CHARLESTON—The next time someone tells you to stop doodling, don’t listen, because that creative spark could help you reap all sorts of rewards.
John Wright, a parishioner of St. Patrick Church, discovered that recently when he doodled for Google.
The 10-year-old student at Windsor Hill Arts Infused Elementary School was named as South Carolina’s winner in the annual Doodle 4 Google contest.
Leonis Wright, his mom, said the fourth-grader likes to draw in his spare time but has never entered a contest, even though she encourages him.
He decided to create something for Google, though, and it turned out to be a good time to heed his parents’ advice.
As part of the prize package, John and the 49 other state-level winners will travel to New York for the final event May 17, and their artwork will be displayed at the New York Public Library. For South Carolina’s winners, their creations will be in the Gibbes Museum of Arts’ Welcome Gallery throughout July.
Google said more than 114,000 entries were received for the contest. The theme was “If I could travel in time, I’d visit …”
John chose to draw a jazz band from the 1970s.
Mrs. Wright said his first drawing was actually a scene from the time of creation in the Bible, but he wasn’t happy with the finished product and scrapped it for the music piece.
A winner was chosen for each state in five age divisions by a panel of celebrity judges, including Katy Perry and Jordin Sparks. Those artists were narrowed down to 10 finalists in each age group, which is where John is now.
Online voting will determine one national finalist from each bracket, with a final winner announced at the New York ceremony. That winner will have his art featured on the Google homepage May 18 and on a limited-edition Crayola 64 crayon box. The top artist will also receive a $30,000 college scholarship, a Google Chromebook computer and a Wacom digital design tablet. The winner’s school will earn a $50,000 technology grant.
On his winning entry, John wrote: “I would love to be able to travel in time to visit a city like New Orleans and watch a jazz band.”
His mom said they may grant that wish with a future trip to New Orleans.
Visit google.com/doodle4google to vote for John Wright’s entry in the national contest. Voting ends at 8 p.m. May 10,