ARTISTS DIANE ANGEL REED & VAL GIBSON

The studio artists of Angel Reed & Gibson, Diane Reed and Val Gibson, design and hand paint colorful "picture stories" on their line of baby/child accessories for the nursery/play room.  Soft cotton pillows, crib duvet covers, bumpers & ruffles coordinate with posters, canvases, and water colors to weave story lines that bring sparkle to snuggle time.

Diane and Val, in their design process, seek to encourage children to expand their horizons and to sharpen their "mind's eye".  The images suggest a story that can be developed by the parent and child.  As they build the story together, the creative process fosters in the child a positive self-concept and encourages the quest for new solutions to the riddles in the great Creation that we all share.

From "Bunny Tea-Parties" and "Carrot Dreams" to "Bears at Work" and "Bears on trains", seeds are scattered in children's fertile minds. The presence of God the Creator, God the Protector, and God the Lover of Souls can be woven into the fabric of the stories.

Beyond the creative partnership that has enriched both their styles, they continue their more serious work in acrylics and watercolor. Garden and village scenes from recent trips are found in selected gift shops through out the country.

The studio of Angel Reed & Gibson can be found in a warehouse loft in historic St. Elmo at the foot of Lookout Mountain, Tennessee.

STORY TELLING

"We take great pleasure in creating and sharing images that encourage
positive communication between parent and child. Chattering to our
newborns, we deluge them with sounds that we hope will convey our love and appreciation for their smiles and gurgles. Parents await baby's first words, celebrating that glorious moment of transition from nonverbal to verbal. From that point on adult and child vie for a balance between appropriate times and places to be vocal.

Although boundaries are important, a child's need to express and try out his new talent should be encouraged and channeled. Becoming a story teller & an attuned listener equips the child to communicate with confidence and sensitivity. The sheer joy of telling stories over the years from crib to college make it easier to talk during the transition from teens to young adulthood. "

THE QUIET ROLE OF ORIGINAL ART

"So often in our manufactured world, cookie cutter designs stamped on fabric with their monotonous and flat images pass for "good enough", "child friendly" characters in a baby's environment. We feel these stamped on images create a featureless world which is lacking in depth and personality.

Angel Reed & Co. endeavors to create a world where moonbeams light the way and whimsical characters play out the real life situations that surround them. In the company of rabbits and rainbows, babies encounter a variety of cozy environments inhabited by a cast of engaging characters whose adventures lie ahead in each bedtime story. These characters cast a shadow on the grassy lands that they scamper through… literally and figuratively.

Our hope is that each parent will create the stories until the child is able to share in the telling of each new adventure, together coloring in the details and creating heroes as they go. The tapestry of our childhood stories travels with each of us through time having a lasting impact on who we become and the shadow we cast on our world. "