Workshops

This year at Rocks Springs you will have more options for workshops. There are half-day and full-day workshops as well as a 2-day workshop. 

For the 2-day workshop, check through each of the four sections Fri. AM, Fri. PM and Sat. AM, Sat. PM to find all four workshops to fill your four sessions.

For the one-day workshops you will look in Fri. AM/PM sessions and Sat. AM/PM sessions.

For the half-day workshops you may sign up for four different workshops between Friday and Saturday.

SESSION 1 WORKSHOPS

FRIDAY AM 9:30-11:50 

Choose one below for Friday, first session.

THE ART OF PUPPETRY: 
Ceramic Marionettes & More (A)
Riley-Wallace Prairie Room A
2 Day Workshop (4 sessions total)
This will be the only workshop you attend ON Friday and Saturday

Presenter: Kate Miller

Puppets have been used for centuries as toys, for entertainment and to convey stories to pass along to others. In this workshop we will use stoneware clay to create different types of puppets, learn the history of puppetry and how to excite learners about this unique field of art. We will be exploring the use of clay and puppetry. Creating finger puppets as well as marionettes. I will instruct participants in how the methods can be easy enough for elementary students or pushed to a high art form for studio artists. I will also show how the project can be created even if a school doesn't have a kiln.
Levels: All

Fee: $10 (incl. 4 sessions)

Maximum: 20

*Participants should bring a sketchbook, a plastic container to hold their finished/pieces that are being worked on. Also recommended are clay tools you may prefer to create with, some will be provided.

WHAT IS ART?

Heritage Hall - Conference Room C

Half-day workshop

Presenter: Mark Ralston

When my Art Foundations students (often HS freshmen) would show up in my class for the first time, I found they often had given very little thought to what Art was. I would spend the first week and a half going through a PowerPoint presentation to explore what Art could be. How if could be something different than drawing or painting.... or a pretty picture. Your presenter will present this as I would my high school students, challenging you to consider different ways of thinking about what Art is. This class will consist of mostly discussion with some short activities worked in.

Level: All

Fee: None

Maximum: 20

FIBER PAINTING

Riley-Wallace - Meadowlark

Half-day workshop

Presenter: Dr. Charity-Mika Woodard

I attended the KCAI Fiber Art ED Lab in July and will present what I learned in that workshop. Embroidery and other forms of needle arts are ancient, tactile forms of communication and care. The practice of using a needle and thread to decorate, mend, and reinforce cloth can be traced back thousands of years, with examples found on nearly every continent. While practical and rooted in sustainability, stitching can also be a form of drawing, record-keeping, and storytelling. In this workshop, we will explore a range of embroidery, applique, and needle felting techniques to create a small layered portrait. *Participants need to bring a colored copy of a photo of their person or pet.

Level: Secondary

Fee: $10 Includes Each person will get fabric canvas and a small embroidery hoop of their own, and share classroom supplies of: needles, roving, embroidery thread, and paint.

Maximum: 25

*Participants need to bring a colored copy of a photo of their person or pet.

THE WOWS OF WATERCOLOR

Riley-Wallace - Great Plains Room

Half-day workshop

Presenter: Karie Covert with co-host Rachel Gibson

Explore the wonder of watercolor and how it can make you say, "Wow!" Instructors will brush up on the basics and inspire you with various project examples geared toward multiple age groups.  This will also be a hands-on workshop so be prepared to create your own unique creations. Participants will be able to create watercolor monoprints, a mini painting with textural effects, and a beginning of a mixed media masterpiece.

Level: All

Fee: None

Maximum: 20

*Participants are encouraged to bring any personal watercolor brushes or paints; paper and other various materials will be provided.

UPCYCLED GELLI PRINT SKETCHBOOKS

Riley-Wallace - Cottonwood Room

Half-day workshop

Presenter: Kathy Schroeder

Practice UPCYCLING! “The act of taking something no longer in use and giving it a second life and new function." Learn to convert leftover drawings and prints into sketchbooks using gelli prints, collage and bookbinding techniques. Design personalized sketchbooks that you and your students will look forward to filling with creative ideas. A fun and inexpensive way to invite students to begin a personal sketchbook practice. Appropriate for ages 12 and up.

