Workshops and Presenters

Workshops & Presenters

Colour Legend for Workshop Type

Block A

8:30 am - 10:00 am

Dancing Watercolours: Bringing The Arts Alive

Michael Dlouhy & Erin Chapman

Dancing Watercolours: Bringing The Arts Alive

Michael Dlouhy & Erin Chapman

Lacking the time or confidence to fully integrate the Arts? This workshop will help participants guide students through the creative process as part of an engaging cross-curricular project. Using photography, sketching, and movement, hands-on demonstrations will focus on junior and intermediate expectations in Visual Art and Dance. Discussion will consider modifications and extensions, including other subjects, grades, media, and assessment strategies. Accommodations that meet the needs of all learners and ideas that will help with the acquisition of necessary resources will also be addressed. A comprehensive resource package will be provided. Note: Please “BYOD” (e.g., phone) for photography.

Mike Dlouhy (M.Ed) is a teacher at Lester B. Pearson School for the Arts in London, ON. Mike has been teaching for over 20 years. His postsecondary studies included production and design work with various dance studios and theatres.

Erin Chapman (BFA) is a teacher at Lester B. Pearson School for the Arts in London, ON. Erin, a graduate of NSCAD, is a practicing artist who specializes in printmaking and painting. She is a Print London committee member and private art instructor who also holds additional qualifications in Dance.

Threads Of Identity-Exploring Culture Through Textiles And Mixed Media

Bobbie Dorka & Vaneet Bains

Threads Of Identity-Exploring Culture Through Textiles And Mixed Media

Bobbie Dorka & Vaneet Bains

Join us for a dynamic, hands-on session where you’ll explore how textile traditions can inspire meaningful connections to culture, heritage, and identity in the art classroom. In this workshop, teachers will experiment with accessible mixed media techniques such as stamping, collage, and pattern-making to create a personal mini artwork, then contribute to a collaborative “quilt” installation. Along the way, we’ll highlight practical strategies for integrating equity, diversity, and inclusion into middle school visual arts, while modeling the creative process and critical reflection students would engage in. You’ll leave with both your own art sample and adaptable classroom-ready ideas and resources that celebrate student voice, identity, and community.

Bobbie Dorka is a grade 7 & 8 Visual Arts teacher at the Bishop Strachan School and was the former Arts Coordinator for the PDSB. Bobbie received the 2024 OAEA Elementary Visual Art Educator of the Year Award. She was also a part of an inaugural Art Education Advisory Circle for the 2025 Toronto Biennial. Bobbie believes it is essential to bring culturally relevant and accessible arts education to create a platform for student voice and identity, collaboration, healing, and ultimately, leading social change through the arts.

Vanessa Bains is a middle school Visual Arts educator with the Peel District School Board. She uses her relationship with students to bring culturally relevant teaching to the classroom. Her background in textile arts and fashion allows her to explore diverse materials in the classroom.

Mixed Media Flower Vase On Canvas

Amsa Yaro

Mixed Media Flower Vase On Canvas

Amsa Yaro

We will be making a mixed media vase on canvas using easily accessible and reusable materials such as shipping boxes, paper, with the freedom to use paint, glitter, and more. This 2-hour class takes you step by step from a random cardboard box using papier-mache techniques, resulting to a relief style 3d art piece that shows how layering of materials can be a presence to an artistic process and result.

