Catie Nasser is an art educator, art therapist, and visual artist who has been working with children in the arts for more than twenty years in public, private, and therapeutic settings. She is a veteran elementary art teacher of the Middleton Public Schools, and in 2021 was named the Massachusetts Elementary Art Teacher of the Year. Nasser teaches a range of fine art mediums that incorporate arts integration, social emotional learning, and project-based learning. She loves showing young artists how to take their creativity to new levels with animation, robotics, kinetic sculpture, and coding. Nasser is committed to using art to help youth find their voice and fully express thoughts and ideas. She has presented at both state and national conferences for the Art Education Association. She has appeared as a guest in several podcasts such as Everyday Art Room, The Creativity Department, and Get a Cue. Nasser is also an adjunct faculty member with the Art of Education University.
In this workshop participants will explore how physical movement can become a dynamic element of art-making. Through paper engineering, automata, simple mechanical systems, and linkages, participants will experiment with motion, structure, and interaction while gaining practical strategies to bring kinetic concepts into the art classroom.
Joel Scholten is an elementary art educator, curriculum designer, and practicing artist based in Omaha, Nebraska. He earned a degree in art education from Northwestern College in Iowa and a master’s degree from Concordia University in Nebraska. Scholten strives to help students experience art in meaningful and deeply personal ways, introducing them to diverse contemporary artists and showing them how art can communicate story, message, and meaning. He has worked with learners of all ages in communities ranging from Seattle to Iowa and Nebraska. In addition to classroom teaching, he has contributed to art education through his work with The Art of Education University, where he supports the development of the FLEX curriculum. As an artist, Scholten works primarily in encaustic and mixed media. Drawing inspiration from everyday life and the natural world, his art explores visual storytelling through the balance of control and chance.
These sessions are designed to help elementary art teachers build confident, creative classrooms through intentional structure, meaningful choice, and authentic contemporary art integration. Participants will explore how lesson design and classroom systems work together to support student independence. Teachers will experience the strategies as learners, experimenting with materials, and reflecting on processes. Participants will leave with concrete strategies, ready-to-teach project ideas, and a clearer framework for designing art experiences that feel both supportive and creatively free.
Candido Crespo is more than an artist; he is a storyteller, an educator of eighteen years, and a devoted father whose work pulses with the vibrancy of everyday life. A graduate of The State University of New York at New Paltz and at Stony Brook, Crespo spent years refining a multidisciplinary approach that dances between the precision of drawing and the tactile, layered worlds of printmaking and collage. Today, his practice is a celebration of the human experience. Whether through the athletic energy of his Hoop Screams series, the cultural resonance of the Vejigante mask, or his intimate explorations of Fatherhood, Crespo's work invites the viewer to find joy in the complex. Beyond the studio, he is a catalyst for community. Through his creativiDAD project, he empowers fathers and male guardians to embrace creativity as a vital parenting tool, proving that art isn’t just something you look at—it’s something you live.
Transform the art classroom into a creative engine where art meets entrepreneurship. In this hands-on workshop, educators will master the tactile art of printmaking while developing a blueprint for launching successful student-led craft fairs. By bridging the gap between fine art and the "maker economy," participants will learn how to help students value their work, understand marketability, and gain real-world business experience.
Lynnette Gilbert is an associate professor of art education at Arkansas Tech University and the director of the Windgate Summer Art Launch Program for Arkansas art educators. She received her doctorate at the University of Houston, and has twenty-three years of teaching experience, including sixteen years teaching art in secondary schools in Tennessee and Texas. Throughout her career, she has presented sessions locally, regionally, and nationally, including the National Art Education Association, the Texas Art Education Association, and at the Kent State Symposium she presented Textures: The History and Art of Black Hair. She also has been published in the Journal of Folklore and Education and Panorama. Her goal and platform are creating a space for more distinctive voices in the field of art education. Her artwork reflects the beauty, strength, and value of black women through her bold use of colors, play of pattern, textures, and mixed media.
Participants will create visual narratives through portraits or figurative studies with a beautiful fusion of drawing, collaging, and mono-printmaking. The workshop will explore the vibrant painting style of artist Sam Gilliam, and the bold drawing, layering, and printmaking concepts of Delita Martin and Favianna Rodriguez. All that is required is an expressive spirit and space to create; no press is required.
