PLANKINTON -- In the glow of the National Christmas Tree, lit for the first time Thursday night in Washington, D.C., there hung little pieces of South Dakota on a smaller tree not far away.
Those pieces, which included stones from the Badlands and quartz from quarries near Sioux Falls, served as ornaments on a tree representing South Dakota. It's part of a display of 56 trees -- one for all of the states and territories, and the District of Columbia -- near the National Christmas Tree, which sits in President's Park south of the White House.
The ornaments on the South Dakota tree were made by Altman Studeny, an art teacher at Aurora Plains Academy in Plankinton, and his students.
"We're on a really big stage," he said. "My students get an opportunity to represent themselves to the whole nation."
The design of the ornaments was inspired by traveling Studeny did for another project he recently finished, which celebrated the 125th anniversary of South Dakota's statehood and involved trips to all 66 counties in the state.
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"I was really caught by a lot of the natural beauty of the state," he said. "When it came time to come up with a design, I was really trying to represent those things."
That's why the two versions of the ornaments -- one for East River and one for West River -- use natural materials in their construction.
"I love projects like this so much that are collaborative, where we have every person doing one little part of a bigger whole," Studeny said.
Aurora Plains Academy is an intensive residential treatment facility for children, and the students there come from all across the state.
"It seems very appropriate to have a group like that representing all of South Dakota because they're from these places that we chose," Studeny said.
Studeny and the students made 24 ornaments for the display in Washington, D.C., and extras to be kept at the school and sent to the governor's office in Pierre.
The 92nd annual lighting ceremony for the National Christmas Tree was held Thursday night, with President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and their family lighting the tree at an event co-hosted by Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, and featuring numerous other performers.
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