Amsa Yaro is a Mixed/Multi Media artist who creates original works inspired by Nigeria, current issues, and commissions with a variety of materials, which include acrylic, paper, yarn, and more. Yaro has been a part of several vendor and exhibitions which include Unity Project’s UpwithArt Auction in 2021 and 2022, Black history Month Arts Pop Up Show in Museum London, February 2022, London Artist Studio Tour 2024, Simple Reflections Annual Art Exhibition 2023-2024, as well as a London Arts Live artist and art educator with London Art Council and London Public Library, London, Ontario. Yaro co-curated the 2021 Black Visual Arts Exhibition at the Somerville 630 Gallery, London, Ont, as well as organized the Black History Month Arts Pop Up in Museum London, 2022. Her work is featured in many sites and locations in the city of London, Ont, which include "Yetunde" on a traffic Light box at William and York, and murals on Dundas Street and Covent Garden Market, a historic building in the city. Yaro was awarded Outstanding Commitment to the Arts in 2022 by the Essence and Culture Black Community Awards for London, Ontario. As an art teacher, she covers a wide variety of classes which include Plasticine Relief sculpting, Paper Mache Sculptures, Paper Collage Art, Watercolor Batik Art and more, finding ways to make the practice of art more accessible in her community. Instagram: @amsayarostudio @yaroite Website: amsayarostudio.com

Japanese Stab Bookbinding For Single Pages

Beth Rose, Grace Notes Press

Japanese Stab Bookbinding For Single Pages

Beth Rose, Grace Notes Press

This hands-on workshop focuses on preparing a soft-cover book comprised of single pages, hand-bound on one edge in a centuries-old Japanese style of bookbinding called Stab Binding. This book format is useful when preparing reports, notes, and reference materials.

Beth Rose is a Bookbinder, Designer and Printer who makes art infused with colour, texture, history, and nature from her home studio in Burlington, Ontario, Canada. Trained as a graphic designer at Sheridan College, she designed books and campus publications at University of Toronto Press, learning on the job how to merge traditional techniques with digital tools.

Block F

“Choose Your Own Adventure”

Flash Learning Free Flow - 11:45 am - 12:30 pm

Art To The Rescue: Navigating An Unknown Future

Lisa Daniels, Macintosh Gallery UWO

Art To The Rescue: Navigating An Unknown Future

Lisa Daniels, Macintosh Gallery UWO

Art To The Rescue: Navigating An Unknown Future A visit to an art gallery sparks curiosity, fosters creativity, facilitates empathy, and promotes interdisciplinary thinking. But is that enough in today’s complex world? This rapid-fire session is designed to stimulate new ideas and learning strategies to support your next visit to an art gallery. It will explore how a university art gallery can partner with high school teachers to design impactful art experiences for their students and equip them with strategies that strengthen divergent thinking and creative problem solving skills needed for an unpredictable future.

Lisa Daniels is the Director of McIntosh Gallery at Western University. Throughout her career, she has worked in public art galleries as an Educator, Curator, and Director, collaborating with School Boards, Social Service Agencies, and Youth organizations. She earned her BFA from NSCAD University, an MA in Art History & Curatorial Practice from York University and has completed work towards her PhD in Museums & Curatorial Studies at Western University (currently on pause).

Tours As Public Curriculum: A Personalized Docent Tour Training Guide For Inclusive Futures

Angie Ma (Voisin)

Tours As Public Curriculum: A Personalized Docent Tour Training Guide For Inclusive Futures

Angie Ma (Voisin)

This program invites docent lived experiences in tours for the public community. As museum education is moving away from object-based learning towards visitor-centered learning, this tour idea encourages participation from the visitor in discussion with the museum guide on how we interpret together, and gives insight to what the public expects from visiting museums. This promotes the idea of the museum as a community, inclusive space. As such, the institution is doing a public service through education that activates different ways of knowing, increased accessibility and generating new knowledge between museum staff and visitor.

Angie Voisin is currently a graduate student at NSCAD University in Art Education. She has previously worked in museum education and coordinating volunteers at the Bata Shoe Museum and at Markham Museum in Ontario. Her research is about community practice and democratizing voice in museum/gallery spaces.

When Materials Speak: Reflections On Artist -Teacher Identity

Ta Gao

When Materials Speak: Reflections On Artist -Teacher Identity

Ta Gao

In this Flash Learning session, participants will explore how material-based artmaking can spark reflection on the dual identity of artist and teacher. Drawing on current research, the session will share examples of experimental work with materials that show how materials open new ways of thinking about identity. We will discuss how art teachers understand their dual role, how material choices shape creative practice, and how these insights can be applied in art classrooms. This short session invites teachers to consider new ways of connecting art, teaching, materials, and themselves.

