Teaching Artist Podcast

This episode has been a long time coming! I envisioned this as a celebration of 100 episodes and a way to kick off the summer of 2022. Well, here we are in 2023 after a loooong hiatus. The theme feels even more fitting now - for this podcast, for art educators and artists, and for me personally.

Brenda was inspired to become an art teacher from a young age, but was told not to pursue teaching by one of her art teachers whom she respected. She talked about freelancing as a creative and working across disciplines to make a living as an artist before coming back to teaching. It was inspiring to hear how she continues pushing forward and challenging herself as an artist while also becoming a better teacher. She shared how she connects with students and sometimes struggles to make those connections. We also got to talk about her process and materials and how she’s exploring ways to go beyond painting.

Kayla Louviere talked about the juggle of parenting and making art while teaching. She shared how she approaches and structures her art practice and how that has shifted over the years. It was helpful to hear how that structure can move the dial little by little even when the amount of studio time available isn’t a lot. As she brings up topics of artistic voice with students, she also examines her own artistic voice and the themes of her work.

Kayla shared how she’s working with students who have been through not only the pandemic, but also a devastating hurricane that has left many of them displaced from their homes. Flexibility and empathy for these young humans has been vital. She talked about introducing them to artists who also inspire her own art-making and how the research she does for teaching feeds her art practice.

Cbabi talked about his journey as an artist and how he continues to grow both his practice and his business. He shared his creative process and the ways he overcomes challenges while creating. He also talked about painting murals in schools and how he becomes a role model for students, making his thinking visible and encouraging the use of mistakes as learning opportunities. It was so helpful hearing how he adjusts pricing and also has to work to overcome money mindsets - that made me feel less alone in this struggle!

Cbabi (pronounced Kuh-bob-bi) Bayoc is an internationally renowned St. Louis visual artist and illustrator who is highly sought-after for his murals and illustrations by diverse clientele such as schools, corporations, non-profits, hospitals, churches, actors, athletes, and musicians seeking images depicting the vibrancy and beauty of diversity whether digitally or by acrylic on a wall, canvas, metal, wood, and even stained glass or digitally.

Perhaps Cbabi’s name and evolution as an artist are best embodied in his 365 Days with Dad series—his 2012 New Year’s resolution to paint a positive image of Black fatherhood each day for the entire year. This project was quintessential in starting a dialogue within the community about the importance of a strong foundation and support system for all children, no matter the age. Today, this series continues to evolve, revealing the complexities of Black masculinity through Cbabi’s 52 Fridays of Fatherhood and his commitment to grow art collecting amongst Black families through weekly giveaways of original art pieces.

Most recently Cbabi completed illustrations for Dr. Ibram X. Kendi’s children’s book, Good Night Racism, which was released June 14, 2022.

Emily talked about her path as an artist from a young age, but also discovering her love for teaching and working especially in special education. She shared how all-consuming those first years of teaching were and how art had to take a back seat. I so related to that feeling of needing to re-discover the artist self, especially after becoming a mother. Emily aslo shared some great advice as a veteran special education teacher in not only encouraging students, but also encouraging yourself.

Emily has been a special education teacher for 19 years. She currently teaches reading, language arts, and works with many students who have dyslexia and other learning disabilities at the middle school level.  She has a degree in special education, a masters degree in educational philosophy, a minor in visual art, and is Orton Gillingham Certified. She attended a high school for the arts in San Diego, and has always used painting and creating as a means to self express, navigate unknowns, and connect with students.

She has taught in Maryland, Colorado, and the past 12 years in Southern California. Emily‘s art practice serves as the fuel which allows her to continually show up each day for her students and her family. Emily has a partner and two daughters (5 and 9), who love art as well.

Meera talked about coming back to art after a long hiatus while teaching and moving from one country to another. She shared beautiful advice for artists and educators around diving into art-making and giving yourself grace as you grow your art practice. Meera also shared her experience through this pandemic and how meaningful it has been coming back to in-person teaching with tactile art materials.

I loved hearing about her work and the process of selecting colors, tearing paper, collaging, and then adding embroidery. She shared advice around how she seeks opportunities and plans for solo shows, which was really helpful.

