News release Public Information Office   SLU 10880   Hammond, LA 70402   phone: 985-549-2341   fax: 985-549-2061 publicinfo@selu.edu     www.selu.edu/news Contact: Christina Chapple Date: 12/11/02 Click on image for publication quality photo  BIRD IN HAND -- Southeastern Louisiana University visual arts faculty member Lynda Katz displays a prototype of the ornament she created for the 2002 White House Christmas tree. Katz has an "extra" ornament because she had to "throw" several versions of the ceramic ornament to get one that fit the weight restrictions given to participating artists by the White House. PROFESSOR, ALUMNUS CREATE ORNAMENTS FOR WHITE HOUSE TREE  HAMMOND -- A stained glass mockingbird and a ceramic blue heron are among hundreds of ornaments -- including a pelican, a turkey and a flock of Christmas-red cardinals -- trimming the White House's 2002 Christmas tree.       The mockingbird and heron are the creation of a pair of artists with Southeastern Louisiana University ties – visual arts faculty member Lynda Katz of Independence and 1968 graduate Jerry Hymel of Raymond, Miss.       The two were chosen along with colleagues from all 50 states to participate in the White House's tradition of commissioning hand-made, one-of-a-kind ornaments for the executive mansion's Christmas tree, an 18-foot Noble fir that graces the Blue Room. The tree's American birds theme is a nod to First Lady Laura Bush's love of bird-watching and complements the White House's 2002 Christmas decorating scheme of "all creatures, great and small."        The festive design scheme encompasses an overall red-and-gold decor with whimsical papier mache recreations of the pets of presidents past – from the Bushs' own two dogs and cat all the way back to George Washington's horse, Nelson.        Katz, who has taught ceramics and art history at Southeastern since the mid-1980s, and Hymel, a New Orleans native who is married to fellow Southeastern graduate and Hammond native Paula Cali, both got the call for White House Christmas creativity through their respective state arts councils.          The artists' charge was to create an ornament that depicted birds indigenous to their area.        The invitation to create an ornament came with a few restrictions, Katz and Hymel discovered. The ornament could not be more than 10 inches tall or weigh more than six ounces and had to hang from a gold cord. The artists were told to ship their creations to a post office box in Langley, Va.       "I guess I live under a rock sometimes," laughed Hymel, who has been a stained glass artist since 1979, when an accident sidelined him from his original teaching profession and left him paralyzed. "We were told not to send it to the White House and not to mark on the package what it was. It didn't dawn on me until someone pointed it out that Langley, Va., is the headquarters for the CIA." Naturally, packages headed for the White House have to be checked out first!         Hymel chose the mockingbird, Mississippi's state bird, as the subject for his ornament. "Since the mockingbird is not very colorful -- it's black, white and grey -- I jazzed up the black with iridescent glass, which came out nice," he said.        As a ceramic artist, Katz found the weight restriction somewhat challenging. She adorned her wheel-thrown, egg-shaped ornament of white vitreous clay with a blue heron, a design she has used before, especially on her ceramic dinnerware. A pendant hanging from the bottom of the ornament suggests a feather.        Katz first used the blue heron design when her friend and fellow artist, Janet Gildermaster of Hammond, asked her to make a set of dinnerware for Gildermaster's daughter, Lark Smith. "She asked me to use images common to both our area and the Chesapeake Bay area, where Lark lives," Katz said, who grew up outside of Philadelphia, Pa. "I used the heron because it is indigenous to both areas and has an oriental treatment. My work usually has a touch of the oriental."       According to the White House's web site, the tradition of a placing a decorated tree in the executive mansion began in 1889 when President Benjamin Harrison delighted his grandchildren with a candle-lit tree in the second floor Oval Room. Over the years, White House trees have reflected both the times and tastes of America's First Families. The first tree with electric lights was created by First Lady Frances Cleveland in 1895, while First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy began the tradition of theme trees in 1961 when she decorated the White House tree in toy trimmings from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite ballet.        The artists were invited to a White House reception on December 6, the day after Laura Bush unveiled the White House decorations for the media.        "The overall decor was incredible, and the reception was as grand as you could ever hope it would be. Everything tasted delicious," Hymel said, adding with a laugh, "Well, there was no gumbo, but other than that...."        "We were given a blue card with our names on it, which we in turn gave to what my wife would describe as ‘a very handsome Marine,' who introduced us to Mrs. Bush," he said. "She addressed us as if we were the only people in the room. She was delightful, very pretty, and as cordial and nice as she could possibly be."       "The poor lady had to have her photo taken with everyone who came," said Katz. "If that's not fortitude, I don't know what is!"       Katz said it literally took a map, distributed by the White House aides, for the artists to find their ornaments on the tree.       While they thoroughly enjoyed their White House visit, Katz said their adventures returning home were the main topic of conversation when she and Hymel saw each other again at an arts and crafts show last week.        A major snow storm arrived on the East Coast just as the artists were planning to head south. Hymel changed his travel plans and left right after the reception, only to be stranded overnight in the Charlotte, N.C. airport. Katz left 24 hours later and managed to get home in one day, "But we could have flown to Europe in the time it took," she said.       Katz said one of the best parts of her White House trip was "getting to meet people from all over the country who do what I do."        Although the White House's rules forbid the artists to duplicate their ornaments, Katz and Hymel will have permanent mementoes of their experience when their pictures with Mrs. Bush arrive in the mail. Katz may have the extra bonus of having her ornament show up in the print.       "Mine was hanging right behind Mrs. Bush's knee in all of those photos," she laughed. Return to News Releases