MEDIA RELEASE__Local artist Anne Coburn-Griffis has received the Best of Show Award in the 2026 ArtFairCalendar.com Holiday Gift Guide, a national showcase of original artwork and fine crafts created by artists who exhibit at art fairs across the country.

The award, which recognizes outstanding creativity and craftsmanship, was determined through public voting.

Coburn-Griffis received the award for “Black Swamp Great Blue,” an original watercolor that celebrates one of Northwest Ohio’s most recognizable species: the Great Blue Heron. The piece was showcased at “So Wild a Place,” the Black Swamp Conservancy’s annual fundraiser in Toledo.

The Holiday Gift Guide introduces art lovers and holiday shoppers to independent artists and provides direct links to their websites, where visitors can discover and purchase original artwork.

The guide is available online at https://artfaircalendar.com/gift-guide.

ABOUT THE ARTIST
Anne Coburn-Griffis, of Pandora, is passionate about the natural world, especially the landscapes and wildlife of her Northwest Ohio home. By day, she works to connect people with the natural world through communication, design, grant writing and community engagement. By night, she paints in watercolor, using delicate layering techniques—and occasionally fine paper and watercolor rag collage—to capture the beauty of the region’s wild inhabitants.