Level: HS

Fee: $5 Includes gelli plates, papers, inks, paints, glues, tapes, waxed threads, print and bookbinding tools

Maximum: 15

BOTANICAL PRINTMAKING

Riley-Wallace - Bison Room 

Half-day workshop

Presenter: Rolanda Root

Through this half day hands-on workshop participants will experiment and investigate the world of printing botanicals on fabric and paper. Botanical printing encourages a stronger connection with the environment using locally sourced and gathered materials. Using the plant material of leaves, flowers, and stems you will learn the beginning to end process of botanical printing on paper and fabric with the steam bath and the heat press methods. *Bring your own leaves and plants to experiment with.

Level: All

Fee: $20 Includes paper, silk and cotton fabric, gloves

Maximum: 10

*Participant can bring assorted leaves and plants 

RAKU FIRING WORKSHOP (A&B)

Riley-Wallace, Sunflower

1-Full Day AM/PM Workshop. This will be the only workshop you attend on Friday

Presenter: Joe Summers

Participants will glaze bisque fired pottery and directly assist in the raku firing process. Participants will be shown and given tips on how to raku fire at their own schools. 3" x 3" pots will be provided for you to fire and keep, or you can bring your own small pot.

Level: All

Fee: $20 (2-sessions) Provides 3" x 3" pots, glaze for pots, propane tanks for firing and all other materials and tools needed for Raku Firing. 

Maximum: 30

*Participant can bring 3" x 3" pots or smaller. They can also bring a raku or low fire glaze they would like to use but do not have to bring anything.

SESSION 2 WORKSHOPS

FRIDAY PM, 3:15-5:45 

Choose one below for Friday, second session.

THE ART OF PUPPETRY: 

Ceramic Marionettes & More (B)

Riley-Wallace Prairie Room A

2 Day Workshop (4 sessions total)

This will be the only workshop you attend Friday and Saturday

Presenter: Kate Miller

Puppets have been used for centuries as toys, for entertainment and to convey stories to pass along to others. In this workshop we will use stoneware clay to create different types of puppets, learn the history of puppetry and how to excite learners about this unique field of art. We will be exploring the use of clay and puppetry. Creating finger puppets as well as marionettes. I will instruct participants in how the methods can be easy enough for elementary students or pushed to a high art form for studio artists. I will also show how the project can be created even if a school doesn't have a kiln.

Levels: All

Maximum: 20

Fee: $10 (incl. 4 sessions)

*Participants should bring a sketchbook, a plastic container to hold their finished/pieces that are being worked on. Also recommended are clay tools you may prefer to create with, some will be provided.

Adapting Art:

Tools, Tips, and Tricks for Promoting ED&I!

Heritage Hall - Conference Room B
Half-day workshop

Presenter: Ashley Hutfles

There are unique challenges in adapting art, especially with different media! Explore tools and strategies to meet students’ needs, promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion in the art room. From learning delays, physical disabilities, behaviors, ELL needs, or cultural differences, there are many ways to adapt art to be appropriate to each learner. Participants will have time to explore items for their unique classroom. Bring a device to add items to your Amazon wish lists or school orders and to also create resources, such as visual schedules and other content that can aid in providing adaptations.

Level: All

Fee: None

* Participant bring device (laptop or tablet), helpful, but not necessary. 

Maximum: 40

MAKING ART WORK WITH PLAY AND HUMOR

Heritage Hall - Conference Rooms C&D

Half-day workshop

Presenter: Teri Evans-Palmer

WARNING! Be prepared to be playfully engaged with your friends and 2D materials as you discover how to boost your students’ creative and divergent thinking, effectively capture their attention, and redirect the most annoying behavior. The ES/MS/HS learning activities are designed to place you in control, enhance your emotional resilience while stressed, helping you to not only survive, but truly thrive this school year.

