Hallmark Ornaments by LaDene Votruba

Few objects demand as much clarity at a small scale as an ornament, and LaDene Votruba’s work shows a consistent understanding of that challenge. The documented catalog contains 315 distinct designs dated 1976 through 2008. Especially visible are connections to Beauty of Birds, Club Ornaments, and Twelve Days of Christmas; together, those collections show an ability to move between recurring series expectations and one-year subjects.

Beauty of Birds provides one of the clearest ways to follow the work; Club Ornaments highlights a different side of the portfolio; Ornaments such as 1976 Rudolph And Santa, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, 1993 Grandparents, and 2000 Scuffy the Tugboat mark useful points in the chronology. Placed together, these ornaments form a useful visual record of how LaDene Votruba interpreted both annual traditions and changing popular culture.