It was such a pleasure talking with Laura & Matt Grundler, who host the #K12artchat on Twitter and The Creativity Department podcast. We talked about helping kids navigate a world that wasn’t built for them, as both parents and teachers. Laura and Matt both shared their paths as artists and educators, which included struggles with school and learning challenges, giving them empathy for students. I also loved hearing about how they weave visual journaling into not only their curricula, but also their lives. They both talked about journaling to process emotions and information, and a beautiful collaborative journal practice to continue learning about each other. TIL about wakelet and tweetdeck!

Suzanne Joyal had great advice about working with students with disabilities, which really applies to working with all students. I loved hearing about her path to teaching through motherhood and how she advocated for the arts in schools. It was also inspiring to hear about her art practice and how she overcomes artist block.

Suzanne has exhibited her fine art at ArtWorks Downtown, Youth in Arts, O’Hanlon Center for the Arts, Albany Center, the Mill Valley Library, and Thornton Thomasetti. A visual artist with extensive teaching experience, Suzanne holds a degree in Art History from Wellesley College and has worked as a fine art gallery curator and an appraiser of fine prints for Butterfield and Butterfield. Suzanne is the founder of Purple Crayon Art Studio, a popular San Francisco art studio for children and families. Having created and directed Purple Crayon for over a decade, Suzanne sold the business in 2007. Suzanne also founded Give A Jump Start that used art as a tool for microfinance with women and children in Zambia.  Suzanne provides professional development workshops for educators in arts integration techniques and is the creator of the Walker Rezaian Creative HeARTS program, an early childhood replicable visual arts curriculum.  At Youth in Arts Suzanne focuses on the model programs including the ARTS Bank. This summer,  Suzanne began her study toward a Master of Arts in Arts Education with a focus on special populations from Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia, PA. The only program of its kind in the country, the program was founded by Lynn Horoschak, a pioneer in the field of arts education for special populations. For the students of Moore, and arts educators at Youth in Arts, “special populations” means anyone who does not thrive in the linear, neurotypical classroom. This could mean students experiencing disabilities, newcomer and english language learners, students experiencing the effect of trauma, or anyone with an IEP (Individual Education Plan).

Aimee talked about supporting her students through this pandemic and beyond in part through shifting mindsets and reframing negative thinking. I loved how she talked about our role as educators as focused around teaching students to care and to prioritize what it is they care about, ideally moving away from stress about homework towards empathy and care for each other. Aimee puts the same passion into supporting fellow educators and artists through coaching. She shared some great advice around selling your artwork and thinking through all the questions to ask around creating art objects. It was also so interesting to hear about how she works with many media, materials, and processes and how she conceptualizes and carries out her work.

Aimee Sones was born and raised in southern California.

She loves to travel and has lived all over the United States, worked, and lived in India and the UAE. Aimee holds an MFA from The Ohio State University and has given lectures/demonstrations and exhibited in the US, Bulgaria, England, Germany, India, and the UAE. She has received numerous scholarships, awards, and several Greater Columbus Arts Council Grants.

Aimee enjoys working with students of all ages and has taught at institutions including California State University, Fullerton, the National School of Applied Arts “St. Luca,” Sofia, Bulgaria and the Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, Washington. Aimee has been studying emotional intelligence, meditation, and healing since 2015 in California, Hawaii and at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence.

Over the past decade, Aimee has also worked behind the scenes on a variety of projects including managing day to day tasks, educational planning, curriculum development and implementing strategic systems for the success of organizations such as Glass Axis, The Torch Foundation, Pilchuck Glass School, and the Los Angeles Glass Center. In 2021, Aimee founded the Mountain Movers School to support art educators and entrepreneurs in bringing more balance, joy and confidence into all areas of their lives.

Aimee currently lives in southern California, where she teaches, creates, and assists organizations, other creatives and entrepreneurs in reaching their next level.

Mike talked about his winding path to art education and the myth of the art professor with abundant studio time. He shared how he fits in studio time in the gaps and how rich and fulfilling this winding path has been.

