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Nourish Your Creative Self to Revitalize Your Teaching Practice
This course is for K-12 art teachers who want to explore and grow their artistic practice as a pathway to expand and revitalize their teaching practice.
Through art-making workshops and individual asynchronous work, you will explore your creative self, make art with colleagues and on your own, and strengthen your teaching practice with art making and project planning skills.
TWO SECTIONS / 2027
CENTRAL: Montpelier
-
Fridays JAN 15, FEB 12, MAR 19, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
SOUTHERN: Brattleboro / Manchester
-
Fridays JAN 22, MAR 5, APR 2, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m
LAST YEAR SOLD OUT
Register early to reserve your spot.
The following quotes are from art teachers who attended the course last year and shared their thoughts in an exit survey.
The best PD for Art Teachers.
The whole thing is brilliant—bonding with other teachers while creating art all day on Fridays.
BEST CLASS EVER!!!
It’s a way to connect what you do with what you love with what you need.
This class has given me hope that I really am an Artist, and not just a teacher.
It was AMAZING!!
This is an opportunity to give yourself permission to learn in a new way.
You will be a better teacher by the end.
Photos from the 2026 workshops.
What To Expect
-
Expand your art-making skills through hands-on workshops with master teaching artists.
-
Explore the creativity within yourself to fuel your teaching practice.
-
Develop tools and techniques to nurture your personal well-being and artistic identity, and how to use those skills to strengthen the well-being and creativity of your students.
-
Build relationships with a cohort of art-teacher colleagues in a supportive and creative environment.
-
Have fun – guaranteed!
Workshops
CENTRAL Section Montpelier
Translucent Memories
In this immersive mixed-media workshop, you will discover new techniques for creating custom collage papers and multi-layered compositions within a visual journal using Gelli printing, acrylic paint, ephemera, and repurposed found materials. Guided by intuitive mark-making and visual composition strategies, participants will transform fragments of vintage script, corrugated card, mesh fabrics, and line work through tactile layering, hand-cut organic shapes, and delicate, transparent collage papers. Ultimately, you will leave with a rich technical toolkit and a personalized visual journal filled with cohesive works that explore their own narrative of memory
Julian Bradshaw
Workshop Leader
Julian is a passionate artist and educator with over 30 years of experience as a high school art teacher. READ MORE
Piecing Together a Moment in Time
As we continue our journey of art-making and reflection, you are invited to learn about Kinusaiga, a Japanese contemporary art form. In this fiber based workshop, you will create a beautiful piece using the Kinusaiga technique, that captures a personal moment in time, and a sense of place. We will use assorted fabric scraps, some small hand tools and a foam board. Please feel free to bring any fabric samples or scraps that hold special meaning or stories for you. Examples include, old clothing scraps and vintage fabrics.
Tina Logan
Workshop Leader
Tina has 38 years of experience teaching art to all ages, with 30 of those years teaching art in the Essex Westford School district. READ MORE
Paint Bold: Intuitive Abstract Acrylics
Step away from lesson plans and rediscover the joy of painting without a plan. In this hands-on session you will explore an intuitive, layer-by-layer approach to acrylic painting that celebrates color, texture, movement, and expression over perfection.You will start with loose, playful mark making and vibrant color, then build, scrape, and paint over your surface, letting each layer guide the next. Along the way you’ll learn techniques you can take straight back to your classroom: working with washes and glazes, creating texture and depth, using organic shapes and flowing lines, and trusting your instincts when your painting feels stuck. Paint loud, paint loose, paint joyfully.
Judy Klima
Course & Workshop Leader
Judy has been teaching for over 28 years across the spectrum of ages ranging from Pre-K to adults, focusing on middle school for the past six years. READ MORE
SOUTHERN Section Brattleboro / Manchester
Building Your Creative Ground
Let’s start at the beginning — with a custom made, beautifully embellished, and highly personalized journal. We will explore bookmaking as a launchpad for creativity. We will develop sewing techniques for hand binding book structures, including different ways to scaffold these binding skills. We will play with endless opportunities for personalized choices with our journals, including bookmarks, closures, foldout pages and envelopes. You will leave this workshop with a handmade journal — custom made to your needs and aesthetic — and the inspiration to begin this exciting journey of self-discovery as you explore and deepen your creativity.
