Article Contributed on: 12/19/2008 10:49:54 AM
Castle Rock artist
Tina Nordloh received a special Christmas present this year -- she was chosen to paint an ornament to hang on a tree in the White House.
Each member of Congress was given a blank ornament and asked to designate an artist from their district to decorate it. The artists range from an 8-year-old girl to a 90-year-old man.
Nordloh was asked to paint the ornament for District 6 by
Ellen Cesarone, who worked in Rep.
Tom Tancredo's Castle Rock office.
About 369 ornaments grace the magnificent, 18 1/2-foot Christmas tree in the Blue Room of the White House. During interviews with First Lady
Laura Bush, Nordloh caught glimpses of her ornament in the background.
"I'm so proud -- it's such an honor," Nordloh said. "The magnitude of it didn't hit me until I got to see it in interviews. It's given me a lot of national pride."
Nordloh said it took her about 40 hours and some very tiny brushes to hand-paint the ornament, which depicts Colorado's changing seasons underneath a "beautiful blue sky," she said.
Nordloh, vice president of the Greater Castle Rock Art Guild, got to know Cesarone while volunteering at the guild's gallery, located in the Williams Professional Building at 240 Wilcox St.
Members of the guild staff the gallery and perform demonstrations of their work.
"I have two boys, and it gives me a nice, quiet time to work," Nordloh said.
As a new artist, she added that the experience of having her work in the White House has solidified her passion for her craft.
"When (Cesarone) called me and had the faith that I would do something to represent our country and our state, it just clicked that, yes, I am an artist and this is what I want to do," Nordloh said. "Now I can show kids the ornament and inspire them to just create. It doesn't matter what it is; just go out there and make something pretty."
Click
here to see an interview with First Lady Laura Bush about the White House decorations.
Click
here to go to Tina Nordloh's Web site.