Not just the charming
young girl in gingham and calico who evokes nostalgic feelings for a bygone era
- but a living, breathing person with an abundance of talent: artist Holly
Ulinskas Hobbie.
Mrs. Douglas Hobbie in
private life, she is the wife of a writer and the mother of Brett, Jocelyn, and
Nathaniel. The family resides in an eighteenth - century house in a small town
in western Massachusetts.
In the latter part of
the 1960's, while her husband was completing his college education, Holly, who
studied art education at Pratt Institute and painting at Boston University,
submitted her portfolio to American Greetings. Her nostalgic collection of
country children made their first public appearance on a line of greeting cards
- and a character legend was born: Holly Hobbie is this year (1983) celebrating
her fifteenth anniversary with American Greetings!
In creating the
character look which bears her name, Holly Hobbie has captured in exquisite
detail the serenity and innocence of a long - ago world. Her designs possess a
timeless appeal rooted in the homespun warmth and quiet pleasures of a simpler,
gentler way of life. "While I have not deliberately, tried to denote a specific
time or person, " she states, "my style and subjects bring back memories of a
more tranquil and charming time period. For younger people, they seem to evoke
'the good old days' captured in books or on film.. a time beyond
memory."
Much of Holly's work
reflects her memories of growing up in rural Connecticut: "I loved living on
the farm, and I had special places where I would go to daydream and pretend.
These are the places in my designs."
Though her own
children have served as models for many of her designs, the art does not become
a mirror image. "I have noticed however, that my characters tend to grow up as
my children grow," Holly notes, while explaining that children - what they do
and what they are - are the greatest source of ideas to be
found.
With their delightful
nostalgic appeal and refreshingly homespun philosophies, Holly Hobbie designs
have sparked a long - term love affair with the collectibles market - one which
gives promise of growing even stronger in the years to come.
* SOURCE: This is quoted from
1983 American Greetings Corp. Anniversary Edition Catalog.
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