Sydney Gleeson (left) holding her Artist of the Week Plaque next to art teacher Kristina Gray (right).
Calvert Elementary School student Sydney Gleeson is the proud winner of Artsonia’s Artist of the Week contest, a voting competition held on Artsonia.com, the world’s largest collection of student art portfolios exhibiting over 100 million pieces of student art.
Gleeson received nearly 2 thousand online votes for her winning art titled, ‘Dragon Eye Drawing.’
“I find art to be relaxing, and it is fun to do,” Gleeson said.
When asked how she felt when she found out she won Artist of the Week, Gleeson said, “Surprised, very happy, and excited.”
Gleeson’s teacher, Kristina Gray has been teaching art for more than 3 years.
“I love art so much and want to share my passion with each generation. I love to share new and fun ways to make art and how to express yourself through the creative process,” Gray said.
Gray is one of the thousands of art teachers who use Artsonia to showcase their student art, manage the art room, crowdsource lesson plans, and fundraise for their classrooms. Artsonia lets family and friends of student artists create and purchase custom keepsakes from the student art and then gives back 20 percent of all revenue to the local art classroom.
Artsonia developed Artist of the Week 15 years ago as a way to encourage teachers to submit student artwork and engage the school and community to vote on and recognize students for their creative achievements. Every week, Artsonia selects 12 random submissions in each of four different age groups (PreK-3, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12) from artwork submitted the previous week. Voting is open to the public for several days before the winner is announced.
“It is such an honor to have my students recognized for their artistic achievements,” Gray said. “I hope that in being recognized, it can further inspire them to continue with their artistic career as they grow.”
Blick Art Materials generously donates a $100 gift certificate to the winning school and an individual $50 gift certificate to the student artist.
“Our mission at Artsonia is to bring communities together to celebrate children’s artistic expressions,” said Jim Meyers, CEO, and co-founder of the company. “Artist of the Week is a perfect way to get local schools, families, and friends involved in the process of creating, recognizing, and cherishing student art.”
Sydney Gleeson (left) holding her Artist of the Week Plaque next to art teacher Kristina Gray (right).
