Recent Workshops

with BEN LONG

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 13  •  3:00 PM – 4:00 PM CST

Register by Friday, December 11 • 4:00 PM CST

Hone your understanding of image composition and stretch your abilities behind the camera to new realms.

If you’ve studied composition but still feel like your composition skills are underpowered, then this course might help you begin to explore some new compositional ideas. Operating on the assumption that composition is not something you learn, but something you already know and simply need to tune into, we’ll take a different approach from other composition instruction. Recommended for more advanced students who already have an understanding and experience with many compositional ideas, in this class, we will examine a lot of images, explore some exercises and discuss an intuitive approach to composition.

with TERESE MAILHOT

TUESDAYS, DECEMBER 1,  8 and 15  •  6:30 – 8:30 PM CST

Register by Monday, November 30 • 4:00 PM CST

Work with bestselling author Terese Mailhot in this three-part generative workshop, focusing on personal essay and creative nonfiction.

Participants will work on generative writing exercises and prompts. The class will also discuss each other's work, giving and receiving constructive criticisms, and will explore craft, language, dialogue, scene and exposition.

with BEN LONG

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 6  •  3:00 PM – 4:30 PM CST

Register by Friday, December 4 • 4:00 PM CST

Build up your photography toolbox with this in-depth look at image composition.

with MARWIN BEGAYE

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 8:00 – 9:30 PM  •  SATURDAY, DECEMBER 5, 8:00 – 9:30 PM  •  SUNDAY, DECEMBER 6, 4:00 – 5:30 PM

Register by Thursday, December 3 • 4:00 PM CST

This workshop will focus on creating and hand printing small relief prints using Speedball and Dick Blick water-soluble inks.

with BEN LONG

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21  •  10:00 AM – 12:00 PM CST

Register by Friday, November 20 • 4:00 PM CST

Stretch your photography skills by joining Ben and fellow photographers for a critique.

Few things will improve your photo skills as a solid critique session can. During the process of discussing images, you will come to a better understanding of how people respond to particular photographic ideas. More importantly, through this process, you will develop a vocabulary for identifying, labeling and analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of a photo. That vocabulary will go with you when you pick up your camera again and enable you to better identify what’s working and what’s not while you’re shooting. In this way, critique sessions directly impact the way you shoot, not just the way you look at specific images. Each member of this workshop will submit a few images, and we will spend the session evaluating them. If you’ve never experienced a formal critique before, the prospect can be scary, but this will be a comfortable, easy and fun environment in which to learn.

with BEN LONG

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14  •  10:30 AM – 12:30 PM CST

Register by Friday, November 13 • 4:00 PM CST

Explore exciting curriculum ideas for teaching photography online or incorporating photography lessons into your existing online classes.

Because just about everyone has a camera nowadays, and because photos are very easy and quick to move around the Internet, photography is extremely well-suited to online instruction. From delivery of camera instruction to performing group critiques of assignments, it’s easy to lead an engaging photo class online. In this workshop, we’ll look at a range of curriculum ideas and structures, examine a range of exercises, and discuss what you can expect from photography students of different levels. Whether you’re looking to lead a dedicated class or would like to spice up some other part of your curriculum, a photo component is ideal subject matter for online teaching and this class will give you plenty of ideas and guidance for pulling it off.

with YATIKA FIELDS

SATURDAY, November 14  •  9:00 AM – 5:00 PM CST

Register by Friday, November 13 • 4:00 PM CST

Artist Yatika Fields will share his imagination and creative techniques for exploring landscape painting through the plein air process in this one-day workshop in Oklahoma City at Myriad Gardens.

Yatika Fields is a multimedia artist based in Tulsa, OK, currently a fellow in the Tulsa Artist Fellowship residency program. His art and long-distance running endeavors have taken him around the world. The practice of landscape painting has been an integral part of his journeys, keeping his artistry in constant growth as he travels. He sees plein air painting as a tool for color study and deepening his appreciation of the vast landscapes he visits.

with DAVID MODLER and ERIC SCOTT

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14  •  9:00 AM – 4:00 PM CST

Register by Friday, November 13 • 4:00 PM CST

Discover the creative possibilities of the visual journal and dive into your personal narratives as you tell your stories with words, images, paint, and more.

with SAMANTHA KING

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 5:00 – 6:30 PM  •  SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM  •  SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1:00 – 2:30 PM

Register by Thursday, November 12 • 4:00 PM CST

In this 3-day workshop, we will use the arts as a tool to consider other perspectives and strengthen empathy.

Empathy is a skill essential to social-emotional growth, classroom management, problem-solving, collaboration, and conflict mitigation. How do we strengthen our students' empathy and sense of community? This is a difficult task in the best of times, but especially now during a time of social distancing. Focusing on what we all have in common can alleviate a feeling of isolation and bring us closer together. The workshop will offer teachers strategies in community building, creative writing, visual art and drama. These strategies are designed to develop the skills of observation, evidence gathering, and creative expression while we stand in someone else's shoes.

with BEN STUMPF

TUESDAYS, NOV. 10, NOV. 17, DEC. 1 and DEC. 8  •  4:30 – 6:00 PM CST

Register by Monday, November 9 • 4:00 PM CST

A workshop for high and middle school educators to inject new energy into their film programs, or design a new course.

with MIKO LEE

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10  •  7:00 – 8:30 PM CST

Register by Monday, November 9 • 4:00 PM CST

This interactive workshop will delve into trauma-informed arts approaches that focus on student growth, agency and empowerment.

