Workshop Descriptions: 

Access & Equity Panel Discussion (AM Session only)

Whose stories are told, and whose perspectives are still missing in our Museum and Art Education programs? Who gets funded, whose history is taught, and how do programs accommodate diverse physical and learning needs? Join us for a lively discussion and Q&A on issues, strategies and questions of access and equity in museum art education for 2026 and beyond. Panelist include: Michelle Begley, Education Director of the American Mural Project; Yesenia Rivera-Ortiz, Director of SPHERE and Community, Equity, and Inclusion Co-Coordinator at Watkinson School; Tara Harrison, CAEA 2024 Art Educator of the Year, and Adding Voices Presenter; and Ellis Lane, Equity and Access Specialist, Education Department, Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH. 

Wear That Art! A Best Practice Presentation (PM Session only)

Wearable Sculptures? Recycled Runways? Trashin’ to Fashion? Join Michelle Begley Education Director of the Americal Mural Project and K-6 Art Teacher Dan Rosenthal-Baxter as they share strategies for engaging students in collaborative design challenges, This wearable sculpture and recycled runway presentation empowers K-12 teachers to create rich, deep, hands-on learning experiences using familiar and discarded materials. Key features include supporting students in generating and refining ideas: fostering collaboration and problem solving; and developing new material skills. Standards-based planning materials will be shared. 

Basketry – Virginia Zimmerman

Learn to make a small reed woven basket from beginning (bottom) to rim (border). The techniques can be used to weave future baskets out of all kinds of materials. You can use just about anything to make a basket – from store-bought reeds to materials gathered from nature.

Ms. Zimmerman earned her BFA from Parsons School of Design and her K-12 Art Teaching Certificate, Masters in Art Education and Sixth Year. Degrees from Southern Connecticut State University. She taught in the Fairfield Public School District for 26 years before pursuing art full-time.

Book Arts – Sydney Samele

Create a series of sculptural artist books using the fishbone folding technique, named for its unique resemblance to a fish skeleton.

Ms. Samele earned her BFA from the University of Hartford. She has taught several workshops and seminars in the region and currently serves as FPAC Artistic Technician. Sydney experiments with various printmaking techniques, such as etching, lithography, monotype, silkscreen and relief.

Explore, Create, and Teach: Mastering Ceramic Surface Techniques – Kathy Cady

This hands-on workshop invites art educators to deepen their understanding of ceramic surface decoration and finishing techniques while building practical skills for immediate classroom integration. Participants will move beyond basic glazing to explore a comprehensive range of methods, experiment with various techniques, troubleshoot common challenges, and develop strategies for teaching these concepts to students of all levels. Greenware will be taken home for firing.

Ms. Cady earned her Master’s degree in Art Education and for thirty years has taught ceramics at the high school and college levels. Her ceramic artwork has focused on pit firing techniques inspired by ancient and classical forms.

Cyanotype – Fruma Markowitz

Explore the process of cyanotype, known for producing rich blue and white prints on paper. Using an assortment of botanical specimens and household objects, you will experiment with mark-making and composition. Learn to manipulate the texture and color of your image with kitchen supplies such as salt, turmeric powder, coffee, tea, dish soap bubbles, and plastic wrap.

Ms.Markowitz’s photography practice focuses on historical, experimental, and hand-made processes, with an emphasis on cyanotype and lumen photography, textile-based mixed-media collage, and most recently one-of-a-kind photobooks. Fruma earned her BFA in photography at the Bezalel Academy of Art & Design in Jerusalem, Israel, where she was the recipient of the Agfa Award, the Jerusalem Student Award.

2D Design: Discovering Patterns – Terry Feder

This workshop is about making individual information visual with drawing and design and building a personal visual vocabulary; for example, my family, what I’m wearing, phone use, body rhythms. (This workshop refers to Lupi and Posavec’s book “Observe, Collect, Draw.”)

Ms. Feder’s work is part of many private, corporate and hospital collections including the Ruth and Marvin Sackner Archives of Visual Poetry, and the Sol and Carol LeWitt collection and the New Britain Museum of American Art. She has taught art at Central CT State University, Post University, and the Hartford Art School.

Gel Plate Printmaking – Katheleen Schroeder

Gel plate printmaking does not require printmaking ink or a press, so it is suited for most settings and age groups. Participants will be shown the flexibility of this technique by using acrylic paint combined with found objects, stencils, charcoal, chalk pastels, and more, on a variety of papers. The resulting one-of-a-kind prints can be used in standalone projects or as a means to generate the starting materials for collage or other art-making activities. Gel plates can be purchased commercially or can be made at home using a simple recipe that uses inexpensive, easily obtained ingredients.

Ms. Schroeder studied art at the Hartford Art School and participated in the Tamarind Summer Course in Lithography in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She earned her Master of Fine Art (MFA) from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design.

Needle Felting – Diane Cadrain

Participants will use the softest of materials, wool roving, to create an image on a background of raw silk, using a special barbed needle. The image may be a landscape (provided) or the product of your own imagination.

Ms.Cadrain turned full-time to art in 2015 after retiring from her job as a lawyer and freelance writer specializing in employment law topics. As a fiber artist, she came of age during the time when sewing was taught in the public schools and was a part of mainstream culture. Today, her fiber artwork includes machine piecing and quilting, felting, hand embroidery, and knitting.

Pop Ups and Paper Engineering – Marianne Petit

Learn the fundamentals of paper engineering. Explore basic techniques including folds, layers, and pull-tabs, and learn how to transform a flat sheet of paper into a dynamic, three-dimensional structure that pops.

Ms. Petit holds several degrees including a BA in Studio Art and Art Education and a MA in Printmaking both from New York University. Professor Petit teaches in NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts Interactive Media Program (IMA). She has exhibited and taught widely and is the recipient of many grants, fellowships, and awards.

Screen Printing Made Easy – Nick Colabella

This workshop will introduce the fundamentals of screen printing using classroom-friendly techniques and easily accessible materials. Learn the step-by-step process of preparing your screen, transferring and printing your design, and reclaiming your screen for future projects. Participants will have the opportunity to experiment with printing on both paper and fabric while gaining practical skills that can be easily adapted for classroom use.

Mr. Colabella is a seasoned graphic designer and digital marketer with extensive experience working in both museum and distillery settings. Holding a bachelor’s degree in arts management with a minor in Design from MCLA in North Adams, MA, Nick combines a strong academic foundation with a passion for hands-on creativity.