Past Updates
NATA Leadership Changes Result in Transition
As a result of a move to another state, Bill Cavill resigned from the NATA President position effective July 20, 2021. He appointed then NATA President-elect, Bob Reeker to Interim President. The board then approved Josie Langbehn as Interim President-elect. Jody Boyer will finish the role of past president, solo.
Thank you to Josie, Jody, and Bob for stepping into unique leadership roles as part of a transition. New leadership will take effect July 1, 2022.
The NATA Board of Directors wishes Bill much success and happiness with new adventures awaiting him.
NATA Learning and Creating Workshop Focusing on K-12 and Multi-level Art Educators
NATA hosted thirty-two art educators on Saturday, January 23 from 9:45am-12:45am for a workshop focused on K-12 and multi-level art educators. Speakers included Carrie Jeruzal and Darcy Schreiber of Michigan & Kacee Conley and Jen Bockerman of Lincoln. Shelby Rix also shared advocacy tips as part of the workshop. Amber Kosmicki and Bob Reeker provided additional NATA leadership support.
All resources can be found here.
NATA Fall Board Meeting - October 15, 2020
Thank you to our NATA Board, liaisons, and members in attendance at the 2020 Fall Board Meeting, lead by President Bill Cavill.
We started with introductions and an icebreaker. Much accomplished on behalf of our 200 NATA members including a new digital media policy approved and NATA Constitution Revisions approved to be taken to general membership on Saturday during the general membership meeting held during the 2020 NATA Virtual Fall Conference!
Lots of Association Work done at the 2021 NATA Summer Board Meeting
We had thirteen board members (voting and liaisons) join us at the 2021 NATA Summer Board Meeting on Saturday, July 17. President Bill Cavill oversaw the meeting including old business, new business, and board reports.
NATA Hosts Workshop for Retired/Emeritus Art Educators
What a dynamic and invigorating morning it was spent with retired/emeritus art educators from all over the country! On Saturday, June 5, NATA hosted a workshop focused on retirees. Kathryn Rulien-Bareis and Linda Popp presented sessions about staying active as a retired art educator and creating art through assemblage. We had 49 registrants with nearly 20 joining us.
A recording of the session and other resources can be found here: https://drive.google.com/.../11zp04QDEU1JfP4agfuvjxhz9WtO....
Thank you NATA Board of Directors as well as Cathy Barta, Debbie Kippley, Rebecca Jorgenson, Samantha Guelden, and Bob Reeker for work in supporting our community and professional learning workshops. Watch for another workshop coming your way this winter!
UNK & NATA Partner for Advocacy Panel
Thank you to the NAEA Student Chapter at UNK for hosting an art education panel tonight. UNK so kindly opened the panel to allow NATA members to attend.
Special thanks to Ashley Woosley, Christy Kosmicki, Shelby Rix, Rebecca Jorgenson, Julie Ryan, and Bob Reeker.
NATA Annual Student Forum held via Zoom
NATA hosted the annual preservice forum on Saturday, April 10, 2021. During two and a half hours, two sessions were presented and a panel discussion took place via Zoom. The forum allowed 42 attendees to gather and learn about current topics related to art education, in preparation for student teaching and beginning a career in teaching art.
Special thanks to NATA Student Liaisons Ashley Woosley of UNK and Sarah Johnson of Concordia for their leadership. Shout out to Carolyn Albracht of Wayne and Christy Kosmicki of UNK for coordinating the forum logistics. And thank you to presenters: Holly Kutschkau, Mike Trotter, Cole Beebe, Jesse Mayo, Joe Bristol, and Liz Bloomfield. Tech support provided by Bob Reeker.
