Our Logo Contest Winner

We extend a heartfelt thanks to Arts for All Loudoun for assisting us with facilitating the logo contest and to all the wonderful artists who submitted their work.  We will have a space in the new barn dedicated to displaying all the artwork we received. Come visit to see it!

Alicia Lockwood was the winner of the View of Heaven logo contest and her work is proudly presented in our redesigned website.  Alicia has been diagnosed with mental disabilities with autistic tendencies, but does not let that stand in the way of leading a very fulfilling life. Alicia was born in Germany while her Air Force family was posted there.  She comes from a big Italian family on her mother’s side and has a sister named Michelle.  Growing up, she was very close to her grandmother, whom she calls Namnam and her grandfather, whom she calls Pompo.  There is a really fun story about her and Pompo leading the family on a walking tour all over Venice when she was a small child. Neither she nor Pompo knew where they were going, but they had a wonderful time exploring, as did the family, who greatly enjoyed following along.  Pompo unfortunately passed when Alicia was five, but the story and the laughs endure today.

The biggest loves of her life are artwork, anime, superheros and animals, with cats being a particular favorite.  Alicia’s first memory of artwork goes back to drawing her family as stick figures in watercolor when she was very young. It was her favorite class in high school.  She takes her art very seriously.  She starts with sketches done with colored pencils and then transfers them into artwork at the DaVinci Studio, which is part of the non-profit Arts for All Loudoun.  She uses her artwork and imagination to stay happy.  That is quite a superpower in this day and age!

Alicia’s first cat was named Emma, after one of the Spice Girls.  She currently has two cats named Onyx and Fiona.  She also had a cat named Pearl, from the same shelter as Onyx along with a dog that was a half corgi, half sheltie, named Blaze.  Her favorite wild cats are tigers.  Rabbits have also been a part of Alicia’s life.  Ariel the rabbit was her favorite and she and her sister won an award for Ariel and her sister’s rabbit named Black Beauty.  Bird chasing was a wonderful pastime when Alicia was younger.  She eventually learned to lure them in with food so she could observe them close up.  Brilliant! 

After high school, Alicia’s job coach, Emily, helped her get into Woodrow Wilson to learn independent living and pet grooming.  The independent living was great. Pet grooming, not so much!  After moving home, she tried a number of different jobs.  Emily continued to be by her side coaching her through her job choices.  She started at Wegmans in Leesburg 12 years ago and is still there today.  Alicia really enjoys her job and hopes to be there until she retires.  That is a huge accomplishment on many levels. A big shout out to Wegman’s for their dedication to employing a diverse workforce and to Emily for providing such a great service to Alicia.  Please take a moment to congratulate her if you see her at work. I think you will agree that she created a beautiful logo for View of Heaven Farm. 

Alicia tells us that she leads a simple life, but that she is never bored.  We can all learn from that lesson.  She is an inspiring lady!