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While Katherine Abbott works at CWRU this holiday season, her
artwork will be on display in the White House.
photos coutesy of
Katherine Abbott
Katherine Abbott stands in front
of the official White House Christmas tree, which featurs
an ornament (below) that she created.
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The project Abbott, a research assistant at the Louis Stokes
VA Medical Center and a doctoral candidate in sociology at CWRU,
has on exhibit in the capital city is an ornament on the official
White House Christmas tree.
With "All Creatures Great and Small" as the White House holiday
theme this year, Abbott created a glass interpretation of a Northern
Cardinal indigenous to the state of Ohio to adorn the branches
of the 18-foot Noble fir that graces the oval-shaped Blue Room
on the main floor at the president's mansion.
She recently had the opportunity to see her ornament as part
of the first family's holiday decor and to meet Laura Bush during
a reception at the White House for the tree-trimming artisans
from across the country.
"It was a wonderful honor to meet Laura Bush and the other artists,"
Abbott said. "The recognition goes a long way in keeping me motivated
to create."
Abbott, who won a regional award last year for the Treasures
of a Tree juried ornament show developed by Hope Taft, said the
first lady of Ohio asked her to design a piece this year for the
White House tree. Winning ornaments from the Treasures of a Tree
competition were placed on the Christmas tree in the Ohio governor's
mansion.
The White House enlisted the governors of every state to recommend
artists who would contribute a favorite feathered friend. The
tree is trimmed with replicas of about 400 American birds.
To create her ornament for the White House tree, Abbott said
she heated glass rods in a torch to craft a hollow bead that would
form the bird's body. From there, she sculpted the hot glass to
include a tail, wings and details such as the feathers on the
breast and crown of the head.
"The cardinal's vibrant color is one of the qualities that drew
me to work with red glass that would be particularly striking
on an evergreen tree," she said.
A lampworker for about five years, Abbott displays and sells
her glass creations primarily at regional outdoor fine arts and
craft shows including the Beachwood Art Festival, Hathaway Brown,
Willoughby and St. John West Shore.
She is president of the local chapter of the International Society
of Glass Bead Makers called the Hot Rod Glass Beadmakers of Northeast
Ohio.
To see more of Abbott's glass creations, go to http://www.beadbugs.com.
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