As we announced to our site members in last month’s email, the RefrigeratorArtist.com website and monthly contest will come to an end on September 30, 2010.
It’s been a wonderful experience running the website and the contest over the past year, but unfortunately the site advertising and product sales have not covered the costs, and the contest is too expensive to continue. If you have your child’s artwork saved on RefrigeratorArtist.com, please be sure to log in and download it from their gallery to your computer by September 30, 2010.
I have thoroughly enjoyed writing this blog and communicating with our site members and contest winners each month. It’s been wonderful to see the excitement from both parents and children when we awarded them with savings bonds for their future, and of course we wish we could continue, but it’s not possible.
We appreciate all of our site members, friends, and family members who were supportive of RefrigeratorArtist.com over the past year. Although our site won’t be around, we hope everyone will continue to encourage art and creativity in their children and will continue to celebrate children’s artwork!
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"Yogi" by Ethan Chaupiz
The winning artwork in our July contest was “Yogi” by Ethan Chaupiz. Congratulations, Ethan!
The following interview with Ethan and his dad, Fred, was conducted via email.
RA: Tell us about your artwork that won the contest.
Ethan: Well I like to watch Yogi Bear on Boomerang Network and also I like a lot of the characters of Hannah & Barbera.
RA: What did you use to make it?
Ethan: First I used my art pencils to draw the outline of Yogi Bear and then I used my colored pencils to fill it in.
RA: Have you been making a lot of artwork this summer?
Ethan: Yes, I have worked on several things over the summer including a couple of tornado pictures as well as I am currently working on drawing a Bull Shark in the open sea. Maybe I will post one of them for a future RefrigeratorArtist contest.
RA: Have you seen your art on our website? Who has been viewing it and voting for you all month?
Ethan: Yes, I have seen my picture on the website normally when my dad is logged in to cast his vote for my picture.
RA: Who else has been viewing it and voting for you all month?
Ethan: Ms. Amber, Ms. Rita, Ms. Beth, Ms. Priya, Grandpa, Mr. Michael & my cousin Patrick just to name a few.
RA: What do you think you will want to spend your savings bonds on when the time comes?
Ethan: Mom & Dad want me to save for college. But I will get to spend a little bit of the money on something that I want.
RA: What grade will you be in this fall?
Ethan: I will be starting the 4th grade in about 3 weeks. I can’t believe the summer is almost over.
RA: What do you want to be when you grow up?
Ethan: I would like to be a Storm Chaser and an artist. That way I can draw what I see in real life.
RA: Fred, do you have anything to add about your experience with the site?
Fred: I love the idea of kids of all ages being able to display their special art work for family & friends. Also turning kids’ artwork into gifts such as coffee mugs or neck ties is very cool as well.
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"Spongebob" by Natalie Holmes
The winning artwork in our June contest was “Spongebob” by 4-year-old Natalie Holmes. Congratulations, Natalie!
Thank you to both Natalie and her mother, Nicole, for participating in this interview via email.
RA: Tell us about your artwork that won the contest. What did you use to make it?
Natalie: I drew Spongebob. I watch him on TV all the time. I love Spongebob. I used crayons. Mostly a yellow crayon because Spongebob is yellow. I wanted to use markers, but my Mom made me use crayons.
RA: Have you seen your art on our website? Who has been viewing it and voting for you all month?
Natalie: Yes its cool, and lots of people vote for me. My Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Sheri and Alex, because they love me a lot.
RA: When it’s time to spend your savings bonds, you’ll be quite a bit older…do you know what you will spend them on?
Natalie: A horse.
RA: What do you want to be when you grow up?
Natalie: A horse trainer.
RA: Nicole, how did you find RefrigeratorArtist.com?
Nicole: I was searching online for a coloring contest to enter Natalie in since she loves to color so much. When I found RefrigeratorArtist.com she was very excited about the opportunity to have her artwork posted where everyone could see it.
RA: Have you enjoyed using the site to save and share Natalie’s artwork?
Nicole: Absolutely!!! I love RefrigeratorArtist.com. I love that the site promotes Natalie’s creativity and saving for her future. I have already been recommending the site to friends!
RA: How have others reacted when you sent them links to Natalie’s art online?
Nicole: Everyone loves seeing her artwork online and being able to show their love and support for her by voting.
The press release about our June winner is available online at PitchEngine.com until August 15, 2010.
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Happy Wednesday! This “Spongebob” drawing by preschooler Natalie Holmes was the winning artwork for June!
Visit us again tomorrow for an interview with the winning artist.
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"At the Track" by second-grader Zane Gariepy
Second-grader Zane Gariepy is not just a talented artist—he’s also an ambitious and superstitious young man! We congratulate him and wish him many more four-leaf clovers in the future, although with his talent and ambition he is not likely to need them!
You can get to know Zane a little better by reading the interview below, conducted via email with Zane and his mother, Stephanie.
RA: Tell us about your artwork that won the contest.
Zane: I drew a truck that’s going off jumps at Seekonk Speedway and racing around the track. Me and my mom and dad go to Seekonk Speedway every weekend in the summer and its one of my favorite places to go with my family. I used crayons when I made my picture at home. Most of my art is of race cars and trucks. I tried to make it 3D by making a lot of details and a background of the crowd on the other side of the track.
RA: Have you seen your art on our website? Who has been viewing it and voting for you all month?
Zane: My mom put my pictures on the computer so everyone could see them. Then my mom and dad put my picture on their Facebook so everyone could vote for me. Most of my family, friends, and teachers my mom works with have been voting for me everyday. Good thing because I won!
RA: When it’s time to spend your savings bonds, you’ll be quite a bit older…do you know what you will spend them on?
Zane: I’m so happy I won $400, I am going to use it for college. When I go to college I want to be a police man, a dirt bike rider, and an artist. That will cost a lot of money so I’m glad I won!
RA: Where do you go to school? What are your favorite activities in school?
Zane: I am in 2nd grade and go to Thacher Elementary School where I love gym and art.
RA: Anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Zane: This week I found 3 four leaf clovers in the grass. It gave me good luck to win the contest because I’m Irish!! Thank you for voting for me, I’m proud of myself that I won!
RA: Stephanie, how did you find RefrigeratorArtist.com?
Stephanie: Zane has been impressing us for a few years now with his drawing skills. I kept telling him I wanted to enter his artwork in a contest because his pictures are great! His attention to small detail is amazing in comparison to the 2nd graders’ artwork I’ve seen. I looked online for art contests and came across your website. I thought it was a great resource not only for contests but to share children’s artwork with family and friends.
RA: Have you enjoyed using the site to save and share your children’s artwork? What is your favorite aspect of the site?
Stephanie: As a teacher I think it’s so important to give children an outlet to express themselves–Zane’s outlet is race car/truck artwork. This contest has really boosted his self esteem, coming home each day from school to ask “how many votes do I have today?” His picture sits proudly on the mantel for all to see. The link to Facebook really helped get the votes and family members were so happy to see all of his pictures. We are so proud of Zane in all that he does, and it’s so nice to see our monkey get recognized on such a large scale!!!
The press release about our May winner is available online at PitchEngine.com until July 9, 2010.