Ta Gao is a graduate student in Curriculum Studies at Western University. She is a former art teacher with experience in visual arts education and is currently researching the artist–teacher identity through arts-based practice.

Printmaking With Gelli Arts!

Michele Kleinschuck, Gelli Arts

Printmaking With Gelli Arts!

Michele Kleinschuck, Gelli Arts

Gelli Arts printing plates look and feel like gelatin, but are durable, reusable, and store at room temperature. They are easy to clean and always ready for printing. The gel printing plate has an extremely sensitive surface and will imprint any texture it is sitting upon or covered with. Join Michele from OAEA as she demonstrates printmaking techniques using our products and a variety of tools, acrylic paints, and inks to showcase the ease of printing. You'll fall in love with gel printing!

Michele Kleinschuck has served for many years on the OAEA board, leading curriculum initiatives, coordinating regional representatives, and organizing the Day of Art across Ontario. An experienced educator, presenter, and curriculum writer, she actively promotes arts education in Waterloo Region and through her teaching at Western and Laurier. A lifelong learner and arts advocate, she received the 2022 CSEA Award for Excellence in Teaching and the 2026 NAEA Provincial/State Art Educator Award.

Learning to Look: Art Museum Strategies for K–12 Classrooms

Yasmeen El Azab of National Gallery of Canada

Learning to Look: Art Museum Strategies for K–12 Classrooms

Yasmeen El Azab of National Gallery of Canada

In this interactive session, we will explore simple strategies that help students to slow down, look closely, and engage thoughtfully with works of art. Participants will experience guided looking firsthand and will leave with activities they can immediately bring into their classrooms. The session will also highlight opportunities for extending learning through museum field trips and free virtual school programs.

Yasmeen El Azab is an Educator in the Learning and Community Engagement department at the National Gallery of Canada. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Art History and Film Studies and a Master of Museum Studies.

Block B

1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

(*choose B + C, OR choose D)

Darticulum - Dynamic Design Thinking-Base Art Curriculum

Cindy Davis

Darticulum - Dynamic Design Thinking-Base Art Curriculum

Cindy Davis

This interactive workshop invites art educators to explore Design Thinking (DT) as a framework for navigating classroom problems of practice. Grounded in hooks’ engaged pedagogy, Aoki’s notion of curriculum-as-lived, and Davis & Sumara’s complexity thinking, I share insights from my design-based research with in-service teachers. Through hands-on activities, participants will reframe classroom issues as generative entry points, prototype dynamic lesson approaches, and reflect on teaching in the in-between. The session emphasizes curriculum as relational, participatory, and transformative rather than fixed or prescriptive.

Cindy T. Davis is Assistant Professor of Art Education at Northern State University, South Dakota. She is pursuing a Ph.D. in Art Education at the University of North Texas, where her dissertation examines curriculum for art teachers through problem-based design thinking models. She teaches and advises art educators at the graduate and undergraduate levels, presents nationally and internationally, and maintains an active studio practice addressing contemporary social and personal themes.

Exploring Dadaism & Surrealism

KT England & Mary Cousens

Exploring Dadaism & Surrealism

KT England & Mary Cousens

This engaging, hands-on workshop is designed to introduce students to the fascinating worlds of Dadaism and Surrealism—two influential art movements that challenged conventional aesthetics and ideas. By exploring the roots of Surrealism, students will gain a deeper understanding of its origins, which are closely linked to the rebellious and experimental spirit of Dadaism. Links and resources to support budget considerations, links TPA process and student engagement will also be addressed.

