Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, December 25, 1993 TAG: 9312270281
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: HOLIDAY
SOURCE: MICHAEL CSOLLANY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Kind of ironic for folks who made ornaments that now hang on the White House Christmas tree.
Roberts, a Floyd county jewel cutter, said he's been busy preparing for a show of his works. The Sumners - who specialize in woodwork - also cited their busy business season.
Heyne, a Radford folk artist, said she just hadn't been inspired.
Heyne made a 13-inch-high angel of pulped papier-mache, which when sanded and painted closely resembles carved wood. The angel is garbed in a scarlet and gold medieval-style gown inset with semi-precious stones. Its wings are gently furled and covered in gold leaf and amber stones.
Heyne said she had difficulty meeting guidelines for size and weight established by the White House.
"I think she's an overweight angel. I don't know if she'll ever be able to fly," she said.
Roberts made an underwater scene etched into a quartz crystal.
"There's one specific quartz mine in Arkansas that has some of the best crystals in the world," Roberts said. And that's where he got the raw piece.
He drew the image on the back of the crystal. Then, using a diamond dental bit, he etched it into the back of the ornament. He fabricated a cap for the crystal with sterling silver.
Lloyd Sumner edits a journal entitled "World of Wood," so it was only appropriate that his ornament be made of lots of different kinds of wood.
"It had to be made out of wood, because I'm very much into wood. I wanted to use many different kinds of wood. In the end, there is some wood on the ornament that can be found in each of the 50 states," he said.
Since so many woods were used, he had to cut each piece extremely small to stay under the weight limit.
His wife, Jean, designed an ornament consisting of a double-sided mirror embedded in a tree-slice. She called it "Reflections of American Craftsmen," and hoped it would catch reflections of the other ornaments on the tree.
All the artists said they were surprised to be contacted by the White House earlier this fall and were unsure where the Executive Office got their names.
It turns out that the White House contacted artists through membership lists of craft guilds. Organizers sent two letters: the first asking for participants, and the second detailing guidelines and a theme of "angels" selected by Hilary Rodham Clinton.
Roberts said he had no hesitation about making the ornament, despite a significant cost for the quartz crystal.
"I felt it was my patriotic sense of duty," he said with a laugh.
"I thought it was a good democratic thing for the White House to do, and not in the partisan sense," Heyne chimed in.
Lloyd Sumner said he has been very pleased overall with the dedication the Clintons have made to American crafts - beginning with a tent devoted to crafts at the Inauguration, a declaration of the "Year of the American Crafts" and, finally, the ornament idea.
Dennis Danner and Pattie Neal of Roanoke also decorated ornaments.
The ornaments adorn the main White House Christmas tree, an 18 1/2-foot Fraser fir located in the Blue Room. Over 3,000 artists across the country contributed 7,500 ornaments, which will become a part of the permanent collection.
The tree skirt for the Blue Room tree consists of individual quilted panels representing all 50 states and U.S. territories.
A total of 22 Christmas trees spruce up the White House atmosphere. Some are decorated by Blue Ribbon schools, schools recognized by the government for quality and improvement.
Wreaths have been hung on all of the White House windows.
Memo: ***CORRECTION***