NATA 2021 Spring Board of Directors Meeting Held March 20, 2021
NATA March Camaraderie and Conversation featured Jennifer Wargin of Illinois. She shared her work with Social-Emotional Learning and teaching high school photography. She presented a SEL Framework and how SEL can be infused into visual art standards. Jennifer so generously allowed NATA to record the session for all to view and learn. Find the recording on the NATA YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/KfaL6mBIsdM
Additionally, she provided several resources through Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-hsBMGx1iZpWIxC1cz2XtICZ7qJUMi-q
A couple other resources Jennifer offered include:
https://www.ted.com/talks/michelle_stowe_empathy_the_heart_of_difficult_conversations?language=en
https://twitter.com/mstowerp/status/1037818888317292544
Contact Jennifer: jwargin@olchs.org, @snapshoted
Thank you so much, Jennifer. We also appreciate the efforts by NATA Co-Past Presidents, Jody Boyer and Josephine Langbehn, in bringing monthly C&Cs to our members and beyond.
NATA 2021 Spring Board of Directors Meeting Held March 20, 2021
As has been custom the last year, the NATA Board of Directors met via Zoom during their annual spring board meeting on Saturday, March 20, 2021. President Bill Cavill directed the meeting that covered old business, new business, and board reports. Thank you to our leaders and members who attended and who work tirelessly to promote and advance art education across our state!
Thank you and Welcome
NATA thanks Jennifer Bockerman for her service at NATA Community Director for the last three years. We wish her well in her doctoral program and serving NAEA on the research commission. We welcome Samantha Guelden of Omaha as the incoming community director.
2021 Youth Art Month Virtual Exhibit and Celebration
The 2021 NATA Youth Art Month Exhibit and Celebration video is here. Thank you to all Nebraska young artists and art educators for exhibiting. We also appreciate Senator Blood from Omaha and our 2020 NATA Art Educator of the Year, Jane Langenfeld for sharing inspirational messages of advocacy with us. Congratulations to our YAM award winners; they are revealed at the end of the video!
A huge thank you to our 2021 YAM Chair, Liz Bloomfield, as well as our YAM judges for their work and dedication to the process!
Enjoy the exhibit and celebration!
GO YAM! GO NATA!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2FQUwyio3g
February Camaraderie and Conversation Focuses on Art Educator Show Awardees
The February Camaraderie and Conversation was time spent with the three 2020 NATA Art Educator Show Awardees. Liz Langdon, Jody Boyer, and Debbie Kippley shared about their inspirations, their work, and the many connections to education and leadership. Hilary George and Josie Langbehn hosted the event.
To watch a recording from February 18, click here: https://youtu.be/4LkFO4iPuvc
2020 NATA Virtual Fall Conference
NNATA hosted our inaugural virtual conference October 16-17, 2020; which was quite the success with Jane Langenfeld and Julie Ryan at the helm. Our keynote speakers were NAEA's very own Dr. James Haywood Rowling Jr. and Canadian illustrator, Gary Taxali. Our Art Educator Exhibit, Award Recognition Gala, and Board Meetings all went off without a hitch due to the incredible preparedness and steadfastness of our members. Additionally, due to the support of members and attendees, we raised over $600 with our online auction.
Now, plans are underway for next year's conference and will likely include as we examine the possibilities for both virtual and face to face options.
NATA honored awardees on Friday, October 16, 2020. NATA President Bill Cavill hosted the event as we celebrated excellence across the state.
To view the ceremony, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pXG4mWkQmQ
Congratulations to all of our awardees!
Camaraderie and Conversation - September 2020
Guest Melissa Hronkin from Michigan
This month's C&C was all about self-care. We welcomed Melissa Hronkin as our guest speaker this month. She led us through mindful breathing, chair yoga, and other techniques that you can share with your staff and students to help foster a culture of self-care. Melissa Hronkin is an elementary art educator in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. She earned her 200hr Yoga teacher and mindfulness training from Breathe for Change, which focuses on teacher well-being and methods of implementing these tools into the classroom. She has continued to study through Mindful Schools and has tried to create a culture of teacher self-care at her school with colleagues. Melissa holds a BFA from the University of Alaska Anchorage, MFA from Minneapolis College of Art and Design, and an MA in Art Education from The Ohio State University. She was part of the School for Art Leaders with Jody and is an active member of the Michigan Art Education Association. She was the Michigan Art Educator of the year in 2013 and National Elementary Art Educator of the year in 2014.
