Having received more than 1,000 votes for her art depicting an imaginary city, Carteret High School student Kiara Salva has won Artsonia’s “Artist of the Week” contest.
Artsonia.com is the world’s largest collection of student art portfolios exhibiting more than 100 million pieces of student art.
“I drew an underwater city inspired by a video game, which I got recommended to draw,” Salva said in her Artsonia art statement. “At first, I was confident in finishing the assignment, but shading turned out to be longer and harder than I anticipated, but towards the end of the drawing, I got the hang of it.”
When asked how she felt when she found out she won “Artist of the Week,” Salva said she felt very grateful for those who voted for her, friends and family.
“They were supportive of me and spread around the link to their friends, and so on,” Salva said. “I owe it to them since they helped me win.”
Salva’s teacher, Susan Catrone, has been teaching art for more than 20 years. She 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 also lets family and friends of student artists create and purchase custom keepsakes from the student art and then gives back 20% of all revenue to the local art classroom. Since 2000, it has donated more than $15 million.
“Artsonia has made an important difference in my art room because students are required to post all their work and include an artist statement,” Catrone said. “Students are asked to evaluate their own work, an important step in the artistic practice.”
Artsonia developed “Artist of the Week” 15 years ago 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 from artwork submitted the previous week. Voting is open to the public for several days before the winner is announced.
“As a visual arts teacher, it means the world to me when a student is recognized for their artistic achievements,” Catrone said. “It is a way to advocate for our program, gain the attention of others, and send a message of the importance of art in the education of our children.”
Not only was Salva named “Artist of the Week,” but she received a $50 gift certificate from Blick Art Materials. The company also donates a $100 gift certificate to the winning school.
“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.”
For more information, visit artsonia.com.
email: cmakin@gannettnj.com
Cheryl Makin is an award-winning features and education reporter forMyCentralJersey.com, part of the USA Today Network. Contact: Cmakin@gannettnj.com or@CherylMakin. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