Mike also shared a project he does with students that provides useful data for teachers in assessing student learning, being able to offer data to administrators, while also letting students see their own growth. He talked about thinking in similar ways within his studio practice to shift to a growth mindset as an artist. I loved the idea of differentiating for yourself, realizing that you can’t be fantastic at everything, and recognizing your own growth as an artist. I also loved the mindset shift from “I’m not good at art” to “I’ve been underserved as an artist.” Thanks, Mike, for a new way to respond to “I can’t draw.” 

Mike talked about many artists he admires and loves to share with students. I’ll link to their work in the blog post, so go check that out.

mikewindy aka Mike Mitchell is a cohort 3 member of the Educator's Cooperative and the Kids on Stage Art Director of Mount Pleasant Schools in Maury County, TN. He is a 2020 Makey Makey global ambassador and the 2022 Mid-region Educator of the year awarded by the TN Art Education Association. He hosts The Art of Outreach podcast with the TN Art Association and facilitates discussions through the Educators Cooperative.

Lionel Cruet spoke about his teaching practice as well as his exhibit, Rhetorics of an Uncertain Future, which is in its third iteration at Play + Inspire Gallery. He talked about the process of developing the exhibition in all three iterations, from private viewing at Yi Gallery in NYC to exhibit at El Lobi in Puerto Rico to online at Play + Inspire. The title was chosen carefully to encompass the writing that accompanies the exhibition, while also exploring the visual arts as a mode of persuasion, a mode of rhetoric. We talked about how apt the idea of uncertain futures feels in this moment.

I loved hearing about how Lionel’s process begins with drawing and watercolor and then expands into digital media, video, and transmedia storytelling. He talked about collaboration and how he works with fellow artists, curators, sound designers, and animators to bring his ideas to life. He also shared advice for artists and educators.

Eric Anthony Berdis shared his story of finding refuge and courage in art. He talked about imagining a queer space and how he creates that imagined space. He also spoke about the idea of being a parallel player alongside his young students and his continual work to move away from facilitator or director in the classroom. I loved hearing about his process and all the research behind his work. I also loved how he is able to incorporate play and whimsy among all the references and context that goes into his work. If you can, take a look at his work while you listen!

As a queer maker, Eric Anthony Berdis (Erie, PA) continuously finds ways to imagine and embody joy through his practice. Navigating the new normal as an elementary school teacher, and studio artist working. He finds himself working in the hours from 5-11 pm.  His work embraces a maximalist aesthetic of archival research, personal secrets, and pubescent gay boy glamour. Entering their installation, the audience is transported to a new world. Thrift store castoffs and hobbyist craft supplies are reassembled into a cast of characters that blur the lines between ghost, creature, and friend.

For Eric, the studio becomes a haven in periods of instability, insecurity, and oppression. Happiness, play, and pleasure are not only sought after during difficult times but are arguably necessary components of survival. Joy is an act of resilience—a critical method of subverting hegemonic narratives of suffering. Queer joy in Eric's work is found through forms of exuberance such as world-building, materials, and escaping into new types of textile processes like quilting.

Eric is a teacher of preschoolers. In his classroom, he tries to become a parallel and collaborative player in his students' activities. Hoping to not only build a deeper connection to students but also support their development in a way that is true to their interests. They have received their MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University. Eric has exhibited work at the University Galleries of Illinois State University, Stay Home Gallery, Paris TN, and Bunker Projects, Pittsburgh. His work has been published in Hiss Mag, Emergency Index, and American Painting.

It was so great to reconnect with Abishek and hear more about his art and teaching practices. He participated in one of our Artist Talk sessions through the Teaching Artists Lounge last summer and I was so inspired by the way he wove teaching and artmaking together in that brief talk that I wanted to hear more. He shared wonderful advice for working with students of all abilities and adjusting his own expectations as a teacher during constantly shifting situations as a result of the pandemic. We got into what student-centered teaching can look like. He also talked about his inspiration as an artist and the project he’s currently working on surrounding men and mental health in India.

