Artwork of Thomas Fitzwater Student Wins National Vote

"Anna," a 5th grade student at , recently won first place in an online voting contest for her piece "Purple Night Trees" on the popular website Artsonia.

Each week, students from across the nation submit pieces in four age categories. For the week ending January 7, Anna accumulated 1,361 votes for her work, winning first prize in the 4-6 grade category.

The painting, which depicts the perspective of looking up at a winter moon, with bare trees silhouetted along the edges, garnered the most votes of any category for the week.

TFES art teacher Crystal Dunn takes pictures of each student's artwork and submits it to the website. Dunn was from the website last September, after the school's gallery ranked third in the state and 35th in the nation, with over 6,000 pieces of artwork garnering over 13,000 visits in 2011.

"Artsonia is a simple yet effective way to get parents and family members more involved in art education at the school," said Dunn in September. “And, my students love it. It is a way to connect the parents and families to the program and a way for the students to build pride in what they have accomplished. ”

In addition, visitors to the website can purchase copies of the artwork, with 15 percent of the proceeds returning to the school. Dunn says that school received about $200 last year from the website, which went to new art books.

To see or purchase "Purple Night Trees," click here.