Camaraderie and Conversation - August 2020
Scavenger Hunt, Community Building, and Sharing What's Working in Art Rooms this Fall
Jen Bockerman and Shelby Rix, both NATA Directors and Lincoln Public Schools art educators hosted the monthly NATA Camaraderie and Conversation gathering in August. The group started with some great laughs during a scavenger hunt (something that starts with "L" and an unconventional something you could eat with). Participants were then split up into break out rooms to discuss community building questions about creativity, weird happenings, places to visit, and fashion trends you would bring back. The evening ended with sharing about experiences in the art room this fall.
Thank you to Dr. Ferial Pearson, Omaha
for presenting our
July Camaraderie and Conversation
on the topic of
Equity and Culturally Responsive Teaching.
Enjoy the recording of this session - www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jnNITSPmxU
NATA Summer Board Meeting Held Saturday, July 25 via Zoom
Twenty-three members joined President Bill Cavill on Saturday, July 25 via Zoom to meet for the 2020 NATA Summer Board Meeting. Over the four hour meeting, many agenda items and reports as well as actions were shared & approved. The 2020-2021 NATA Budget was approved.
To see the agenda, visit: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lLcMOgfFuX9kc_PDLz11ltCDBsUOgewR18fKupXcaLI/edit?usp=sharing
The NATA Fall Board Meeting is Thursday, October 15.
Left: Attendees demonstrate the many hats they wear.
Below: words that describe attendees' summers.
Dr. Trina Harlow Visits June NATA Camaraderie and Conversation Gathering
NATA hosted Dr. Trina Cole Harlow for the June Camaraderie and Conversation gathering. She shared a message of hope, honesty, and healing as we prepare for the next school year. She encouraged all educators to fall back in love with teaching whether remote, in person, or blended.
Thank you Dr. Harlow for spending time with the twenty art educators who joined us from Nebraska to California!
Next month, our guest will be Dr. Ferial Pearson speaking about "Equity and Culturally Responsive Teaching". We will gather on Wednesday, July 29 at 7:00pm.
Enjoy the recording of this session - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=At3e1yMtWD8
NATA Receives Nebraska Arts Council Grant to Support Fall Conference
NATA Board Accomplishes Much during Virtual Spring Board Meeting
Seventeen members, including your NATA board met on Saturday, May 23 for the Zoom 2020 Spring Board Meeting! Much great work was accomplished and some amazing door prizes were given. We thanked Tyler Hinton for her work as Member Services Director and gave Julie Ryan a celebratory thank you for all her work over the last six years. We also began to welcome Bill Cavill Jr. and Bob Reeker into their new roles starting this summer! This was also the final board meeting for Jody Boyer and Josie Langbehn as co-presidents.
Second Camaraderie and Conversations Gathering Focuses on Time and Creativity
NATA hosted its second in the series of Camaraderie and Conversations on Wednesday, May 27 with a focus on how members are using their time during isolation and how quarantine is impacting creative ventures. Hosted by Jody Boyer, Josie Langbehn, and Bob Reeker, fifteen attendees spent the hour sharing, based on a series of questions: How do you structure your time to balance work, life and creativity? During isolation, what around you is inspiring you in your creations? To what extent is virtual social networking impacting what or how you create? Have you used this time to finish old projects or go back to incomplete ideas to finish? I find that I have more time to think ideas through - have you found your work changing at all? Does any one have any work they want to share?
First NATA Camaraderie and Conversation for Nebraska Art Educators Well Attended
NATA launched a new offering on Tuesday, April 28 in the form of a Zoom gathering for "Camaraderie and Conversation with Nebraska Art Educators". We had 18 art educators join the discussion as participants shared and processed the current crisis and its impact both personally and professionally. Hosted by Jody Boyer, Josie Langbehn, Rebecca Jorgenson, and Jennifer Bockerman, participants had many opportunities to interact and share their thoughts about emergency instruction delivery and a myriad of other topics in response to quarantine and isolation. The Wordle above is a result of attendees sharing through Mentimeter, words that describe art educators!
A team is already working on the next few monthly deliveries of this format for Nebraska Art Educators. We hope you will join us!