Certifications and Honors
The Society of Decorative Painters offers a certification program to those who paint and submit a design, which SDP provides, following certain qualifications. There are three levels: ADP (Accredited Decorative Painter), CDA (Certified Decorative Artist), and MDA (Master Decorative Artist). Barbara was accredited in 2017 and certified in 2018.
In 2004, the White House asked the Society of Decorative Painters to provide ornaments of a musical theme for the Blue Room Christmas Tree (the official White House Christmas Tree). Members painted and submitted ornaments for selection. Barbara's large jingle bell was among those chosen. She and the painters of the other selected ornaments were invited to a reception at the White House where they met Laura Bush.
In 2008, Laura Bush commissioned the Society of Decorative Painters for hand-painted ornaments which she and the President would use as gifts for family, friends, and White House staff. Barbara was one of four members asked to submit a design, and hers was chosen. Over the next three months, Barbara painted over one thousand ornaments for the Bushes. She was invited to a reception at the White House, where she met both the President and the First Lady.
Barbara also painted an ornament that hangs on a tree in the Library of Congress. Members of a decorative painting email list to which Barbara belongs painted ornaments on wooden books. They were asked to depict something special about their home states, so Barbara painted a centennial barn in Summit County, Ohio, where she resides.
The two-story Christmas tree at the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Collection/Museum in Williamsburg, Virginia is decorated with hand-crafted ornaments made by artists across the country. Barbara has two ornaments adorning this tree.
In 2009 the Smithsonian Museum asked the Society of Decorative Painters to have members paint an ornament for their Christmas tree, based on a piece of art in their collection. Barbara's ornament features a shepherdess and part of her flock in a field with a house in the background.
The Yorktown Foundation contacted tinsmiths Carl and Marcia Giordano to reproduce an 18th century tea canister. The Giordano's asked Barbara to replicate the painting. It is on display at the American Revolution Museum in Yorktown, Virginia in a recreation of an 18th century shop window. The Giordano's website and store can be found here.
Barbara's painting is also on display at the San Felipe de Austin State Historic Museum in Texas. The Giordano's were contacted to produce reproduction tin for the museum, and, once again, they collaborated with Barbara to paint their pieces. Shown at the museum are two waiter's trays, a document box, and a coffee pot.