Mumbai-based artist and educator, Abhishek has been associated with the arts for more than a decade. Depending on the role, be it artist, teacher, researcher, or administrator, he uses a combination of creativity, information, research, and persuasion to achieve personal and professional results. Abhishek received an MA in Art Education from Boston University. His scholarly interests are grounded in Critical and Culturally responsive pedagogy; with research interests in arts integration, Indigenous curriculum, art for special educational needs, and place-based education. As a visual artist, his artistic practice is inclined at investigating themes and issues of mental health, culture, and gender within the local and global context. Currently, he serves as the Arts program coordinator and teacher at The Gateway School of Mumbai, a not-for-profit school committed to empowering children with disabilities. Based on the critical strategies of Visual art, his teaching focuses on exploratory and inquiry-based art-making processes in-studio and design courses. Abhishek has been a conference speaker and has taught workshops at festivals, galleries, museums in India and Brazil. The Tata Education and Development Trust and The Keshavlal Bodani Education Foundation are the granting organizations that supported his academic and cultural work.

Marianna talked about the support she felt from teachers and her parents as an artist, but also the challenge of learning to draw. She shared a method for teaching drawing that she longed for as a young person, working to improve her technique.

The way she shifted from teaching full-time and feeling the burnout so many of us have felt was so inspiring. I loved hearing how she found a semblance of balance with part-time teaching and part-time art-making as she re-emerged as an artist. Marianna also talked about the move from Miami, FL to Boise, ID and how the culture shock affected her. She shared how she sought out community both locally and online through fellow artists and teachers. I loved hearing about her process and how she uses visual journaling alongside her students as an ongoing practice.

Marianna Jimenez Edwards is a veteran high school art teacher who strives to incorporate a choice-based curriculum and believes in creating a space for students to experience how to see and think like artists. Having felt deficiencies in her own technical skills after leaving her high school art classes, teaching traditional drawing and painting skills that students expect is also important in her teaching practice.

The daughter of Mexican immigrants, Marianna attended suburban public schools and has always loved learning. She studied at the San Francisco Art Institute, receiving a BFA in Painting. Awareness of her indigenous heritage and Chicano culture blossomed during art school. Also, during that time, visiting her grandmother’s village in Oaxaca and various archaeological sites in Central Mexico and Chiapas on separate occasions transformed that awareness into the passion and central ideas for her work.

Valentine Svihalek talked about embracing her creativity and shifting in her career as she moved physically and emotionally through life. I love how she dove into being an artist and then working with fellow artists, especially mothers, to bring out their creative voices.

Valentine Svihalek is a Belgian and American contemporary visual artist, international educator, and mother. Living and teaching in diverse communities around the world, she cultivated a desire for discovery and development. After the birth of her first child in a village surrounded by people who spoke a different language, she felt isolated. Turning inward, she developed a process of artmaking that liberates expressive energy and establishes connection. She engaged in the Artist Residency In Motherhood program. This experience, combined with graduate studies in philosophy and postgraduate studies in teaching, literacy, and culture in San Diego served as the foundation for further exploration.

Valentine founded the Mama Create collective, a community that facilitated opportunities for English speaking creatives in the Czech Republic. Inspired by her community work, she published The Imperfect Artist Mother Journey as a reflection on postpartum experience. Her European network merged with the global collective Art Mums United where she serves as co-director. Valentine has exhibited her work in galleries in Europe and with the Jewish Museum Prague. She is co-host of the Art Mums United Podcast and is a member of a variety of directories and artist organizations such as Spilt Milk Gallery, The Art Queens Society, Create Magazine, Artist-Mother Network, and ARIM.

Ana Guzmán talked about her experience as an English Language Learner and reframing that term to Emergent Bilingual as she now works to help students who are learning a second language. I love that reframing, focusing on the impressive fact that these students already know at least one language and are learning an additional language! 

She shared some strategies art educators can use in reaching and teaching emergent bilingual students as well as advocating with administration and higher level bureaucrats. 

I loved hearing about her art journaling and how she’s taking time to reflect as part of her own art-making practice. That ebb and flow in life is so REAL and so important to talk about. We can’t do everything all the time, as much as we may want to. 

