Melbourne, Australia-based Yaz Gaté, née del Mar, taught English as an additional language and art to new arrivals of mostly refugee backgrounds for 17 years in the UK and Australia. After being treated for breast cancer, she decided it was time to share her love of art and living creatively through her business, Tiny Cupboard Creatives: a small enterprise providing exciting classes, workshops, and events as well as commissioned artwork and creative collaborations with other artists and organizations.

Don’t you love the feeling of seeing your students when they are hit with a bolt of inspiration? During this presentation, Yaz will unpack how she helps her students tap into their creative side using storytelling as one of her superpowers. Learn how you, too, can help inspire your students’ creative approach to art and their artmaking process.

Candido Crespo is a husband, father, artist, and art educator and has taught in the Central Islip Union Free School District in NY for 15 years. He firmly believes that art teachers are at their best when they not only teach others but also create for themselves.

Comic art is a great way to engage students and help them practice a variety of skills, including creativity. In this presentation, Candido will discuss sequential art, comics, interdisciplinary lessons, culturally relevant pedagogy, and comic industry professions. He will also share exciting ways for you to bring comic art into your classroom!

Jerald Robinson is the art teacher at Tapp Middle School in Cobb County, GA. He is in his 17th year of teaching, eighth year at Tapp, and fourth year in the art position. Formerly, he was a special education teacher. Jerald hopes to inspire others and spread love through his art.

That potted plant? Your old stereo? The chair in the back of the room? Each one can be a canvas! Jerald will share how his motto of “everything is a canvas” has helped elevate what he does in the classroom. You will discover how your students can be inspired to make creative, original pieces with anything they can find!

Rachel Albert is a middle school art teacher and director of student activities in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where she develops curriculum and engages students through an array of instructional approaches. Rachel has developed a curriculum that uses technology in innovative ways, such as using art-related apps to support learning and bring student voice into art experiences. She strives to engage all students in art education through integrated learning and school-wide initiatives.

Showcasing student artwork required some extra creativity this year. In this presentation, Rachel will share the steps she took to take her art show online and what aspects of the event she will continue using when art shows can be in-person again.

As a classroom teacher, Yvonne Lopez Taylor used art to make connections with academics. Now, as a studio art teacher, she works to seamlessly merge the two. She is continuously amazed by the work her students create and how they see the world. Art, cheeseburgers, and talking and collaborating with others have always been a few of her favorite things. She is a Texas native who studied in Wisconsin only to return to the Lone Star state to share her passion.

In this presentation, Yvonne will share one of her favorite printmaking activities that she loves to do with her students. Inspired by the work of Margaret Burroughs, she has developed a lesson where students create portraits via collagraphs. Yvonne will share everything you need to know to bring these ideas to your students!

Janet Taylor is a high school art teacher in the western suburbs of Chicago. She geeks out on developing choice-based curriculum and believes that by guiding students through their own creative process, they are empowered to create unique and meaningful artworks.

Do you cringe when you hear the word “assessment”? Do you feel overwhelmed by calculating numbers and assigning letters? Assessing art can make even the most veteran teacher a little woozy! In this presentation, Janet will walk you through quick, easy, and (dare we say) painless ways to approach assessment with an open mind. You will learn how to sift through scores and focus your attention on what really matters.

Caitlyn Thompson is an art specialist, powerlifter, and tiny business owner in Natick, MA. She goes by “Coach T” and passionately integrates the importance of a growth mindset into her teaching and uses mindfulness techniques to redirect frustration into confidence-fuel. It is her mission to coach students’ natural abilities and facilitate their development in a space that recognizes differences as assets and empowers them to see mistakes as growth. For adventures in the art room and personal creative exploration, follow @artwithcoacht or visit www.ArtwithCoachT.com.

In this presentation, Caitlyn will demonstrate how to effortlessly incorporate different subjects into a weaving project. She will show you how she helps her students create interesting and meaningful designs using patterns, codes, and other concepts. You will gain a plethora of new ideas for fiber art and design to take back to your art room.

Born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, Matt Young has always been a builder and thinker. He has spent over 20 years teaching at Pickerington Central High School, where he focuses his work on 3D studies, computer graphics, and AP art.