Last year, the Mental Health Services Administration noted that 1 out of every 4 children in the US was dealing with traumatic stress. Today, with the multiple pandemics (COVID-19, the impact of climate change and the unpacking of systemic racial inequities) all of our children are experiencing trauma.

Participants in this workshop will review Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and learn to recognize how trauma has impacted their students. Through hands-on theatre, dance and visual art activities, participants will develop strategies for increased engagement through student-centered creative outlets.

with BEN LONG

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8  •  3:00 – 4:00 PM CST

Register by Friday, November 6 • 4:00 PM CST

Learn to take the best possible photos with your smartphone camera in this one-day workshop.

There's a saying that "the best camera is the one you have with you." While you might always have your smartphone camera with you, the fact remains that it doesn't matter what kind of camera you're using if you don't know the basics of making a good photo. In this course, we'll walk through how to get the most from your mobile phone camera. Starting with a look at what makes one image better than another, we'll consider basic compositional ideas and look at in-camera tools that can help you achieve those ideas. Next, we'll explore the typical automatic controls that smartphone cameras provide and investigate how to know when you need to override those controls and make some decisions on your own. We'll also look at the use of flash, how to photograph in low light, and what to do about those horrible color casts that you can get when shooting in gymnasiums or other common locations.

with JOHN BERTLES

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28   •  4:00 – 5:00 PM, with optional 5:00 – 5:30 PM Discussion and Q&A

Register by Tuesday, October 27 • 4:00 PM CST

Using an at-home instrument-building exercise as a model, this workshop will challenge participants to innovate their art form.

Simple but effective presentation techniques can transform online arts lessons into an immersive experience for students. Based around an at-home instrument-building exercise, this workshop will challenge participants to explore new ways to revisualize their art form and to accept and understand the limits of the technology while adventuring into a new world of creative possibilities.

with TIM ALBAUGH

Half-day option: SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24  •  9:00 AM – 1:00 PM

Full-day option: SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24  •  9:00 AM – 5:00 PM, with one-hour lunch break

Register by Friday, October 23 • 4:00 PM CST

Learn the steps required to go from idea to completed screenplay in this one-day seminar.

What are the elements of a great screenplay? In this one-day seminar, writer/producer/consultant Tim Albaugh will help you understand how to get from the germ of an idea to the completed script. Through lecture, examples and group discussion, Tim will show you how to identify a great concept, develop engaging cinematic characters, craft a coherent film story structure and a universally recognized theme. Tim will also address the process of getting your finished script into the right hands to move your project and your writing career forward.

In the morning session, Tim will cover story, character and screenplay development. Those who choose to participate in the full-day option can expect an even more in-depth study of screenplay. The afternoon session will expand upon the morning session, covering additional topics such as dialogue and voice, scene construction, subplots and theme.

with JOHN BERTLES

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21  •  4:00 – 5:00 PM, with optional 5:00 – 5:30 PM Discussion and Q&A

Register by Tuesday, October 20 • 4:00 PM CST

A free-wheeling, wide-ranging multimedia workshop focusing on how arts educators can adapt to a new and rapidly changing digital reality.

In this session, we shift the emphasis from the Presenter to the Learner—what is the student at the other side of the screen actually doing while you present? We’ll look at how formats and platforms will drive student engagement, and explore some methods and techniques. The focus will be on three areas: What does learning physically look like on the screen? What is the Goal? and How do we know they are learning?

with JOHN BERTLES

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14  •  4:00 – 5:00 PM, with optional 5:00 – 5:30 PM Discussion and Q&A

Register by Tuesday, October 13 • 4:00 PM CST

A free-wheeling, wide-ranging multimedia workshop focusing on how arts educators can adapt to a new and rapidly-changing digital reality.

The focus of this session is on inspiring you and your students to jump into the virtual medium: to experiment, have fun, and find new ways to express your art form and engage your online students. We’ll cover four specific areas: Using the Technology; Transitioning your Program; Interacting with Students; and Connecting with Schools.

All skill levels welcome. This workshop has no enrollment limit and is open and free to all PK-12 educators, even if receiving a scholarship for another workshop.

with AMANDA QUIST and TOM SHELTON

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3  •  1:00 – 2:00 PM CST

Register by Friday, October 2 • 4:00 PM CST

Participants will look at a broad range of repertoire for all age and grade levels. Strategies and suggestions for selecting repertoire will be offered. Special attention will be given to addressing challenges that developing voices may encounter—range, tessitura, changing voices, etc.

All skill levels welcome. This workshop has no enrollment limit and is open and free to all PK-12 educators, even if receiving a scholarship for another workshop.

with AMANDA QUIST

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26  •  1:00 – 2:00 PM CST

This session for high school vocal music teachers will focus on building choral sound through voice pedagogy, technology, and tips and tricks for obtaining choral resonance.

Singers of all ages that learn to resonate together tap into the beauty and power of their choir’s sound, its collective resonance. This encourages individual vocal development, addresses the technical aspects of choral repertoire, and helps us feel sonically and spiritually connected. Choral conductors often serve as the initial voice teacher for many of our singers, whether in church, school, or community settings. As we face new teaching challenges in a choral classroom with COVID-19 restrictions, it is helpful to fill our toolbox with ideas that assist our creativity in facilitating virtual learning. The teaching tips and technology in this session present ideas to pair visual learning with vocal development for both in-person and virtual applications. Using Vocevista Video and other tools, we will explore the function of overtones with intonation, formant tuning, and warm-up sequences that lead directly into repertoire to build the sound and spirit of the choir.
All skills levels welcome. This workshop has no enrollment limit and is open and free to all PK-12 educators, even if receiving a scholarship for another workshop.