KT England ensures that every student develops the skills and a love for creating all forms of Art through her contagious energy and talent for teaching students of all ages and abilities. Her current work at Thornhill Secondary School (YRDSB) draws on her love for sculpture and painting but it doesn’t stop there. This workshop will demonstrate how an enthusiastic Art teacher can develop students in learning the skills for creating exemplary Art.

Mary Cousens is a retired YRDSB Elementary School Principal who is now a full-time ceramicist and is also a Lecturer for Lakehead University, Faculty of Education in P/J Visual Arts Course. Mary knows how important strong, well funded Arts programs taught by skilled educators is the key to having the passion for the Arts ignited. Mary will provide a school administrators lens on how to develop strong Arts programs in this climate.

Conference of the Birds

Vanessa Barnett & Elena Soni, Making Art Making Change (MAMC)

Conference of the Birds

Vanessa Barnett & Elena Soni, Making Art Making Change (MAMC)

This workshop presents an 8-week intergenerational project where students and elders co-create a sculptural installation to strengthen social interaction within a school community. Using "The Conference of the Birds" as a framework, the project addressed environmental concerns and human behaviour while giving students both agency and accountability in shaping positive social norms. Cross-curricular strategies connected language, social studies, and art, with found materials used to build awareness of our impact on the environment. Participants will receive a lesson plan package and view examples of students’ visual notebooks and project documentation illustrating the learning process and outcomes.

Vanessa Barnett is an artist educator and Artistic Director of Making Art Making Change (MAMC), providing leadership in teacher education, school residencies, and cultural partnerships in Toronto. After immigrating from South Africa, she taught at the ROM and in the TDSB, where she served as Visual Arts Instructional Leader and Arts Program Co-Coordinator. She has taught AQ at York University and in the Creative Arts Program in the School of Early Childhood Studies at Toronto Metropolitan University, receiving the Faculty of Community Services 2021–2022 Sue Williams Excellence in Teaching Award. Her honours include the Ray Blackwell Award for Excellence in Art Education from the Ontario Art Education Association.

Elena Soni was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela, immigrating in 1980. As a board member of Children's Own Museum (COM) she co-designed its programming. Elena has exhibited her work in solo shows and collective exhibits. Elena worked with artists associated with Workman Arts. This project was presented at the AGO for the 25 anniversary celebration of the foundation of Workman Arts and subsequently at Rideau Hall. Elena was the Art Specialist, Junior Grades at The Mabin School. Since 2009, Vanessa and Elena have designed innovative arts programming for at-risk youth, schools, the elderly and new immigrants in partnership with local cultural organisations. Now under the name of Making Art, Making Change (MAMC) they continue to offer a safe space for groups to invest in a shared experience.

With collaborator Elena Soní, MAMC has secured multiple Ontario Arts Council and Toronto Arts Council grants and received the OAEA Community Educator Award (2025). MAMC is pleased to work with equity-deserving groups, including youth, seniors, newcomers and women.

Snapshot Photography: Contemporary Art and Meaning-Making

Julia Schuck

Snapshot Photography: Contemporary Art and Meaning-Making

Julia Schuck

Snapshot Photography: Contemporary Art and Meaning-Making This workshop is an exploration of memory-making and community-building through snapshot photography. Snapshot photography is a genre of contemporary art that came about in the 1960s-70s as access to cameras and film technology became cheaper and more widespread. The pioneers of this genre show us that photography can be used to foster connectivity, develop identity, and weather crises such as chronic illnesses, like cancer or HIV, or political violence, like the Vietnam War protests or the Gay Rights Movement. Students at the intermediate level and beyond possess a strong sense of justice and are actively shaping their identities. With cellphones and social media promoting photography in everyday expression, we can harness the intersection of this medium and these themes to develop students’ critical thinking skills, and empower them to engage thoughtfully with the world around them.

Julia Schuck is a PhD Student with the Art History Departments at Concordia University and the University of Montreal. I specialize in contemporary photography in North America, and am currently studying the Boston School, an informal group of queer photographers based in New York City in the 1980s, as they survived the HIV/AIDS Crisis. Their work engages with themes of snapshot photography, queerness, love, illness and death.

