WKU Department of Art & Design hosts 2nd annual Professional Development Day for area art educators

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) - Western Kentucky University’s Department of Art & Design hosted its second art-specific Professional Development Workshop at the Ivan Wilson Fine Arts Center.

Developed by Paul Johnson, an art educator at South Warren Middle School and part-time drawing teacher at WKU, the workshop is specifically designed for middle and high school art teachers. However, it is open to all art educators in the region.

It allows the teachers to access their own creativity and work with materials they may not be familiar with or use regularly. They can then take that knowledge back to their classrooms and enrich the art curriculum of their students.

“It’s really important to us to build connections, bridges, and relationships with the community of teachers in this area. It’s fun for us all to be able to get together and get our hands dirty again,” said the Department Chair of Art and Design at WKU, Kristina Arnold.

The program also aims to feed the creative inner spirit of art educators and give them the gift of being able to create their own pieces.

Three new additions to the workshop this year were basic blacksmithing and metal casting with David Marquez and Charles Hurst, as well as Buon Fresco with Mike Nichols.

Attendees also had the opportunity to attend a drawing class with Professor Yvonne Petkus, detailing the anatomy of the human hand.

One of the themes of the workshop was illustrating how art education applies to other careers and areas of life.

“We work with students to develop their creative passion,” Arnold said, “but we also work with them to develop skills that are applicable to other things and the ability to understand how those apply.”

Copyright 2023 WBKO. All rights reserved.