GAEA Conference Fall 2024

How does working alongside students during studio time build relationships and foster a community within the studio? For art educators Morgan Clifton and Victoria Goeckel, their job as art educators is to nurture connection and collaboration with and amongst students by working alongside them as artists and mentors, beyond the traditional interpretation of “teaching”. When students step into their classrooms, they are transported to a space that serves as a shared studio for the teacher-artist and the student artists. For Morgan and Victoria, this practice shapes up differently within their respective high school and elementary spaces. For Morgan, this practice has evolved into a treasured tradition after a student jokingly asked her if they could be her for the day, igniting a revolution in collaborative studio making. Each Friday, a student has the opportunity to take on the mantle of teacher for the day, visit peers one-on-one, check in, talk about ideas, offer feedback and suggestions, while Morgan creates alongside the other students. For Victoria, this practice is best embodied in the annual school mural that is created with the year’s fifth grade students. Each year the fifth grade students spend months planning, drafting, and voting on a new school mural, followed by priming, sketching, and painting the mural before revealing it to the school community each May. Students participate in each step alongside Victoria, learning the practical skills of a working artist and finding permanent ownership and legacy of a space in the school. Intentional communal art education experiences such as these, when students and teachers share their workspace and artistic practice, encourages conversation and exploration of the artmaking process between peers and teachers alike as artists working collaboratively. This workshop will explore these practices and help other educators seek out these opportunities within their own classrooms.

This is a exciting hands-on workshop incorporating the Contemporary Art of Bisa Butler. Participants will create a self-portrait embellishing with Prismacolors, tons of fabric choices, and various found objects to create a powerful and colorful work of art. You will receive a link to a Google site with details of the entire project, including a student checklist and exit ticket. Participants will be able to take back to their classes an engaging, exciting lesson! https://sites.google.com/g.gcpsk12.org/bisa-butler/home

In this workshop, participants will walk through sample AP student portfolios. These portfolios received a five and were signified as perfect, not having any points deducted. Participants will learn strategies to encourage students who are working on an AP 3D portfolio, aligning the student’s strongest art making skills with conceptual modes for AP success. Participants will explore these students’ previous portfolios in drawing and 2D to discover techniques, skills, and ideas that helped them scaffold to 3D thinking and best practices for success. Additionally, participants will use found objects, reflection sheets, and skills in drawing/2D to create an assemblage-based sculpture/box inspired by artist Joseph Cornell. Participants are encouraged to bring a collection of 2D/3D collage/assemblage materials for use in their sculpture, however, some materials will be available on hand for use. All levels welcome, not just AP art educators. 

"Cute" is part of today’s visual language. The kawaii aesthetic, with roots in Japanese culture, has influenced emojis, pop media, fashion, and contemporary artists such as Takashi Murakami. Imagine and create a soft-textured 3-D creature in this playful Blick Art Materials workshop. Realism and cuteness are optional.

Come to the way, way (throw) back with us! Remember those first craft activities that sparked your interest in making? Pearler beads, plastic lace keychains, shrinky dinks and, of course, dream catchers were, and still are, so much fun to make. Please join us as we revisit these engaging materials and processes for making a variety of crafts. Leave with ideas for NAHS activities, Free Art Friday drops, early finishing enrichment, or just a renewed appreciation for crafts.

Life and work of Local Artist, Ana Cordoba. Ana is a Colombian, Atlanta based artist. She is famed for the great vitality of her works which are characterized by expressive and emotive use of brilliant colors and the energetic application of her impasto technique. Ana is also known for her versatile work through different media, such as murals, custom made wearable art, body painting, and her expressionist, and tridimensional artwork.


In Miami (2018) and Georgia (2021), Ana shared her colors at the Colombian Consulate with the Made in Colombia series as a initiative to share representative people, and culture from her homeland Colombia. Recently, these series were displayed on her Solo Exhibition at the Art Station Big Shanty Gallery and at The Quinlan.


In addition, her wearable art clothing was displayed on the runway at the Fashion Week, London 2021.


On March 2022 Ana Córdoba was diagnosed with breast cancer and she still walking this battle, since she chose an alternative and natural treatment as her way of healing. This decision lead her to a new journey of connecting with women healing cancer naturally as well, sharing her knowledge, bringing awareness to general health, which inspired her to start a support group named Mujer Monarca ( Monarch Woman). She is in the process of writing a book, and creating new artwork based on her experience, using art as part of her healing journey.