Collaborative Art Practices With New Canadians: Food Practices, Identity And Belonging

Arianna Garcia-Fialdini

Collaborative Art Practices With New Canadians: Food Practices, Identity And Belonging

Arianna Garcia-Fialdini

This workshop brings the intersection of gastronomy, oral history, and visual arts into the secondary classroom, offering an interdisciplinary approach aligned with curriculum goals in Social-Emotional Learning and culturally responsive pedagogy. Through an adapted “recipe-to-artwork” process, educators will explore how mixed-media practices—such as illustration, printmaking, collage, and clay—can support students in examining family histories and identity. Participants will gain practical strategies for moving beyond traditional still-life assignments toward narrative-driven artmaking that uses food as a conceptual entry point for visual literacy, reflection, and community building.

Arianna Garcia-Fialdini’sis a Doctoral candidate from Concordia University in the Department of Art education; working predominantly in paint and print media, Garcia-Fialdini’s research/studio practice concentrates on translating diverse oral histories of hopes/justice movements into multi-modal images that agitate and inspire. Working closely with issues raising awareness on social change/gender violence, she explores the conditions of women, immigrants and refugee claimants while observing and commenting on social realities.

Her teaching and studio practice aims to serve as an alternative platform from which to reach and project marginalized voices and stories. Professional webpage: www.garfiart.com

Unsung Heroes In The Art Room: Project-Based Learning For Critical Thinking, SEL, And Student Voice

Sandra Hutton

Unsung Heroes In The Art Room: Project-Based Learning For Critical Thinking, SEL, And Student Voice

Sandra Hutton

Discover how project-based learning can transform your art classroom through the powerful lens of unsung heroes. In this interactive workshop, participants will explore ways to guide students as they research and reimagine the stories of unsung heroes through imagery and conceptual art. Learn how to spark critical thinking, social-emotional learning, and student voice while making meaningful connections across disciplines. Gain practical tools from the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes, strategies for organization and differentiation, and ideas for dynamic showcases—both traditional and digital. Leave inspired, resourced, and ready to launch this engaging project with your students!

Sandra Hutton is an artist, educator, and blogger with teaching experience in the Junior, Intermediate, and Senior Divisions across both public and independent school systems. She was recently selected as a Fellowship award recipient by the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes.

Block C

2:15 pm - 3:15 pm

(*choose B + C, OR choose D)

From Problems Of Practice To Transformation: Recognizing The Forces That Shape Your Art Classroom

Cindy Davis & Stefan Robinson

From Problems Of Practice To Transformation: Recognizing The Forces That Shape Your Art Classroom

Cindy Davis & Stefan Robinson

This hands-on workshop invites art educators to actively explore strategies for creating transformative learning environments. Participants will engage in collaborative activities, reflective discussions, and lesson-design exercises that translate research findings into classroom practice. Together, we will identify signals of transformation, model approaches that foster deeper engagement, and experiment with adaptable tools for art instruction. By experiencing these practices firsthand, educators will leave with practical strategies they can immediately implement to inspire lifelong learners and advocates for the arts.

Dr. Stefan Robinson’s caring and student-centered approach ensures each individual receives the support and resources they need through their educational journey. Stefan was first a middle school art teacher who received his PhD in Art Education from the University of North Texas and now advises, teaches and supervises undergraduate pre-service teachers at the University of Wyoming.

Cindy T. Davis is Assistant Professor of Art Education at Northern State University, South Dakota. She is pursuing a Ph.D. in Art Education at the University of North Texas, where her dissertation examines curriculum for art teachers through problem-based design thinking models. She teaches and advises art educators at the graduate and undergraduate levels, presents nationally and internationally, and maintains an active studio practice addressing contemporary social and personal themes.

