MARTINSVILLE, VA – A 14-year-old is encouraging those who vape to quit with her artwork.
Anne Agee, a rising ninth grader at Martinsville High School, won Piedmont Community Services’ anti-vaping campaign billboard contest.
Her artwork is displayed on two billboards in Martinsville.
One billboard is located on Market Street near the Commonwealth Boulevard intersection and the other is on East Church Street near Blue Ridge Street.
Agee says she was told about the contest by her art teacher before taking a test.
“She told me that a local contest was being hosted, and that I should join. When I went home later that day, I went straight to work on the project. During the day, I had come up with the idea of featuring some form of dragon in my entry. I remember thinking that dragons breathe fire, and fire is associated with smoke.”
She used darker watercolor paints to portray a grim mood and emphasize the negative effects of vaping on the body.
“Halfway through the project, I decided to make the wings a smokey gray, symbolizing what will happen to your lungs if you decide to use a vape.”