Level: All

2D Drawing Materials (provided):

8.5 x 11 80# paper, 6B drawing pencils, Magic Rub or kneaded erasers, colored pencils, fine line colored and Extra Fine Black Sharpie markers

Maximum: 30

Fee: None

MELLOW MINDS (Meditation Journals)

Riley-Wallace - Great Plains Room

Half-day workshop

Presenter: Mary Ure with co-host Patty Trull

The trend of social emotional learning is increasingly important in education today. Meditation journals are a way to encourage you and your students to explore your passions, anxieties, connections, gratitudes...Mellow Minds will introduce several different approaches to unlocking creative expression.

Level: All

Fee: $10 Includes micron pens, a journal, handouts 

Maximum: 25

RAKU FIRING WORKSHOP (B)

Riley-Wallace, Sunflower

1-Full Day AM/PM Workshop. This will be the only workshop you attend on Friday

Presenter: Joe Summers

Participants will glaze bisque fired pottery and directly assist in the raku firing process. Participants will be shown and given tips on how to raku fire at their own schools. 3" x 3" pots will be provided for you to fire and keep, or you can bring your own small pot.

Level: All

Maximum: 30

*Participant can bring 3" x 3" pots or smaller. They can also bring a raku or low fire glaze they would like to use but do not have to bring anything.

SESSION 3 WORKSHOPS

SATURDAY AM, 8:30 - 10:50 AM 

Choose one session for Saturday morning.

THE ART OF PUPPETRY:

Ceramic Marionettes & More (C)

This will be the only workshop you attend Friday and Saturday
Riley-Wallace Prairie Room A
2 Day Workshop (4 sessions total)

Presenter: Kate Miller

Puppets have been used for centuries as toys, for entertainment and to convey stories to pass along to others. In this workshop we will use stoneware clay to create different types of puppets, learn the history of puppetry and how to excite learners about this unique field of art. We will be exploring the use of clay and puppetry. Creating finger puppets as well as marionettes. I will instruct participants in how the methods can be easy enough for elementary students or pushed to a high art form for studio artists. I will also show how the project can be created even if a school doesn't have a kiln.
Levels: All
Maximum: 20
*Participants should bring a sketchbook, a plastic container to hold their finished/pieces that are being worked on. Also recommended are clay tools you may prefer to create with, some will be provided.

PYROGRAPHY:

Reversible Gourd Pendant

Riley-Wallace - Prairie Room B

Half-day workshop

Presenter: Kristin Johnson

Pyrography: To write with fire. We will be exploring the world of gourd art with a concentration in wood burning. Artists will create at least one reversible pendant, adding color with alcohol inks and finishing with beadwork and/or macrame. Let’s revisit an old art that proves to be one of my most captivating processes for the middle school artist.

Level: All

Fee: $10 Includes Beads, hemp, alcohol inks, jewelry findings

Maximum: 15

*Participant should bring a wood burner if you have one. Will have lots to share.

TEACHING ART & BEING A SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER

Riley-Wallace - Sunflower Room

Half-day workshop

Presenter: Mary St. John

Tips, lessons & 1 hands on art lesson, building relationships & how to work with students in your classroom & what it is like to be in an alternative/ day school setting as an art special education teacher.

Level: All

Fee: None

Maximum: 20

*Participant should bring something to take notes with.

ARTFUL PLANNERS AND JOURNALS

Riley-Wallace - Bison Room

Half-day workshop

Presenter: Ronda Dugan

My art journal and planner is my happy place! Having a fun space just for you to be creative amongst all the "crazy" of the school day is what we all need! Come play and learn artful collage techniques and get inspired! This book can be used as your planner for next year or an art jounal just for you!

Level: All

Fee: $5 Includes Glue, composition book, magazines and papers for collage

Maximum: 15

*Participant may bring preferred planner or book to alter, favorite strong glue stick, favorite markers, magazines, scissors, although most will be provided: 

EASY MULTICOLOR REDUCTION PRINTS ON CLAY AND BISQUE

Riley-Wallace - Meadlowlark

Half-day workshop

Presenter: Rebecca Lomshek / Amaco Workshop

"Description: Use easy-to-find packing material and craft foam to create colorful prints on bisque using Velvet Underglaze Inks. This flexible printing process can also be used on moist clay to make impressions and prints. Discussions will include how Picasso first developed this technique with linocuts.