In this presentation, Matt will introduce you to monster battles. Monster battles is a clay-based sculpture project that works like a game, where students roll dice and design their monsters based on their rolls. After the monsters are created, it’s time for the “battles,” where students critique, discuss, reflect, and crown the monster battle champion. This is an exciting way to kick off the new school year!

Abby Shukei is a middle school art teacher in Omaha, NE. She focuses on designing meaningful experiences for students through technology integration, innovation, and creativity. When not teaching art, Abby loves exploring the great outdoors, making art, and tie-dying.

In this presentation, Abby will take the mystery out of slip casting. She will show you the simple but effective methods she uses with her middle schoolers to introduce this exciting process. You will learn how to make molds with simple materials, engage your students with interesting artmaking methods, and create successful finished pieces.

Karen Kiick, an award-winning educator, teaches ceramics at Haddon Township High School in Westmont, NJ, where she also serves as the district’s K-12 visual and performing arts facilitator. She began teaching in 1990 in East Stroudsburg, PA and holds a BS in art education from Kutztown University and an MFA in sculpture from the University of the Arts. Karen has served in numerous leadership positions. When she’s not teaching art, she reads, writes, and creates in Collingswood, NJ.

Teaching art was never easy, and hybrid teaching made it exponentially more difficult. Join Karen and Tim as they reflect on a year’s worth of teaching art in a hybrid learning environment. They will talk about how you can distribute materials, present and assess assignments, and adjust expectations without shortchanging your students or driving yourself mad.

Automatas are sculptures using mechanical systems that can create the illusion of moving on their own. In this presentation, Catie will reveal how your students can use design thinking to build these whimsical kinetic creations with simple materials for STEAM learning.

Dash (she/they) is an artist, elementary art educator, and advocate for mental health inside and outside the classroom. They collaborate with LGBTQIA non-profit organizations to create a more inclusive learning environment. Dash spends their free time talking to their plants, creating art pieces for their friends and family, and wondering when they will finally start their podcast.

Do you find it hard saying “no” to things you don’t want to do? Are your burnouts becoming more frequent? When was the last time you took time for self-care? In this presentation, Dash will help you rediscover and reconnect with yourself. Make your mental health a priority this school year so you are thriving instead of just surviving!

In this live Q&A session, Sharonda will discuss the steps all artists can take to continue making art about the topics they feel passionate about, even in difficult times. She will share where she finds inspiration, how she continues to make art, and how we can do the same.

In this live Q&A session, Sharonda will discuss the steps all artists can take to continue making art about the topics they feel passionate about, even in difficult times. She will share where she finds inspiration, how she continues to make art, and how we can do the same.

Stan Dodson became an art educator in 2008 after working as a graphic designer and illustrator. He lives in Augusta, Georgia, with his wife, son, and daughter and enjoys creating meaningful art experiences. Stan strives to share Eliot Eisner’s vision of art: a vehicle through which we view the world, create meaning, and develop our minds.

In this presentation, Stan will share a lesson that incorporates creativity, bookmaking, and visual journaling. He will show you how to help your students create a pop-up book with an accordion fold about a topic of interest. You might even find yourself making your own book!

Jonathan Juravich is in his sixteenth year as an art educator at Liberty Tree Elementary in Powell, Ohio. He is the 2018 Ohio Teacher of the Year and was one of four finalists for the 2018 National Teacher of the Year. Known as “Mr. J, ” he challenges students to make the world a better place through art. He believes that by taking advantage of seemingly small moments, we can positively impact others.

Social-emotional learning will be essential for both teachers and students as we return to school in the fall. SEL is an ongoing process, and Jonathan will share a variety of ideas for how you can shape that process in your classroom. He will also discuss his new podcast, The Art of SEL, and some of his favorite ways to bring SEL to your art students.

Rebecca Campbell is a wife, a mother of three, and an elementary art teacher outside Charlotte, NC. Throughout her 13 years of teaching, she has always emphasized people, meaning, and process over product. She loves curriculum mapping, but she loves seeing students get to be themselves and shine their brightest more than anything.

If the thought of flipped learning makes you cringe, or you haven’t taken the time to find out what all the fuss is about, join Rebecca to see why you should give it a try. She will provide a few simple ways to reap the benefits of flipped learning in your classroom. You will discover how easy it is to implement flipped learning to create a more meaningful experience for your students!