One Tenaris employee recently had a chance to blend his job with his passion for art.
Felix Koshy, a Stocker and Visual Inspector at Tenaris’s Sault Ste. Marie Industrial Centre is also an accomplished artist, specializing in watercolour paintings and sculptures made from objects he finds and repurposes.
Recently his supervisor asked him to draw a bundle of pipes.
That led to Koshy building a miniature crane – modeled after one in the facility – using an old steel pen stand.
It is now kept on display in the Internal Transportation department office.
Find the full news release from Tenaris below:
Felix Koshy, a Stocker & Visual Inspector at Tenaris’s Sault Ste. Marie Industrial Centre combines his technical skills with his passion for art.
Originally from India, Koshy holds a degree in mechanical engineering and a Master of Technology in production and industrial engineering. His career has taken him through various industrial roles in India, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar before moving to Sault Ste. Marie in 2023.
Koshy joined Tenaris one year ago in the Internal Transportation department, ensuring bundles of pipes are accurately tracked through an inventory system and safely transported throughout the mill; a role that takes careful attention to small details.
Koshy’s focus and precision go beyond his work in the industrial centre as an accomplished artist, specializing in watercolour paintings and sculptures made from objects he finds and repurposes.
“I like using scrap metals, wood, or anything I can get my hands on. Art challenges me to see things differently than the way they appear on the surface. The objects I find inspire me so I try to preserve their original shape so you can see what it once was.”
Koshy rents a downtown studio at the Art Hub at Spring to craft his pieces, which have been displayed at the Art Gallery of Algoma alongside other local artists. Koshy also shares his art to his Facebook and Instagram pages.
Recently, a request from his supervisor Rene Gonzalez, Internal Transportation Shift Leader, presented an opportunity to merge his work and passion. “I came across Felix’s work on Facebook and was impressed. I left a comment on one of his posts, asking him to draw a bundle of pipes,” said Gonzalez.
In response, Koshy built a miniature crane using an old steel pen stand. He crafted the stands small tubes as pipes and incorporating canvas and threads for added details. The miniature crane was modeled after one in the facility and is kept on display in the Internal Transportation department office.
“I work best with live references, so it was fun to use my love for art to create a model of a piece of equipment I see at work each day, and I am glad to share it with my colleagues.”
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