Level: HS

Fee: $10 Covers clay and craft foam.

Maximum: 10

*Participant should bring paint brushes

MAKING MONSTERS (A)

Heritage Hall - Conference Room D

1-Full Day Workshop (2 sessions total)

This will be the only workshop 

you attend on Saturday

Presenter: Karen Cooper

Elementary students learn about Tim Burton and his creative process when making up his monsters. They are assigned to make their own monsters with guides and ideas to launch from. I encourage them to think about what their monster is like and what it’s doing to give it personality. High school students will be learning about soft sculpture, especially current trends. This year I had Tommy Dyehouse creator of StaticStitchery present some of his most popular soft sculptures with the students. He shared that his art practice was/is essential for making his projects unique and almost believable. Once the elementary students are finished the high school artist look through the images to find one that they will create as a stuffie. High school students learn pattern making, 4 different stitches, how to sew buttons and add accessories. Once the stuffies are finished the high school students present them to the elementary students as a gift. This is perfect for bringing high school and elementary students together.

Level: HS

Fee: $10 (2 sessions) Includes needles, floss for sewing and decorating, variety of felt material 

Maximum: 20

Fun buttons, accessories for your stuffie, if you have felt material you’d like to use. 

DAY OF THE DEAD SELF-PORTRAIT

Inspired by Jose Posada (A)

Riley-Wallace - Great Plains Room

1-Full Day Workshops (2 sessions total)

This will be the only workshop 

you attend on Saturday

Presenter: Mark Ralston

In this workshop, we will participate in brainstorming activities and create a self portrait inspired by the art of Jose Posada. Posada used a skeleton to represent members of society in a way to reveal personal characteristics' in a satirical and often flamboyant way. In this workshop, participants will create a large self portrait tempera painting. This activity can be adapted for middle school or high school students. A bonus lesson in blind contour drawing will be included in this workshop.

Level: HS

Fee: $5 (2-sessions) Includes18x24 drawing paper, markers, tempera paint and use of paint brushes

Maximum: 20

*Participant should bring paint brushes

A BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO TEACHING DRAWING & PAINTING (A)

Heritage Hall - Conference Room C

1-Day Workshop (2 sessions total)

This will be the only workshop 

you attend on Saturday

Presenter: Tranda Strnad

Novice teacher, nervous about teaching drawing or painting? Have no fear, I’ve been there and I'm excited to share what I’ve learned over the past 14 years. Join me for this one day workshop to see how to introduce concepts to your students while trying out some lesson plans!

Level: HS

Fee: $2 (2 sessions) Includes paint, paper, pencils, brushes, worksheets, and examples

Maximum: 25

SESSION 4 WORKSHOPS

SATURDAY PM, 1- 3:20 PM 

Choose one session for Saturday afternoon

THE ART OF PUPPETRY:

Ceramic Marionettes & More (D)

Riley-Wallace Prairie Room A

2 Day Workshop (4 sessions total)

This will be the only workshop you attend Friday and Saturday

Presenter: Kate Miller

Puppets have been used for centuries as toys, for entertainment and to convey stories to pass along to others. In this workshop we will use stoneware clay to create different types of puppets, learn the history of puppetry and how to excite learners about this unique field of art. We will be exploring the use of clay and puppetry. Creating finger puppets as well as marionettes. I will instruct participants in how the methods can be easy enough for elementary students or pushed to a high art form for studio artists. I will also show how the project can be created even if a school doesn't have a kiln.

Levels: All

Maximum: 20

*Participants should bring a sketchbook, a plastic container to hold their finished/pieces that are being worked on. Also recommended are clay tools you may prefer to create with, some will be provided.