Amber Paris
Workshop Leader
Amber is a Southern Vermont-based visual and social practice teaching artist. Discovering and asking the elegant questions in life and then expressing those answers in beautiful ways is central to her practice. AMBER'S WEBSITE
Sequencing
Sequencing is a ritual of mark making that encourages and supports individuals as they step off of well worn “paths” of expectations, of skill, and creative identity. The practice of sequencing encourages artists of all types to be present in the journey of making, and bring playful experiments back into their creative practice. In this workshop we will explore tuning in, and grounding ourselves through rich paints, waxes, and fictitious landscapes born from our imaginations. We will practice slow making, tuning into our intuition, stopping and resetting when it feels right, and exploring where basic tools can take our work.
Kate Milliken
Workshop Leader
Kate is a southern Vermont teaching artist, farmer, and parent. She has been guiding others in their explorations of creative expression in partnership with River Gallery School for the last seven years. READ MORE
Between the Lines: Paper and Text Collage
Step away from the classroom and get lost in your art. In this hands-on workshop we will create rich, layered pages using an assortment of collage materials featuring: old book pages, handwritten letters, ledgers, maps, sheet music, and found ephemera. You will explore ways to layer, tear, stitch and combine these materials letting words and fragments of text become part of your visual story. No experience with art journaling is needed, just a curiosity and love for a medley of all things paper. All supplies are provided, though you are welcome to bring a few treasures of your own.
Judy Klima
Course & Workshop Leader
Judy has been teaching for over 28 years across the spectrum of ages ranging from Pre-K to adults, focusing on middle school for the past six years. READ MORE
Tuition & Schedule
Three Graduate Credits - $1,850 (45 hours relicensing credits)
Certificate of Participation - $1,650 (30 hours relicensing credits)
TWO SECTIONS / 2027
CENTRAL: Montpelier
-
3 in-person workshops on Fridays, JAN 15, FEB 12, MAR 19, 9 am to 4 pm
SOUTHERN: Brattleboro / Manchester
-
3 in-person workshops on Fridays, JAN 22, MAR 5, APR 2, 9 am to 4 pm
Both Sections:
-
2 virtual sessions, 3:30-4:30 pm, to be scheduled by the group
-
Independent journaling & art making
-
Culminating event, 5 to 7 pm: group art show and dinner, to be scheduled by the group
Questions?
Complete the Questions Form and we'll be back in touch soon.
We invite you to let us know about specific accommodations you may need to participate in this course when completing the registration form, and we will make every effort to honor your request.
accredited by
Nourish Your Creative Self to Revitalize Your Teaching Practice
This course is for K-12 art teachers who want to explore and grow their artistic practice as a pathway to expand and revitalize their teaching practice.
Through art-making workshops and individual asynchronous work, you will explore your creative self, make art with colleagues and on your own, and strengthen your teaching practice with art making and project planning skills.
TWO SECTIONS / 2027
CENTRAL: Montpelier
-
Fridays JAN 15, FEB 12, MAR 19, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
SOUTHERN: Brattleboro / Manchester
-
Fridays JAN 22, MAR 5, APR 2, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m
LAST YEAR SOLD OUT
Register early to reserve your spot.
The following quotes are from art teachers who attended the course last year and shared their thoughts in an exit survey.
The best PD for Art Teachers.
The whole thing is brilliant—bonding with other teachers while creating art all day on Fridays.
BEST CLASS EVER!!!
It’s a way to connect what you do with what you love with what you need.
This class has given me hope that I really am an Artist, and not just a teacher.
It was AMAZING!!
This is an opportunity to give yourself permission to learn in a new way.
You will be a better teacher by the end.
Photos from the 2026 workshops.
What To Expect
-
Expand your art-making skills through hands-on workshops with master teaching artists.
-
Explore the creativity within yourself to fuel your teaching practice.
-
Develop tools and techniques to nurture your personal well-being and artistic identity, and how to use those skills to strengthen the well-being and creativity of your students.
-
Build relationships with a cohort of art-teacher colleagues in a supportive and creative environment.
-
Have fun – guaranteed!
Workshops
CENTRAL Section Montpelier
Translucent Memories
In this immersive mixed-media workshop, you will discover new techniques for creating custom collage papers and multi-layered compositions within a visual journal using Gelli printing, acrylic paint, ephemera, and repurposed found materials. Guided by intuitive mark-making and visual composition strategies, participants will transform fragments of vintage script, corrugated card, mesh fabrics, and line work through tactile layering, hand-cut organic shapes, and delicate, transparent collage papers. Together, these elements build deeply textured surfaces that evoke cycles of remembering and forgetting, gathering and release. Ultimately, you will leave with a rich technical toolkit and a personalized visual journal filled with cohesive works that explore their own narrative of memory
Julian Bradshaw
Workshop Leader
Julian is a passionate artist and educator with over 30 years of experience as a high school art teacher. READ MORE
Piecing Together a Moment in Time
As we continue our journey of art-making and reflection, you are invited to learn about Kinusaiga, a Japanese contemporary art form. In this fiber based workshop, you will create a beautiful piece using the Kinusaiga technique, that captures a personal moment in time, and a sense of place. We will use assorted fabric scraps, some small hand tools and a foam board. Please feel free to bring any fabric samples or scraps that hold special meaning or stories for you. Examples include, old clothing scraps and vintage fabrics.
