Patronis Elementary School Student Named National ‘Artist of the Week’ by Artsonia

Wyatt Reaves is recognized in a national art contest featuring thousands of submissions.

Wyatt Reaves, a talented first-grade student at Patronis Elementary School, has been named ‘Artist of the Week’ in a nationwide voting competition on Artsonia.com, the world’s largest collection of online student art portfolios, featuring over 125 million works of art.

Reaves’s winning artwork, a watercolor painting of a manatee, captured the attention of voters nationwide, receiving over 300 online votes.

“I like how I created the background using salt and watercolor paint,” Reaves shared about his winning artwork.

When asked how it felt to be named Artist of the Week, Reaves said, “Very happy.”

Reaves’s art teacher, Jessica Hughson, who has been teaching art for 17 years, said, “I love teaching art, and I love my students.”

Hughson expressed pride in her student’s Artist of the Week achievement. “When students are recognized for their artistic achievements, it reflects the success of a supportive learning environment that encourages risk-taking, problem-solving, and self-expression,” Hughson said.

Hughson is one of thousands of teachers who use Artsonia, which enables teachers to digitally showcase student art, organize and plan art lessons, and fundraise for their classrooms. Artsonia allows family and friends of student artists to view the art online and create custom keepsakes from the student art. Artsonia donates 20% of its revenue to local art classrooms.

“Artsonia has had a huge positive impact on my art room,” Hughson shared. “The platform has strengthened my connection with families. “Parents who might not always see the physical artwork now get updates and can comment, share, and celebrate their child’s creativity.”

The Artist of the Week program was created by Artsonia 25 years ago to highlight student creativity and engage schools and communities in celebrating young artists. Each week, 12 student submissions are randomly selected from artwork submitted the previous week in four different age groups (PreK-3, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12) for public voting. Winners receive both recognition and prizes.

As part of the award, Blick Art Materials generously provides a $100 gift certificate to the winning student’s art program and a $50 gift certificate to the student.

“Artsonia’s mission is to bring communities together to celebrate children’s creative expression,” said Jim Meyers, CEO and co-founder of Artsonia. “Artist of the Week encourages local schools, families, and friends to get involved in the process of creating and celebrating student art.”

For more information, visit artsonia.com.