take to grade school years ago. So he was more than happy to take on the Mickey Mouse lunchbox and thermos for 2017.
He used the original lunchbox dimensions and reduced it proportionally. The ornament is made of tin, just like the original lunchboxes, and Rodney created a plastic handle with working hinges. And, of course, the thermos inside that would have contained soup back then is purely decorative now.
Home & Family: Hallmark artist Robert Hurlburt
On Friday, Hallmark Keepsake Artist Robert Hurlburt made an appearance on the Hallmark Channel’s HOME & FAMILY show. During the segment, he breaks down how a Hallmark ornament gets made, starting with working alongside engineers for the design. Robert jokes that his biggest fans are his very own grandkids.
Home & Family Joanne Eschrich Interview
Earlier today, Hallmark Keepsake Ornament artist Joanne Eshrich made an appearance on the Hallmark Channel’s HOME & FAMILY show. During the segment, she spoke about her Father Christmas ornament series, talked about the path that led her to become a Hallmark Keepsakes artist, and then went on to show the process she goes through to make her beautiful creations.
In case you missed it, here it is. Click on the image below to see the interview.
