With the intention of celebrating the fun, spirit, excitement, and joy of the holiday season, we hope you’ve enjoyed Anvil’s first annual Family Holiday Art Contest.
Having received over thirty submissions from employees and their families alike, not only have we been blown away by the level of enthusiasm shown across our company, but we’ve also been truly impressed by the quality of art within the submissions themselves.
Jason Davis, a Junior Piping Designer, submitted two pieces of art for Anvil’s Holiday Art Contest.
“I’ve been drawing off and on since I was a child,” Jason shares. “Unfortunately, I was my own worst critic. The Anvil Holiday Art Contest helped rekindle my love for drawing – I’m now trying to draw something every week!”
Jason’s drawing of the reindeer was completed with a mechanical pencil. His drawing of the dog was inspired by his sister.
“Formerly a cat person, my sister has gone off the deep end with dogs,” Jason jokes. “While the last thing she needs right now is another dog, I figured I could still get her a puppy for Christmas.”
Surprisingly, Jason wasn’t the only Anvil employee to incorporate household pets into their holiday artwork.
Cody Steinmetz, Anvil’s Chief Operating Officer, Rhonda Laughman, Project Management Resource Manager, and Cole Steinmetz, their son, created a holiday wreath out of their own painted handprints – along with the pawprints of their dog Greta.
“We wanted to create a wreath with handprints of all our family members,” Rhonda explains. “We also wanted to pick something that would capture a moment in time.”
In addition to Rhonda and Cody, Kari MacDonald, Project Manager, also created a wreath for Anvil’s Family Holiday Art Contest.
Kari, a longtime crafter, sometimes visits craft fairs to gather ideas for her projects. This creation was inspired by her family’s love of skiing.
“I always enjoy having holiday décor up,” Kari shares. “We usually create these types of projects around Christmas.”
While many Anvil employees took advantage of our Holiday Art Contest to create crafts with their families, a handful of employees treated the contest as an opportunity to exercise their painting skills.
“Both my pieces are acrylic paintings done on canvas,” Vikki O’Flaherty, Senior Buyer, shares. “I’ve recently picked up painting again after about twenty-five years.”
According to Vikki, it was her grandchildren’s love of coloring that reignited her love of painting.
“I love coloring, making things and painting when they’re over,” she shares. “Working with them has made me pick the paintbrush back up.”
In addition to Vikki, Monica Rhodes, Control Systems Drafter, also submitted a painting in Anvil’s Family Holiday Art Contest.
“My piece was painted using acrylics and oils,” Monica shares. “Art in general has been an active hobby of mine from a young age.”
Monica began painting eight years ago, when she knew it was time to take her doodles to the next level.
“The painting I submitted was inspired by my love of skating,” Monica says. “It also symbolizes what the holidays mean to me – being with your loved one(s).”
While nearly every employee’s submission of art was a tangible, physical creation, a small handful of the Anvil team created art that could be enjoyed digitally. Laurie Grey, Cybersecurity Analyst, designed the piece of art you see above over twenty-five years ago.
“This image was created in one of the early graphics software programs: Paint Shop Pro,” Laurie shares. “They had just come out with a with a new customizable paintbrush tool that was fun to experiment with.”
Laurie originally designed the creation for her annual Christmas card.
“I’ve dabbled in digital art off and on since the mid-80s, as I feel inspired,” Laurie explains. “The red ornaments are a 2022 addition, a nod to the quirky Bellingham phenomenon of discovering random trees in nature sporting ornaments in the wintertime.”
Thank you to everyone who submitted art to Anvil’s first Annual Family Holiday Art Contest. We’ve had so much fun sharing the creations of our employees and their families – we can’t wait to see what you all come up with next year.
View all artwork submissions below.
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