Enhancing Eye-Hand Coordination & Right Brain Access through Drawing Exercises for Junior, Intermediate & Secondary Students

KT England & Mary Cousens

Enhancing Eye-Hand Coordination & Right Brain Access through Drawing Exercises for Junior, Intermediate & Secondary Students

KT England & Mary Cousens

Students of all ages and abilities need explicit teaching of skills to have success in developing Art skills. This interactive 45-minute workshop introduces teachers to techniques that will strengthen student eye-hand coordination and promote perceptual drawing by engaging the right hemisphere of the brain. Through three focused exercises—upside-down drawing, pure contour drawing, and negative space drawing—students learn to see beyond their logical, symbolic left brain and connect more deeply with visual perception. These skills are essential for developing accurate and expressive drawing abilities. Links and resources to support budget, TPA and student engagement will also be addressed.

KT England ensures that every student develops the skills and a love for creating all forms of Art through her contagious energy and talent for teaching students of all ages and abilities. Her current work at Thornhill Secondary School (YRDSB) draws on her love for sculpture and painting but it doesn’t stop there. This workshop will demonstrate how an enthusiastic Art teacher can develop students in learning the skills for creating exemplary Art.

Mary Cousens is a retired YRDSB Elementary School Principal who is now a full-time ceramicist and is also a Lecturer for Lakehead University, Faculty of Education in P/J Visual Arts Course. Mary knows how important strong, well funded Arts programs taught by skilled educators is the key to having the passion for the Arts ignited. Mary will provide a school administrators lens on how to develop strong Arts programs in this climate.

Pattern Power!

Michele Kleinschuck

Pattern Power!

Michele Kleinschuck

Let’s take advantage of the power of patterns! Students will dive into a world of bold shapes and bright colours as they create exciting, repeating patterns with fun twists—changing colours, shapes, and sizes along the way. This hands-on workshop supports the Ontario Arts Curriculum (Primary Grades) by exploring the elements of design (colour and shape), developing creative process skills such as experimenting and reflecting, and applying the principle of repetition. Students will also make cross-curricular connections to math through patterning, geometry, and spatial reasoning, all while learning through play and creativity.

Michele Kleinschuck has served for many years on the OAEA board, leading curriculum initiatives, coordinating regional representatives, and organizing the Day of Art across Ontario. An experienced educator, presenter, and curriculum writer, she actively promotes arts education in Waterloo Region and through her teaching at Western and Laurier. A lifelong learner and arts advocate, she received the 2022 CSEA Award for Excellence in Teaching and the 2026 NAEA Provincial/State Art Educator Award.

Designing Tomorrow: Architecture Makerspace Curriculum Collaboration between the Royal Ontario Museum and TDSB

Miranda Blazey, Roxana Cordon-Ibanez, Alexis McBride & Hassan Mihri

Designing Tomorrow: Architecture Makerspace Curriculum Collaboration between the Royal Ontario Museum and TDSB

Miranda Blazey, Roxana Cordon-Ibanez, Alexis McBride & Hassan Mihri

(Grades 7–12)

Interested in architecture, design thinking, and hands-on learning that connects your classroom to real-world spaces?

Intermediate and Secondary educators are invited to participate in a workshop that integrates architecture, engineering, museum learning, and the arts.

Educators will:

Experience the full learning arc as learners first - engaging directly in the architectural design process
Explore spatial reasoning, structural design, and iterative problem-solving through hands-on making
Examine curriculum connections across Visual Arts, Integrated Arts, and Technological Education (TAS)
Collaboratively design classroom applications that prepare students for authentic makerspace and museum experiences
Support students in exploring career pathways in architecture, engineering, design, and museum studies

We are excited for you to engage in this immersive, hands-on experience. You will use iPads to investigate and experiment with 3D scanning tools while exploring meaningful curriculum connections and practical classroom applications..

