When Mrs. Pence became Second Lady, Ellen contacted her and offered their artistic talents to the nation. The Second Lady is herself an artist and the role of art therapy in the recovery of hospital patients is a cause dear to her heart. Mrs. Pence readily accepted the offer and the Vice Presidential Plate Project began. Thirty-nine artists painted 100 reception dessert plates with the 50 state flowers. These plates will remain in the permanent china collection and are the property of The Vice President’s Residential Foundation. The Foundation maintains all the collections and furnishings of the Vice President Residence. The artists were juried in by the public by voting on a china painting exhibit at the 2017 Indiana State Fair. Each artist painted 2 identical plates (with a few artists painting more than one set). The plates being used are companion pattern plates to the current Vice Presidential service made by Lenox. This service was ordered during the Biden administration. Lenox produced a special decal for the back of these flower plates to commemorate the project. Wilson-Pruitt gathered the flower images and sized them to fit the plates. The artists drew the states out of a hat so no one was assigned a particular state. Each state was just as important as the next.