WASHINGTON -- Ornaments inspired by Hot Springs' Bathhouse Row cover a Christmas tree across the street from the White House this year.
That evergreen is one of the first lining the "Pathway of Peace" -- the route that zigzags around the National Christmas Tree in President's Park.
Barbara Cade, a Hot Springs artist for nearly four decades, created the 12 decorations, forming the grapefruit-size, sequin-accented balls by hand.
Fifty states, five territories and the District of Columbia each have their own tree; an artist or artists from each of those states is tasked with creating new ornaments. The state trees are an annual tradition stretching back to 1954, according to National Park Service officials. (The presidential tree lighting, on the other hand, began with Calvin Coolidge in 1923.)
Some states allow grade-schoolers or high school students to participate in the project. Others pick established professionals.
Officials with the Arkansas Arts Council selected Cade to represent Arkansas. Her tree is fifth in line, tucked in between Arizona and California.
The designs on Cade's ornaments are modeled after the tiles that are found on the floors and walls of some of the city's historic bathhouses.
"We had to do something that celebrated a national park and, of course, I live in Hot Springs, so it would be a natural thing to choose that," she said.
"The ball itself is made out of felt, just handmade felt that looks like marble because the walls are marble in the bathhouses," the 76-year-old artist said. She used red, blue, green and silver sequins to replicate the tile patterns.
"They're the tile design, but not the same colors because the [matching] colors are not available in sequins," she explained.
Cade didn't apply for the assignment; there is no application process. The state arts agency approached her.
"This is always a challenge for us because Arkansas is home to an abundance of talented artists," Arkansas Arts Council spokesman Shelby Brewer said in an email. "Barbara Cade is a nationally known fiber artist whose work is one-of-a-kind. She is a successful teaching artist who is active in her community and has been a member of our Arts in Education Artist roster since 1986. We thought her work would perfectly represent the state of Arkansas."
Cade said she received the assignment in October and only had a few weeks to complete it.
She took pictures of the bathhouse tiles and then started re-creating them. It took her roughly 96 hours to complete all 12 balls.
Once finished, the balls were placed inside a clear plastic orb to protect them from the elements and shipped to Washington. Workers supplemented each of the state trees with traditional silver and gold Christmas bulbs and strung colored lights over them for good measure.
Cade's work debuted Dec. 3, the same day that President Barack Obama turned on the lights on the National Christmas Tree. They'll remain on display until 10 p.m. on Jan. 1.
Jenny Anzelmo-Sarles, a National Park Service spokesman, said the Pathway of Peace is a fun part of the holiday season, allowing visitors to enjoy a wide variety of artistic styles.
"The type of ornaments really vary, but it's nice to be able to showcase handmade art in our national parks," she said.
While the marquee attraction is the 28-foot-tall blue spruce that the president lights up, the smaller state trees also draw holiday throngs.
Cade, thus far, has only seen video of this year's collection.
"I haven't been able to come. They would've given us tickets [for the presidential tree lighting event] and everything, but it's sort of a long trip and it was kind of inconvenient," she said. "I'm sure it's just exciting being in Washington, especially at that time of the year."
Metro on 12/25/2015