HOT SPRINGS -- While Hot Springs National Park's Cultural Center remains closed because of covid-19, its annual Christmas decorations will return this season.
Every holiday season, the Ozark Bath House, which houses the Cultural Center, displays Christmas trees decorated with ornaments created by students and artists. There will be two trees this year in the lobby windows of the building.
About 100 ornaments will be on display, each painted by the students of Lake Hamilton High School art teacher Rana Ward, who said this is the seventh year her students have participated in the project.
Ward said she cuts small wooden disks for her students to use in designing their handmade ornaments.
The students are required to submit winter-themed designs to Ward. Once their designs are approved, the students have around two weeks to make their ornaments.
In the past, the Ozark Bath House has hosted handmade ornaments from numerous schools, but this year only the Lake Hamilton students will participate. Ward said that because of the pandemic, she didn't expect the students to get to make ornaments this year at all.
"I didn't think we'd have that, given this year, so I was excited," she said. She had emailed Roxanne Butterfield, president of the Friends of Hot Springs National Park, which operates the Cultural Center, to see if it would do the trees this year.
"The other day I was at the Ozark for another reason and I saw quite a few people come up to the windows," Butterfield said. "I feel bad that people come up, and there's not much to see."
Butterfield said the Friends "pondered for a short while," before deciding to put trees up in the windows with each tree decorated with around 50 ornaments.
On rhe first Friday of each month, downtown Hot Springs hosts Gallery Walk, and Ward said it is special for the students to get to have their artwork on display during that event.
Gallery Walk is promoted by the Hot Springs Area Cultural Alliance. Mary Zunick, the Cultural Alliance's executive director, expressed her support for the student artwork being displayed at the same time as Gallery Walk.
"Anything that can be done to encourage children's art, or the love of art, is what the goal is," she said. "To express themselves through art and be able to exhibit that artwork is a good thing."
Zunick said the timing of the exhibit is good because at the "past several Gallery Walks, we've had more and more people out," and "having another group coming out for Gallery Walk" is a positive.
"Hopefully [the students'] families will go see their artwork and go see the other galleries," Zunick said, noting she hopes Gallery Walk patrons will stop at the Ozark to see the ornaments.
Hannah Bennett, a junior, said this is the second time she has made an ornament for the Ozark Bath House.
"It's always fun to have your work displayed," she said.
Bennett said it took her a little over a week to paint, noting that previously her sister participated in the program.
Fiona Hunter, a junior, also participating for the second year, said it took her a little over a week to paint her ornament.
She said getting to see her work displayed in public is "really cool, it doesn't happen a whole lot."
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Brian Bridges, Lake Hamilton School District's communications and public relations coordinator, said the work the students and Ward do is of high quality. "To have their work displayed to the public, that's icing on the cake," he said.
"During the pandemic, it's been hard because we're not able to let people on campus for art shows and concerts, so anytime we have a chance to showcase our students, I'm grateful," he said.
Ward said she intends to put the ornaments on display in the Ozark Bath House on Nov. 29, and they will remain there until after Christmas.
Butterfield said she hopes they can include other schools again in 2021, noting, "we look forward to all the schools participating."