Featured News | May 22, 2013
The WAC is sponsoring a variety of summer professional development opportunities designed with teachers in mind. Participants are eligible to receive PTSB or UW Continuing Education credits.
Starting the summer in Cheyenne, Lynn Newman will lead Issues in Teaching Painting. There will be a mix of hands-on exercises using the paint of your choice and facilitated discussion to cover a variety of topics. Discussion will range from the most mundane (how do I get my brushes back?) to curriculum ideas (should we teach oil painting?) to philosophical questions. It will be tailored to the needs of participants, who will be asked to send in advanced registration and suggestions of issues and skills to be covered. Dates are June 17-20, 2013. Base registration price is $150; optional single or double hotel room is an additional fee.
Are you interested in any aspect of teaching theatre? Our Theater Intensive on June 23-28 in Riverton is just right for you! This course will provide hands-on opportunities for teachers and coaches of theatre to participate in the theatre. The class will include intensive workshops in aspects of technical theatre, along with opportunities to learn techniques of teaching acting, and directorial coaching. Throughout, the workshops will be geared toward providing a teacher with tools to teach all aspects of theatre to high school students. This year will feature a focus on sound design. The schedule will be balanced between technical, acting and directorial workshops and discussions. Base registration price is $450; optional single or double hotel room is an additional fee.
Moving over to Lander from June 25 – 27, take Issues in Teaching Ceramics. Do you teach ceramics, but feel like your own skills aren’t as good as they should be? Have trouble explaining to students why their piece isn’t working? This class is for you! With 20 years of experience, Instructor Jason Dayton, will focus on wet clay—throwing and slab building techniques. Plan to spend your time practicing. There will also be time for discussion of teaching and firing techniques. Since this class is so short, there will not be time to fire anything. You may wish to take pieces home for firing — transport greenware at your own risk! Base registration price is $100; optional single or double hotel room is an additional fee.
While in Lander, stay a few extra days, June 28 – 29, and Build a Raku Kiln! Led by Jason Dayton, you’ll learn how to build a kiln by doing it yourself. During the class, he’ll also talk about firing and glazing techniques that work well in this kiln. Walk away with many tried and true glaze recipes and the confidence you need to teach. This is a technique that generates enthusiasm, and involves your students in the firing process. Almost guarantees to boost your class enrollment for the following semester. When you leave this class, you will have a portable raku kiln to take home with you, ready to use at your school. You will need to purchase a weed burner torch and propane locally. Base registration price is $350 (remember, you get to take home a kiln!); optional single or double hotel room is an additional fee.
In July, from the 21–26, join our partners at the UW Art Museum for their annual Summer Teaching Institute. Community educators and K-12 teachers alike can benefit from this hands-on, interactive workshop. This summer’s institute will consider how art and science intersect as investigative processes. We’ll explore a variety of materials and methods that might be used in art and science classrooms as the means for looking at the natural world. UW Photography Instructor Bailey Russell will guide participants in creating Cyanotype and Van Dyck prints in the Art Department’s new photography lab. Visiting artists Gerald Lang and Jennifer Anne Tucker offer a contemporary rethinking of traditional documentation of plants using their exhibition, The Botanical Series, on view at the Art Museum. These prints combine Lang’s digital printing expertise with Tucker’s research and practice as an herbalist. Individual registration is $150 with a $50 nonrefundable deposit; an additional sliding scale for partner registrations is available upon request.
To finish out the summer, head to Riverton for both Advanced Fused Glass, taught by experienced instructor Marianne Vinich. The Beginning Fused Glass class is a thorough introduction to fusing and slumping glass. Advanced class offers participants a chance to practice and hone fusing and slumping skills, as well as learn cold working techniques and discuss developing kiln programs for firing glass. For both classes, participants will create a number of their own art glass; learn a variety of techniques, and how to fire glass. In both classes, topics will cover a range of issues pertaining to fusing glass, including tools, health concerns, safety concerns, materials, and information about working with glass, including tips for how to make it successful for anyone taking the class. Further discussion will be held about the particulars of teaching fused glass in the public school classroom. Classes are concurrent and begin on July 28, with the beginning class concluding on July 30 and the advanced class concluding on August 2. Beginning glass base registration is $350, Advanced class base registration is $650; both classes have the option for adding a single or double room as an additional fee.
Calling all conductors! If you’re willing to trek up north to our neighbors in Montana, there’s a workshop just for you. Check it out here: http://umt.edu/music/node/537. This is outside the scope of WAC offerings or partnerships, but we wanted to share it with you anyway!
All of these professional development opportunities are crucial ways to further strengthen your teaching and learning skills, build networking opportunities, or learn something altogether new. For more information about pricing and registration, please contact Katie Christensen at 307-777-7109 or katie.christensen@wyo.gov or Camellia El-Antably at 307-777-5305 or camellia.el-antably@wyo.gov.
The Wyoming Arts Council believes that experiencing the arts should be accessible for all, including people with mental and/or physical disabilities, older adults, military/veterans, people living in institutions and those who lack access to the arts due to geographic isolation, cultural difference and economic hardship.