Melissa Parke shared her journey in bringing an idea to life through Black Teaching Artist Lab where she conducts research, offers workshops and professional development, and so much more. She shared so vulnerably about mental health and struggles with feeling confident despite being certain of the importance and value of her work. She has created the Afrocentric Social-Emotional Learning Framework, which centers social-emotional learning (SEL) for the Black learner through arts education. Melissa talked about developing this framework and using it within professional development for Black teaching artists.

Stories from the Field: A curated selection of conversations around equity in the art classroom.

This episode is a special one and will be the last one of 2021. This is a longer version of the presentation I gave at the California Art Education Association conference last month. I prefaced the presentation by saying that I am not an expert here, but have been learning and listening and working to share the advice of those who know more than I do, to share the experiences of those who experience racism firsthand, to share the voices of those who are too often silenced.

It was a daunting task to select clips from over 80 hours of conversation to fit into 30 minutes. What’s shared here is my longer cut, which is closer to 45 minutes. While there’s obviously so much cut from the many conversations these clips were pulled from, it is also still a lot to process. This episode includes clips from the following artists and educators: Peter Atsu Adaletey, Mahoganëë Amiger, Mandi Antonucci, Morgan Auten Smith, Abby Birhanu, Jeremy Blair, Aaron Bos Wahl, Liz Brent, Tracy Brown, Adrienne Brown-David, Nikki Brugnoli, Adjoa Burrowes, Candido Crespo, Pat Cruz, Christy Culp, Lizz Denneau, Megan Driving Hawk, Nisa Floyd, Jill Forie, Kate Frazer Rego, Emma Freeman, Victoria J. Fry, Reuben King, Jessica Kitzman, Khadesia Latimer, Ondrea Levey, Paula Liz, Matt MacFarland, Kelly Marshall, Lauren Merceron, Alisha Mernick, David T. Miller, Mallory Muya, Danielle Nilsen, Priyanka Parmanand, Eileen Powers, Gregory Quick, Natasha Rivett-Carnac, Mark Rode, Jess Rogawski, Lori Santos, Tamara Slade, Corbrae Smith, Sydney Snyder, Karina Esperanza Yánez, and Flavia Zuñiga-West.

Isadora Stowe shared her winding journey teaching in several settings before landing in community college where she embraces the student centered approach. She talked about learning on the job how to connect with students and truly listen to find their unmet needs. It was so helpful hearing about the mindset shift from thinking of behaviors as problematic to thinking of behaviors as expressing something that may be painful and is not being heard.

I also loved hearing about Isadora’s work and how she pursues her interest in physics through installation in collaboration with scientists. She talked about making a living and making a life as an artist - creating multiple income streams, but also building in time to recharge yourself.

Isadora Stowe is a New Mexican based multi-media artist whose work focuses on the narrative of environment translated and coded into complex psychological landscapes. Stowe grew up in the southwest border region, living and working in New Mexico, Texas and Mexico. She credits these experiences for providing a heightened awareness of geographical and political boundaries, and a fascination with the exploration of identity of self and the construction of home in her work.

Stowe earned her BFA in Painting with a double major in Cultural Anthropology, minor in Native American Studies and an MFA in Painting and Drawing. She exhibits her work widely and is represented in many private and public collections across the country and in Mexico. She has been the recipient of several grants, scholarships and awards for her work, including an Award for Excellence from the New Mexico Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts. She is also one of the Artists profiled in the Book, The Motherhood of Art, published in 2020.

She is dedicated to making the world a better place for Artists from all points of origin and serves on many local and national committees and on the board of directors for the Texas Association of Schools of Art and Bordersenses, a non-profit which promotes arts in the binational region. She is also the co-creator of the professional art practice courses; Wearing all the hats without losing your head presented on the Artist Mother Network.

Cynthia Hauk shared her experience teaching mindful art workshops, including trainings for teachers and parents around bringing these practices into our teaching. I was so grateful that she also shared a specific exercise that can be done with no materials or extended to create incredible works of art. We talked about somatic work and what that means, as well as overcoming the shame story many of us have around creativity. Cynthia also shared some of her favorite books, which I’ll link to in the blog post. She talked about fitting in art-making while juggling so many other parts of life, including true self care. I loved the imagery of filling your cup in order for it to overflow and pour out into the world.