Tina Logan
Workshop Leader
Tina has 38 years of experience teaching art to all ages, with 30 of those years teaching art in the Essex Westford School district. READ MORE
Paint Bold: Intuitive Abstract Acrylics
Step away from lesson plans and rediscover the joy of painting without a plan. In this hands-on session you will explore an intuitive, layer-by-layer approach to acrylic painting that celebrates color, texture, movement, and expression over perfection.You will start with loose, playful mark making and vibrant color, then build, scrape, and paint over your surface, letting each layer guide the next. Along the way you’ll learn techniques you can take straight back to your classroom: working with washes and glazes, creating texture and depth, using organic shapes and flowing lines, and trusting your instincts when your painting feels stuck. Paint loud, paint loose, paint joyfully.
Judy Klima
Course & Workshop Leader
Judy has been teaching for over 28 years across the spectrum of ages ranging from Pre-K to adults, focusing on middle school for the past six years. READ MORE
SOUTHERN Section Brattleboro / Manchester
Building Your Creative Ground
Let’s start at the beginning — with a custom made, beautifully embellished, and highly personalized journal. We will explore bookmaking as a launchpad for creativity. We will deepen our skills around repurposing discarded books. We will develop sewing techniques for hand binding book structures, including different ways to scaffold these binding skills. We will play with endless opportunities for personalized choices with our journals- including bookmarks, closures, foldout pages and envelopes. You will leave this workshop with a handmade journal — custom made to your needs and aesthetic — and the inspiration to begin this exciting journey of self-discovery as you explore and deepen your creativity.
Amber Paris
Workshop Leader
Amber is a Southern Vermont-based visual and social practice teaching artist. Discovering and asking the elegant questions in life and then expressing those answers in beautiful ways is central to her practice. AMBER'S WEBSITE
Sequencing
Sequencing is a ritual of mark making that encourages and supports individuals as they step off of well worn “paths” of expectations, of skill, and creative identity. The practice of sequencing encourages artists of all types to be present in the journey of making, and bring playful experiments back into their creative practice. In this workshop we will explore tuning in, and grounding ourselves through rich paints, waxes, and fictitious landscapes born from our imaginations. We will connect to the materials using our most trusted tools—our hands. We will practice slow making, tuning into our intuition, stopping and resetting when it feels right, and exploring where basic tools can take our work.
Kate Milliken
Workshop Leader
Kate is a southern Vermont teaching artist, farmer, and parent. She has been guiding others in their explorations of creative expression in partnership with River Gallery School for the last seven years. READ MORE
Between the Lines: Paper and Text Collage
Step away from the classroom and get lost in your art. In this hands-on workshop we will create rich, layered pages using an assortment of collage materials featuring: old book pages, handwritten letters, ledgers, maps, sheet music, and found ephemera. You will explore ways to layer, tear, stitch and combine these materials letting words and fragments of text become part of your visual story. No experience with art journaling is needed, just a curiosity and love for a medley of all things paper. All supplies are provided, though you are welcome to bring a few treasures of your own.
Judy Klima
Course & Workshop Leader
Judy has been teaching for over 28 years across the spectrum of ages ranging from Pre-K to adults, focusing on middle school for the past six years. READ MORE
Tuition & Schedule
Three Graduate Credits - $1,850 (45 hours relicensing credits)
Certificate of Participation - $1,650 (30 hours relicensing credits)
TWO SECTIONS / 2027
CENTRAL: Montpelier
-
3 in-person workshops on Fridays, JAN 15, FEB 12, MAR 19, 9 am to 4 pm
SOUTHERN: Brattleboro / Manchester
-
3 in-person workshops on Fridays, JAN 22, MAR 5, APR 2, 9 am to 4 pm
Both Sections:
-
2 virtual sessions, 3:30-4:30 pm, to be scheduled by the group
-
Independent journaling & art making
-
Culminating event, 5 to 7 pm: group art show and dinner, to be scheduled by the group
Questions?
Complete the Questions Form and we'll be back in touch soon.
We invite you to let us know about specific accommodations you may need to participate in this course when completing the registration form, and we will make every effort to honor your request.
accredited by