GAEA Conference Fall 2024

Learn about local artist, Krista Jones aka Jonesy, and her work. Krista M. Jones, also known as JONESY, is a contemporary artist, based in Atlanta, Georgia. She is best known for her vibrant, symbolic patterned murals and complex canvas paintings. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Columbus State University. Her canvas works have been featured in exhibitions throughout the United States, including The Hudgens Center for Art & Learning; LAC-Lawrenceville Arts Center in Lawrenceville, Georgia; MOCA GA- Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia; ABV Gallery in Atlanta, Georgia; Blue Mark Studios in Atlanta, Georgia; MINT gallery in Atlanta, Georgia; Echo Contemporary Art in Atlanta, Georgia; Atlanta Contemporary Art Center in Atlanta, Georgia; ArtFields in Lake City, South Carolina; LaGrange Art Museum, LaGrange, Georgia; DooGallery in Atlanta, Georgia; Red Ink Studios in San Francisco, California; Kibbee Gallery in Atlanta, Georgia. She is a multiple grant recipient, including the Laura Patricia Calle grant, Gwinnett Creativity Fund grant, Georgia Council for the Arts, and National Endowment for the Arts grant.

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She has received public art commissions from notable clients such as the City of Atlanta Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs, the City of Atlanta Department of City Planning, the City of Chamblee in conjunction with St. Vincent de Paul, The Hudgens Center for Art & Learning, the City of Doraville, Georgia; the Roswell Arts Fund, Mill Creek Residential/Modera Vinings, Jon Ossoff for Senate, Sugarloaf CID, Atlanta Beltline, Inc., Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), Livable Buckhead, Path Foundation and Living Walls, the City Speaks. Her murals around the Atlanta metro area are rich with vibrant colors, stylized flora/fauna, and patterns.

“We Want To Do More Than Survive” We want to do more than survive is the title of the best seller written by Bettina Love. Her research centers around the study of the inequalities in the educational system. The ability to have the difficult conversation about the shortcomings of the educational system regarding minority students and their failing hopes and dreams. The discussion and hands on activities allow space for anyone who wishes to make a genuine change in our current systemic failures. The activities and discussion invite participants to engage in the journey toward healing, justice and revolution. Examination of both We Want To Do More Than Survive and Punished for Dreaming is an invitation to listen, critique, heal, and fight for the schools and world we deserve. This opportunity provides space for reflection, rage, sorrow, dreams, and questions.Difficult discussions encourage you to feel, think deeply, and engage in meaningful dialogue and action. To address the inclusion aspect more specifically, We will also examine how neurodivergent children are valued and seen. The goal is for participants to leave with a renewed sense of hope and ideas to address equity, diversity, and inclusion in their personal lives and educational forums shedding the fear of having those difficult conversations that foster systemic change.

Participants will explore what a secondary art curriculum using contemporary art can look like, focusing on contemporary art processes and learning as an ongoing artistic exploration rather than an end result driven process with a distinct beginning and end. Through recognizing the benefits of teaching with contemporary art (Hamlin & Fusaro, 2018; Scott, 2020; Marshall et al. 2021; Sickler-Voigt, 2020; Gude, 2013; Bae 2023; Thulson & Stewart, 2021; Tuazon, 2011) as well as the challenges (Bae, 2023; Marshall & Donahue, 2014), this session will provide resources and guidance in developing a semester’s curriculum that directly connects to contemporary artists and practices. Session participants will receive planning materials including a sample curriculum map, curriculum outline, contemporary artist lists, and time will be spent collaboratively developing individual curriculum outlines.

catlanta: Learn about the free art movement through a presentation about Catlanta kittens and the #fafatl community. After the presentation, participants will create a kitten of their own to take home or hide for others to find. Catlanta aka Rory Hawkins, is an Atlanta based artist primarily known for his colorful and fun paintings of cats. Though he was born in New Orleans, Rory has been a lifelong resident of the metro Atlanta area. Rory attended Georgia State University as a Berner Scholarship recipient where he received a B.A. in Studio Art in 2010 primarily focusing on printmaking during his studies. Since graduation, Rory has produced hundreds of paintings under the moniker ‘Catlanta’, a name that grew from a few cats Rory spray painted on the walls of underpasses and abandoned properties throughout the city of Atlanta in 2011. The cats, three-legged with dots for eyes and hearts on their chests, quickly became known as an Atlanta street art character popping up all over town. Not interested in being labeled a vandal and inspired by nondestructive art movements like Free Art Friday, Rory transitioned from painting cats on walls to creating small hand painted wooden cutouts of his iconic three-legged cat (called kittens) which he hides around town for anyone to find. Rory shares photo clues of the piece’s location and invites his followers to track down and keep any kitten that they can find. Since he began hiding art pieces in 2011, Rory has shared over 1,000 pieces of art via photo scavenger hunt. These ‘art drops’ are meant to highlight the people, places, and events that make Atlanta and other cities unique while inspiring exploration and engagement within the community where the artwork is hidden.

In addition to painting and hiding cats, Rory is an accomplished muralist with large outdoor works in Atlanta, Chattanooga, and Costa Rica. He has worked with several local and national brands on a variety of projects from label designs to chalkboard art and has volunteered with organizations like One Love Generation and Paint Love to lead art workshops for Atlanta area students. He lives in Ormewood Park, and enjoys evening walks around his neighborhood, Atlanta sports teams (not you, Cobb Braves), and taking hot baths.

See a bunch of fun and simple ceramics projects that can be completed in a 45-minute class period, such as snowmen, monsters, gingerbread people ornaments, birds, pumpkins, fossil impression bowls, and more! Watch the techniques and leave with the confidence you need to teach ceramics to your students.

Explore the transformative power of art in facilitating conversations around challenging subjects in K-12 education. This session delves into some of the no-cost resources and strategies from GPB Education for utilizing the arts to engage students in processing difficult topics. Discover media collections and activities from our PBS partners that help foster emotional resilience, empathy, and critical thinking through artistic expression. Model techniques for creating a safe and supportive environment where students can explore complex issues through various artistic mediums. Join GPB to harness the potential of art as a tool for facilitating meaningful dialogue and empowering students to navigate challenging realities with creativity and resilience.

In this workshop, we will present a project progression that we use in 3rd - 5th grade art that focuses on the self portrait as way for students to explore identity, representation and personal story telling. Starting with a traditional approach to drawing the self portrait in third grade and progressing through a digital self-portrait in the style if Kehinde Wiley in fourth grade and ending with a digital manipulation in 5th that we call "Multiplicity". We will discuss the spiraled approach and why we feel that it helps to develop deeper learning and personal connection to these projects. This workshop will explore the use of digital media as an art making tool that can connect to traditional media in a practical way. Examples and lesson details will be provided. **Bring your ipad or digital device if you want to create along with us.**