Mary Beth Flynn shared her experience growing both her house portrait business and her art education business. She talked about being a lifelong artist and a lifelong entrepreneur and it was amazing to hear how she really embodies both. I also loved hearing about the therapeutic aspects of the work she’s doing through her Artfully Aging programs. She ties in storytelling and song to add an oral component to her watercolor projects.

We can probably all relate to the necessarily fast learning curve with technology during this pandemic. Mary Beth revamped her website, but also shifted her business model and created over 20 projects with training videos and shipped kits. She talked about being daunted at first, taking time to just organize and take stock, but then seeing the potential of moving beyond her geographic area. It’s so inspiring to see how she has grown her businesses and continues to adapt.

Lizz Denneau is making incredible artwork while teaching with a focus on contemporary art in a rural Arizona high school. I loved getting to learn more about her work and the ideas and processes she pursues as an artist. She talked about leaning into her intuition and the incredible paths that leads her down. Her striking visuals have so much depth of form and texture as well as meaning and history. She talked about her childhood as a bi-racial person and how she’s been digging into the history of the Black half of her family and processing through her artwork. She’s able to create work that is both deeply personal and connective.

Lizz also shared her experience working with the Art 21 Educators’ Institute, which provided resources, connections with fellow art educators, and methods for sharing contemporary work in the classroom. She offered helpful insights into teaching with a social justice lens in a conservative district, which echoed what I hear again and again: build relationships! Getting to know your students is vital!

Lorna Ritz talked about her process and the meditative work of creating space with paint. It was inspiring hearing her dedication to her work and how she shares that with students. We talked about modeling as a teacher and helping students learn how to see. Lorna also spoke about her beautiful large barn studio and the intensive process of renovating it - both when she first moved in back in 1986 and again more recently to abate a mold problem and save the barn. I loved hearing about her lifelong passion for oil paint and the way she thinks about color.

Lorna has drawn the Holyoke Mountains for 36 years and is still learning them. Both the day and seasonal light changes on them constantly, filling her with curiosity to draw them better. She sets her easel up on a hill overlooking one of the only east-west axis mountain ranges in this country, formed by glaciers. The mountains are so close to her so she feels she can almost reach out to pet them, like they are a big animal moving up and down as the cloud shadows allow the sun to hit them in a pulsating way. She works and reworks each drawing for many days, obtaining a specific light from the sky falling on the mountains that will never bring these particular colors again. Everything in the drawing has equal importance; the tree is as important as the mountain behind it, the sky as important moving behind them, as important the foreground coming up towards the viewer. Everything is democratically related, a conglomeration of spatial movements interrelated, needing each other to survive.

Lorna studied with Gabriel Laderman and Lennart Anderson in the 60’s and received a BFA from Pratt Institute, changing the course of her painting life into pure abstraction, under the instruction of painter James Gahagan, (a student of Hans Hofmann). She received an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 1971, in both painting and sculpture, (welding steel, and casting in bronze and iron). Lorna has taught at several universities including the Rhode Island School of Design, Brown University, University of Minnesota, and Dartmouth College. She has also been a visiting guest critic at the Vermont Studio Center and taught several drawing marathons at the New York Studio School.

I love how Lauren’s work talks about the history of the land through the history of her paintings. Her process of layering, covering up what’s underneath while leaving hints of the past, is so meaningful. She talked about making quilts as well as paintings and where the 2 inform each other. Lauren also spoke about meeting students where they are and truly getting to know students as humans while also sharing yourself as a human.

Lauren Scott Corwin is a semi-abstract artist who works with oil paint, printmaking, fiber, and installation. Her bold palette is meant to immerse the viewer with familiar patterns and narratives of common scenes with a nod to the uncanny. Her recent work has begun to explore elements of Home, both as an idea and the structure itself as this was redefined during the Covid pandemic. She continues to dissect our idea of Home from a critical (and playful) standpoint, seeking to uncover guides and maps of the human experience that we know in 2020.