Miranda is the Program Coordinator for the Arts at the Toronto District School Board and supports K–12 learning in Dance, Drama, Media Arts, Music, and Visual Arts. She works with the central Arts team, educators, artists, and community partners to design equity-centred professional learning, arts-integrated resources, mentorships, and student showcases aligned with the Ontario curriculum. Miranda also teaches the Visual Arts AQ at York University and develops curriculum for museums, advancing inclusion, creativity, and student voice.

Hassan Mihri (he/him) is the Makerspace Coordinator at the Royal Ontario Museum. He is passionate about the public sector and the intersection of technological capacities in education with natural history and visual arts.

Alexis McBride (she/her) is a museum educator and archaeologist with an interest in the way architecture affects the way people use space. She has worked with students of all ages over the past 20 years learn about the world around them using museums and object-based learning. She loves tea, the history of food, and learning about the roots of colonialism in our modern world.

Roxana Cordon-Ibanez (she/her) is a Makerspace Technician at the Royal Ontario Museum. She holds a bachelor's degree in interior design and is passionate in driving STEAM education through iterative play-based learning.

Block D

1pm - 3:15pm
(with a 15 mintue break)

(*choose B + C, OR choose D)

Collaborations Inspired By Nadia Myre And Skawenatti - Indigenous Futures

Irene Faiz

Collaborations Inspired By Nadia Myre And Skawenatti - Indigenous Futures

Irene Faiz

Inspired by contemporary Indigenous artists Nadia Myre (Waves of Want) and Skawennati (Welcome to the Dreamhouse), this workshop invites educators to explore how artists engage with pasts, presents, and futures through resistance, resilience, and reimagining. Using guided visual analysis and discussion, participants will connect historical narratives, Indigenous futurisms, and media literacy. The session includes a hands-on studio component exploring Myre’s eraser drawing techniques and the creation of an avatar inspired by Skawennati’s futuristic characters. Educators will leave with adaptable inquiry prompts, studio strategies, and curricular connections aligned with Ontario visual arts expectations and the TRC Calls to Action.

Irene Faiz is a visual art teacher at Weston C. I., TDSB. She is interested in teaching media literacy through the visual art curriculum that she develops. Irene exhibits at the Railsend Art Gallery in Haliburton, Ontario.

Upcycled Landscapes: High Value Low Budget Compositions

Christina Yarmol

Upcycled Landscapes: High Value Low Budget Compositions

Christina Yarmol

This studio workshop for intermediate/senior level art educators will promote environmental awareness inspiring participants' reimagination of consumer packaging that might otherwise go to landfills and redirect it to usable artmaking supplies. The workshop leader will introduce the topic and demonstrate basic acrylic painting techniques. Participants will create colourful, implied texture swatches as the source material for their personal collaged compositions based on their own photograph of a favorite land/sea/city scape. With a resource package, personally generated exemplar, and materials to teach upcycled landscapes in hand, educators can easily adapt the subject matter to address curriculum topics that meet students' needs.

Dr. Christina Yarmol holds a BFA, B Ed, M Ed (Art Education), and PhD in Critical Disability Studies. After 31 years of teaching in both elementary and secondary panels, Christina has retired as the department head of Visual Art, Drama and Music at a TDSB high school. She is a practicing artist who plans to open an art studio in Toronto where she can mentor adult and teenage artists who are eager to make artmaking part of their lives.

Collaborative Stitchery: Shared Concern for Societal Issues

Lisa Ainsworth & Leslie Bethune

Collaborative Stitchery: Shared Concern for Societal Issues

Lisa Ainsworth & Leslie Bethune

What do you know about the multi-cultural art of collaborative stitchery? Be prepared to experience how using textiles and basic stitches, while incorporating other media (e.g., buttons, ribbon, beads) can be utilised for communicating ideas, opinions and thoughts. The lesson will be grounded in picture books that focus on issues facing contemporary society. Participants will explore connections to self, literature and the world around them while tapping into diverse voices, perspectives, histories and contributions of various communities. Ideas for collaborative projects (e.g., bunting, 3D pieces, quilts) will be shared. Each participant will create a sample art piece that transmits an imperative message to their intended audience.