IPad IN THE ART CLASSROOM

Heritage Hall - Conference Room B

Half-day workshop

Presenter: Audra Shelite

*For those who already have access to an iPad, Apple Pencil, with Procreate app! IPads would NOT be provided (limit of 2 spots for those who would like to borrow an iPad to try it out and learn). Roundtable discussion about digital art creation specifically using an iPad and the app Procreate. Presenter will share a few tips, tricks, and encourages everyone attending to bring their knowledge as well as examples of classroom application. Procreate can be used in the classroom even if not every student has access to an iPad. Examples include leading sketch tutorials for a class, implementing a rotating sketchbook, creating a signature logo, sticker design, and more. This session will also include time to create and export a time lapse video of the process. *While I don't know everything about digital art creation, I would love to facilitate and participate in this session to give others a place to share their expertise and experience so we can all learn more!

Level: HS

Fee: $5

Maximum: 20

*Participant should bring Ipad, Apple Pencil, with Procreate app

CAPTURE THE MOMENT

Riley-Wallace - Sunflower Room

Half-day workshop

Presenter: Lynn Felts

Pastel or paint the landscape of Beautiful Rock Springs. Using the En Plein Air method, participants will create an intense impression of the open air. After a brief introduction of pastel techniques, participants will capture their own special moment. Instructor will provide paper, lap boards, pastels, tape and wipes. Creating your own pastel will be a relaxing and rewarding way to immerse yourself in nature’s beauty. Those who wish to paint, need to bring their own supplies. BE SURE TO BRING YOUR OWN CHAIR TO SIT ON.

Level: All

Fee: $5

Maximum: 25

*Participant should bring a light weight chair.

ONE GLAZE, SO MANY WAYS

Riley-Wallace - Meadowlark

Half-day workshop

Presenter: Rebecca Lomshek / Amaco Workshop

"In this hands-on workshop learn how to create a wide variety of surfaces and effects for everything from sculpture to functional ware using only one glaze product.

Level: HS

Fee: $10. Covers clay and glaze.

Maximum: 10

*Participant should bring paint brushes

MAKING MONSTERS (B)

Heritage Hall - Conference Room D

1-Full Day Workshops (2 sessions total)

This will be the only workshop 

you attend on Saturday

Presenter: Karen Cooper

Elementary students learn about Tim Burton and his creative process when making up his monsters. They are assigned to make their own monsters with guides and ideas to launch from. I encourage them to think about what their monster is like and what it’s doing to give it personality. High school students will be learning about soft sculpture, especially current trends. This year I had Tommy Dyehouse creator of StaticStitchery present some of his most popular soft sculptures with the students. He shared that his art practice was/is essential for making his projects unique and almost believable. Once the elementary students are finished the high school artist look through the images to find one that they will create as a stuffie. High school students learn pattern making, 4 different stitches, how to sew buttons and add accessories. Once the stuffies are finished the high school students present them to the elementary students as a gift. This is perfect for bringing high school and elementary students together.

Level: HS

Maximum: 20

Fun buttons, accessories for your stuffie, if you have felt material you’d like to use. 

DAY OF THE DEAD SELF-PORTRAIT

Inspired by Jose Posada (B)

Riley-Wallace - Great Plains Room

1-Full Day Workshops (2 sessions total)

This will be the only workshop 

you attend on Saturday

Presenter: Mark Ralston

In this workshop, we will participate in brainstorming activities and create a self portrait inspired by the art of Jose Posada. Posada used a skeleton to represent members of society in a way to reveal personal characteristics' in a satirical and often flamboyant way. In this workshop, participants will create a large self portrait tempera painting. This activity can be adapted for middle school or high school students. A bonus lesson in blind contour drawing will be included in this workshop.

Level: HS

Maximum: 20

*Participant should bring paint brushes

A BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO TEACHING DRAWING AND PAINTING

Heritage Hall - Conference Room C

1-Day Workshop (2 sessions total)

This will be the only workshop 

you attend on Saturday

Presenter: Tranda Strnad

Novice teacher, nervous about teaching drawing or painting? Have no fear, I’ve been there and I'm excited to share what I’ve learned over the past 14 years. Join me for this one day workshop to see how to introduce concepts to your students while trying out some lesson plans!

Level: HS

Maximum: 25