Lauren Scott Corwin has maintained a life as both an artist and educator since the beginning of her career. Since her BFA in Painting from Maryland Institute College of Art, followed by an MFA in Painting from the University of Delaware. In 2019, she was awarded the David P. Hartman ‘52 Excellence in Teaching Award, alongside a full-year sabbatical and array of national exhibitions. She currently lives in the hills of Western Massachusetts, teaching at an independent school, along with her young family.

Judy DeSimone shared her experience of over 30 years teaching and had some great tips for teachers. She also talked about her ceramic work and inspirations. I loved hearing about how careful she is about the finishes, keeping areas matte while allowing some bits of gloss. Her transformation from realism to abstraction was also inspiring to hear.

Judy DeSimone is a ceramic artist living and creating art in West Chester, Pennsylvania. She earned a bachelor of science degree in art education at Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her degree allowed her to pursue a career and vocation as a middle school art educator with 6th, 7th and 8th graders, at a public school in Coatesville, Pennsylvania. It was in this classroom Judy taught herself various ceramic hand building techniques leading to a love of the medium. Her ceramic enthusiasm was shared with her students.

For thirty years, Judy’s ceramics were realistic wall pieces consisting of animals, flowers, leaves and personal diary scenes executed in bas relief. With public school retirement came a shedding of the old and a blossoming of the new to the quick, spontaneous, “why not art” she currently pursues. The “why not” view was reinforced in her retirement job, teaching art to kindergarten through eighth graders at her local Catholic school. The inhibitions of the younger students’ ideas and techniques reinforced Judy’s personal philosophy of, why not, which she applies to her ceramics. What luck to have had three-hundred-part time muses at one’s disposal. After 39 years of teaching art to Kindergarten through 8 grade students Ms. DeSimone hung up her classroom apron to pursue personal artistic endeavors.

Nicole McAfoose shared fantastic and really practical tips for teachers interested in moving towards choice-based teaching or TAB. She talked about the transition phase and the power of giving students more autonomy in the classroom. She also spoke about assessment in a TAB classroom and how she documents learning. Her passion and care for her students was so clear.

Nicole also vulnerably shared how she lost the artist side of herself and is coming back to being an artist now. She talked about imposter syndrome and naming limiting beliefs. It was so encouraging to hear how she makes time for her own art-making, tells her bully of an inner critic to be quiet, and embraces the media she enjoys.

Andy Harris talked about teaching with a focus on bringing out the super powers within his students. He shared some amazing projects that use art to consider identity and build relationships within the classroom.

He also shared some great advice for artists around seeking opportunities and being ready when doors open. I loved hearing about his process - from collecting images to painting, cutting, and glueing paper, drawing on his experience hanging wallpaper.

Andy Harris graduated from VCU, currently works out of his studio in Norfolk Virginia and teaches art in Virginia Beach City Public Schools.

I loved how Erin talked about being an art cheerleader for her students! Her mantra of “It’s just paper” and encouragement to play and explore without getting stuck on unattainable ideas of perfection were so helpful. She shared such great advice around piecing together a career as an artist, which feels connected to piecing together her gorgeous collage work. A game changer for me was her goal of 50 rejections per year. What an incredible mindset shift that creates - going from mourning a rejection to celebrating it as part of a larger goal!

Erin McCluskey Wheeler is a painter, collagist, writer, curator, and teacher based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Erin works in many series at once and across disciplines in painting, collage, works on paper, prints, and poetry. Each medium with its different qualities, allows Erin to explore ideas about memory, language, color, and place, while retaining a unified voice that reflects on the power of color and connection.

Erin has a BA in studio art and art history from Beloit College, and an MFA from California College of the Arts. As an undergraduate, she did an intensive study of traditional brush painting at Kansai Gaidai University in Hirakata-shi, Japan. Erin is a faculty member of the 92nd Y School of the Arts in New York City and teaches collage and mixed media classes throughout the Bay Area. Erin has shown extensively in galleries across the country and her work is represented by the Roaring Artist Gallery, a virtual gallery showing the work of visionary women artists. Erin’s artwork is licensed and sold through West Elm, Minted, Target, and Samsung. She has won multiple awards for her visual art and poetry including the top prize for poetry from Northwind Arts in 2021. Erin is a founding member of The Collage Stop and the Art Brand Alliance.