"Owning the Art Show: How to Conduct a Student-Lead Art Show" is a presentation style workshop where participants will learn how to plan, prepare, and present a school-wide art show that focuses on student ownership and accountability. In this workshop, teachers of every experience level will learn how to empower students to plan an art show that centers student voice and the school community. We will cover everything from how to encourage students to take on responsibilities related to curating and displaying art, to organizing, storing and displaying the art in a "Wow!" worthy way.
Get inspired to bring more creative thinking into your paper mâché projects, from small-scale sculptures to bold, collaborative builds that celebrate imagination over perfection. We’ll show you lesson plans, practical strategies for classroom management, materials, while highlighting how project-based learning and STEM helps students experiment, problem-solve, and create meaningful work.
Teaching animation can be challenging; introducing simple flip-book exercises on the first day of a rotation helps students quickly build confidence and grasp foundational animation principles. From this hands-on start, learners progress to basic digital techniques—such as animating objects in Adobe Express—reinforcing timing, motion, and sequencing. The course also exposes students to a range of animation software, explores how the arts inform animation practice, and highlights potential career pathways in the field.
Unsure of what to do that first week on your Photo I or Photo II class? Come learn some creative lessons that you can make your own to get your students started while all those drop/adds are taking place. From Elements to Principles Posters to Photo History timelines and even a fun accordion book review of Photo basics for those upper level photographers. Grab your sketchbook!
In this hands-on workshop, attendees will explore mandala art as a meaningful K–12 art strategy that supports pattern, repetition, radial balance, symbolic imagery, and mindfulness. Attendees will paint a mandala stone design and collaborate on a group mandala arrangement while discussing classroom adaptations for grades K-12, connections to social-emotional learning, and creative expression. All supplies provided.
Portrait drawing can feel intimidating, but it doesn't have to be. In this session, art educators will learn simple, classroom-tested strategies for teaching facial proportions, observation skills, and realistic portraiture with confidence. Participants will leave with practical techniques, lessons, and resources that help students achieve success at all skill levels.
Take your students to the next level starting with a simple sketch. Where can they go? Painting, graphing, enlarging, Sculpture, Clay, 3D rendering, the possibilities are endless. This is a hands on workshop where you will paint, think and share.
Looking for an engaging way to introduce mixed media in your classroom? This workshop shares a high-interest, high-success lesson that encourages creativity, choice, and accessibility for all skill levels. Perfect for new teachers or anyone wanting to add a fresh, dynamic project to their curriculum.
Do your students freeze up when asked to be expressive with color? Are they still not "getting" color theory - and expressive colors become a muddy mess? This hands-on workshop will show you the steps to help your students move from rigid realism into confident abstraction in portraiture. Participants will learn how to experiment with expressive color palettes, understand warm/cool color relationships, and how to help their students make intentional color choices that still describe form and build values.
Participants are encouraged to bring a black-and-white print-out of a photo of themselves or another person - shoulders-up only - think "School Picture Day" pose!
I would like to offer a hands-on experimentation in Intaglio: Dry-Point Etching.
Using Twisted Scribes, Akua Inks, 4"x6" substrates (printmaking paper), attendees will create etchings with the scribes, T-Pins, and rocks to create expressive marks onto small sections of plexi-glass, CDs, and Tetra Pak pieces. They will use spray bottles with water to dampen the substrates, use prepared Registration Plates, and a small print press to pull at least one of each print type.
I would like to charge a fee, as the materials do cost $ to create... HOWEVER, I would also like to donate the 45 CDs that I purchased in hopes of this presentation being accepted. I will talk with my District Director about helping to cover the costs.
Develop exciting photography lessons for your art class or start a Photography Club with this framework. Sample lesson topics like composition, point of view, lighting, etc will be discussed and we will look at examples of successful photo shoots using easy-to-find items for upper elementary and middle school. Tips for finding cameras, managing behavior, photo uploading, critiques, and editing will be shared. Give your students a tool for creativity and observation by unlocking the power of photography!
In this hands-on workshop, participants will learn how child artists’ monster drawings can become the starting point for soft sculpture, social-emotional learning, cross-age collaboration, and community connection. Based on a project in which young students explored emotions through The Color Monster and created monster drawings that older students transformed into handmade plushies, participants will practice translating an “ish-style” drawing into a small felt plush object while considering both creative interpretation and responsibility to the original young artist. Participants will sketch or work from a sample monster design, create a simple pattern, begin sewing and stuffing a plushie, and discuss classroom adaptations; a $8–10 materials fee is requested to cover felt, stuffing, thread, needles, pattern paper, and embellishments.
The workshop will go over a PowerPoint regarding techniques for tetrapak printmaking in the intaglio process. We will then create a mini intaglio print using milk cartons. Special needs required for this will be water, outlets, and if possible a room with a printing press, however, I can bring a miniature one if not.
How can we help students see deeper meaning and purpose in their artwork? Through examples from graphic design, photography, drawing and painting, and Fine Arts Seal implementation, participants will explore strategies for using reflection, storytelling, and portfolio development to help students connect creative work to personal interests, future goals, and real-world opportunities. The session includes student work analysis, reflection activities, and discussion.
Discover how a cross-school & zone partnership transformed imaginative kindergarten drawings into dynamic three-dimensional sculptures created by high school students, highlighting the power of process and vertical curricular alignment. Participants will explore the project’s development, view student work, and engage in a brief collaborative brainstorming activity to adapt the model for their own settings. (For this project, 60 student pieces of artwork were created in total: 20 drawings, 20 clay sculptures, and 20 written creature origin stories. One "exhibit" consists of three works, one 2D, one 3D, and one write-up. We will showcase multiple exhibits of the Collaborative Creatures project at our presentation.)
What do you do when a student enters the art classroom with big feelings they are struggling to regulate? Have them make art about it! This workshop explores three stories where elementary-aged students used artmaking techniques to work through their emotional state in the art classroom, including techniques such as ‘angry scribbles’ and ‘containment folding’. Participants will get to try out these artmaking techniques during this workshop and leave with a resource on how to implement this in their own classroom.
Discover how Gelli plate printmaking can help students and teachers “Make Your Mark” through layered textures, expressive patterns, and creative experimentation. Participants will learn several Gelli plate techniques including texture transfers, stencil layering, ghost prints, and mark making to create unique patterned papers for collage and mixed media artwork. I will need an outlet for PowerPoint example, and access to a sink to wash plates.
Discover how collaborative art projects can unite students across grade levels, strengthen school culture, and leave a lasting impact on both campus and community. This session will highlight creative strategies for designing and implementing large-scale collaborations, including everything from vertical round-robin projects where elementary/middle/high school students each contribute to a shared artwork to grade-band legacy projects that result in permanent installations celebrating student voice and school identity. Participants will explore planning tips, management strategies, and adaptable project ideas that foster connection, creativity, and ownership at every level.
Through the use of observation and evidence-based interpretation, Visual Art Thinking Strategies (VTS) encourages students to learn to respect diverse perspectives and collaborate on collective meaning-making. Participants will practice using VTS to foster class discussions and learn about paid professional learning opportunities to further their VTS knowledge.
Ready to bring your walls to life? This workshop introduces teachers to mural basics, bold beginner friendly lettering, and the behind the scenes essentials like proposals, budgeting, and planning. Come sketch, experiment, and leave with creative ideas and real world tools you can use right away with your students or your own projects.
How do artists create the illusion of distance? It’s a bit of a magic trick to alter viewers’ perceptions, making objects appear to recede. Join this Blick Art Materials Workshop to explore strategies like perspective, line, and value while illustrating these concepts in the pages of a simple tunnel book.
