The Arts Project

On Thursday, June 16, 2011, the company I work for held it’s very first employee art show.

The idea came from an employee as part of a leadership course she was taking.  Part of her task was to do something that would engage at least twenty-five people.  She came up with the idea of the art show because of her love of photography.  She felt that if this was a big part of her life, away from work, there were probably other employees that were the same way.

The turn out of employees was huge, for a first time event; so big that the organizers decided to put a cap on the number of entries each person could have. In all there were 125 entries from 44 employees; and this didn't include those that were turned away after the entry deadline.

After a lot of planning and hard work, the day of the art show finally arrived.  A large room in one of the company’s buildings had been transformed into an art gallery, to display the art submitted by employees.

The art itself was quite varied.  Employees submitted photos, paintings, drawings, jewelry, pottery, fabrics, and everything in between.

I’ve never considered myself an artist; I just like playing on the computer and coming up with things, using Paint Shop Pro 7.  A friend convinced me to at least submit some of my stuff though, so I did.  This is one of my entries, under “Graphic Arts”.  I got the idea from my son, and because my parents collect Santas.  My son said they didn't have a "Camo Santa".

 

 On the day of the art exhibit, a co-worker and I went to check it out.  When we got there, I discovered as an “artist”, in the show, I had a special badge to wear.  I have to admit, the littlest things make me feel special; enough so that I’ve scanned the badge for this post. 

 It was really cool to see all the different items on display at the exhibit.  Our company definitely has some really talented people working for them.

One of my favorite photos was of a Rock Squirrel; it’s just sooooooooo cute!

 Another piece I really liked was done by one of my former co-workers.  It’s a painting she did for her grandma, and is from a photo of the co-worker when she was 2 years old.

 One of the textile entries really caught my eye also; and was done by another former co-worker.  It’s a scarf that has combined felted wool with silk.  The title of the piece is “Undersea Garden”. 

 These are just a minuscule part of all that was on display at this first art exhibit.

The feedback from this one-day event was so positive, it was turned into a week long showing.  Even though this was the first employee art show our company has had; I’m pretty sure it won’t be the last.