Two Centralia residents — Sharon Orning and Zander Isenhower — are among 13 winners in a nationwide art contest sponsored by Genoa Healthcare, one of the nation’s largest providers of pharmacy services in behavioral health.
Both Orning and Isenhower are staff members at Cascade Community Healthcare and were awarded by the Genoa pharmacy located at the center’s Centralia location.
“We are very proud of our two staff who were featured in the nationwide art contest sponsored by Genoa,” said Richard Stride, CEO of Cascade Community Healthcare.
The winners’ pieces were chosen from a record 700 submissions to the contest, which was launched a decade ago to recognize and celebrate the mental health benefits of art, according to a Genoa news release.
Their artworks are showcased in a virtual art gallery, accessible at https://publish.exhibbit.com/gallery/70489538/atrium-gallery-70945/?v=20211011053402. Their artwork will also be featured in Genoa’s 2022 calendar, which is distributed at its more than 600 pharmacies nationwide.
Orning’s painting features a spring landscape with cherry blossom trees and a small boat on a river.
"I love to paint. It is so relaxing. I can go out to my shed, close the door and leave all of life’s problems and challenges outside,” Orning said. “As I paint, I try to picture myself in the scenery. What would I like to see if I were there?”
Isenhower’s painting depicts a cloudscape with a lone runner in the distance.
The contest was meant to provide a way for Genoa Healthcare pharmacies to engage with the people they serve in a creative and meaningful way, according to a Genoa news release.
