Ken Crow

Title:
Hallmark Senior Artist

Started at Hallmark:
August 1979

Started at Keepsakes:
November 1983

Hometown:
Long Beach, California

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Inspired by artist Ken Crow’s love of Ol’ Saint Nick, Santa’s Magic Cuckoo Clock is filled with magic, just like Santa! Read more about what led this true believer to create this spectacle of light and sound.

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.

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