By Setarreh Massihzadegan
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

Chances are, if you live at Linden Ponds, you’ve seen her colorful artwork and heard her jokes. Alice Nugent has made her mark in the community with festive signs, personalized bookmarks, and, of course, her very own logo.

Putting it all together
For the past 15 years, Nugent has been turning out crafts for family and friends. One can spot her logo—a tiny computer with her name inside—on the corner of her decorations and bookmarks. 

Though she has been making items like bookmarks for years, she found a greater demand at Linden Ponds, where her talent was quickly discovered when she moved there almost two years ago. After she put together some bookmarks and magnets for a few friends, others began coming to her with their photos.

“Somebody came up because they wanted another [bookmark] for their grandson,” Nugent recalls. “So it kind of just took off.”

Sharpening her skills
Since moving to Linden Ponds, Nugent has purchased a new digital camera, which she uses to photograph people for her projects. To get up to speed with the technology, she enrolled in a continuing education class on campus specifically for digital photography.

With the help of her computer, digital camera, scanner, laminating machine, and sense of humor, Nugent puts her pieces together in the bedroom of her two bedroom apartment that she uses as a workspace.

Despite her technological know-how, Nugent says she’s no expert: “It’s funny with the computer…everyone teases me because I can do the hard stuff but not the easy stuff,” she says.

Icon on campus
No matter the holiday,  residents expect to see signs around the community featuring Nugent’s amusing icons—for example, a comical cupid for Valentine’s Day.

It’s also difficult to miss her apartment door, which is covered with her handpicked holiday décor and comics. “It’s about making people laugh,” Nugent says.

“They get a kick out of it… it makes other people happy, and it makes me  happy.”