Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Keepsake Artist, Deb Nielsen loves shopping—it’s been a favorite hobby of hers for years. Thankfully, shopping helps her always keep her eye on the trends in the marketplace and what would make a good ornament. “I love going to antique stores, flea markets, art galleries and retail stores,” she said. “I definitely keep in mind what trends I’ve noticed while out and about or online—especially when concepting new ornament ideas.”

Shopping with Debra

All those trends and nuggets of ideas really come together for Deb as she starts sketching and painting. “Pencil sketches are good to start,” she said, “but adding color with paint really brings the concept to life for me. And of course, a 3D sculpt in my hand is even better!”

But even after a 3D sculpt is in her hand, sometimes things change by the time it finally gets to your tree. “Sometimes I have to change a pose to accommodate the molding process, or to fit it in a certain size box,” she said.

And sometimes a little tweak to the gesture or expression, or even additional sculpted detail may add more personality and interest to the ornament.”

Dream Horse Sculpts

And when it comes to personality and interest, no ornament does that better in 2019 than Deb’s Stunning Unicorn. “I love sculpting horses,” she said. “And this was my opportunity to sculpt a more stylized, fantasy horse with an extravagant mane and tail and ultra-slim legs. My great niece will be getting one for Christmas. I hope it puts a smile on her sweet face!”

Stunning Unicorn Sketch

When she’s not busy at work coming up with beautiful horses and various other Christmas ornaments, Deb likes to do all sorts of other creative projects in her home studio. “There are so many things I love to do outside of work that I feel like my home studio is my creative lab,” she said. “It’s filled with horse statues and Barbie dolls collected over the years. I really enjoy making felted characters out of wool—it’s good therapy. But nothing makes me happier than hiking and taking photographs. I have two canine buddies, Daisy and Cricket that are always ready to go with me. And of course, I must mention my grandson, Henry and how he loves to join me in any of these adventures.”

Debra’s Creative Lab