Lisa Ainsworth is an occasional teacher with the Peel District School Board (PDSB). She co-curates and installs the annual student art shows for PDSB. Lisa has been facilitating art workshops for teachers at the Grand Erie Teachers Local and the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario Summer Academy, among others. Lisa is a member and writer for the OAEA. She holds a BAA (MTU), a BEd (OISE), and an MA in Geography (University of Guelph).

Leslie Bethune is an OT with the PDSB. She earned a BEd, MEd and diploma in Fashion Design. Leslie has taught in the elementary panel as a classroom teacher and Visual Arts specialist. Currently, Leslie participates in the Peel Elementary Visual Arts executive, promoting visual arts through facilitating professional learning opportunities for teachers ( ETFO Summer Academy, OLA, Peel District School Board and union local workshops) and has curated Peel elementary art exhibits. She is also on the executive for OAEA, serving as the Curriculum Committee co-chair, participating on the conference planning committees and chair of the Equity Committee.

Collaborative Map Making Mural Project

Pearl Van Geest & James Fowler

Collaborative Map Making Mural Project

Pearl Van Geest & James Fowler

Beginning with a large projected map of Ontario, participants will mark personally significant places using inked fingerprints. The paper will then be cut into gridded squares for further mark-making, allowing participants to intuitively and symbolically add colour, line, texture, and shape. Once embellished, the squares will be returned to their original locations on the wall based on the projected map. As both documentation and artwork, photographs of the mural will be taken with and without the map projection, revealing pathways of desire, alternative ways of knowing beyond conventional map-making, and connections between place, memory, and visual language.

James Fowler is a Toronto based multidisciplinary artist, curator, and community organizer whose work bridges queer aesthetics, cartography, and craft. Through painting, textiles, soft sculpture, and installation, he explores how culture and place shape one another, using materially rich processes to question inherited narratives of landscape, belonging, and masculinity. Fowler has exhibited nationally, teaches at OCAD University, and is a founding member of the Throbbing Rose Collective, which produces projects including Nuit Rose and Queer Up North.

Pearl Van Geest is a Guelph based queer artist, writer, curator, and educator whose practice explores queer ecologies and the relationship between the body and the natural world. Working across painting, writing, and community based projects, she creates work that blurs the boundary between human and environment. Van Geest teaches in the Visual Arts Department at Brock University and has exhibited widely across Canada.

Art of the Subconscious

Michelle Richards-Clermont

Art of the Subconscious

Michelle Richards-Clermont

Explore an abstract art process guided by intuition and the subconscious, where images emerge organically and are gradually revealed by the artist. Using inks on Terra Skin mineral paper, participants will create layered abstract works through both traditional and experimental techniques. The first layer invites minimal control, allowing unintentional shapes, forms, and colour interactions to surface—often suggesting figures, landscapes, or animals. Subsequent layers are developed using tools such as spray bottles, straws, feathers, splattering, and air movement. Emphasis is placed on observation, reflection, and thoughtful decision-making, ensuring a successful and expressive outcome for artists of all experience levels.

After a 30 year Graphic Design career, Michelle Richards-Clermont gravitated to being a professional visual artist and art educator. She actively teaches art of all levels and most mediums in Richmond Hill and her home studio in Keswick for over 10 years, and has been teaching graphic design since the '90's. Her art camps and community nature art projects are loved by all ages.

Workshops & Presenters

Block A

8:30 am - 10:00 am

Block F

“Choose Your Own Adventure”

Flash Learning Free Flow - 11:45 am - 12:30 pm

Block B

1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

(*choose B + C, OR choose D)

Block C

2:15 pm - 3:15 pm

(*choose B + C, OR choose D)

Block D

1pm - 3:15pm(with a 15 mintue break)

(*choose B + C, OR choose D)

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Events

1pm - 3:15pm
(with a 15 mintue break)