As locations and information for this year's regional shows get nailed down, we are happy to release the information for the following 3 regional shows. 

Southwest Region:
Location: University of Wisconsin  Baraboo/Sauk County
SW Region Exhibit Dates: Saturday, February 15 -22, 2014
Reception Date: Saturday, February 22, 2014 from 12:00-2:00pm. 

Questions? Please contact Mrs. Julie Kaiser at jukaiser@sdwd.k12.wi.us

Southeast Region:
Location: Concordia Center for Environmental Stewardship on Concordia University Wisconsin’s Campus
SE Region Exhibit Dates: Monday, March 10th-March 16th, 2014
Reception Date: Sunday, March 16th from 11:00-3:00 p.m.
Drop offs will be the week of March 3rd from 7:30am to 5:30pm and must be in by Friday, March 7th.

Questions? Please contact Nathan Kilps at nathan.kilps@cuw.edu

Northeast Region:
Location: Bergstrom Mahler Museum of Glass in Neenah.
NE Region Exhibit Dates: Feb 1-Feb 16
Reception Date: Feb 9 from 2:00-4:00 pm.

Questions? Please contact Julie Miller at notjos3@yahoo.com


If you would like information for your region, please contact your regional VP or representative. We will release more show information as we receive it! In the mean time, state collecting art pieces that you would like to submit to your regional show that could then be later exhibited at the state show at the Capitol Rotunda on April 4th, 2014. The celebration ceremony will be from 12-1, which will include speakers, musical performances, awards, and free submission for participating students to the Madison Children's museum after the Capitol Show!

Also, please be prepared to register for your regional show ONLINE this year! You may follow the link on the YAM page at wiarted.org. 

We look forward to more successful and creative Youth Art Month Shows!

Tasha Newton, YAM Co-Chair

This 2013 WAEA Conference was jam-packed with awesome experiences! Here I have listed a few of my favorite things and inspiring events from the conference:

Keynote Speakers: This was the first year having a hands-on keynote speaker for the conference. Kathryn Rulen-Bareis works with students who have diverse abilities. Her hands-on experience required us to think outside of the box and create a paintbrush that would accommodate these diverse abilities. The second keynote speaker, Jessica Balsley, is a walking inspiration and a breath of fresh air. After taking one of her online classes, I could not wait to absorb more of her ideas. I feel much more comfortable taking on challenges in the classroom after her speech. 

Vendors: One of my favorite parts of any conference is the vendors. It is a great way for art teachers to play with new products and also find inspiration for new ideas in the classroom. One of my favorite new products was the playcolor stixs from Jack Richardson & Co. These stixs are similar to a slick stick or an oil pastel, but they dry in seconds and look beautiful on any colored paper. I cannot wait to put these on my order list this summer. I am also excited about the resoluble paints from Tri-art, also found at the Richardson & Co. booth. In addition, I look forward to getting some of Kathryn Rulen-Bareis’s adaptable scissors, which can be found in the NASCO catalog.

The Sessions: This year’s sessions were wonderful. I have already started to incorporate them into my classroom. I am excited to try the Concentric Kirigami project with my fourth graders. This project was presented by Dick Blick. Julia Miller had some amazing ideas on how to incorporate letter literacy in the art room. I am looking forward to using some of her ideas with my Kindergarten class. I am actually going to take my sewing machine out of its box and try some Confetti Naturescape Quilts, presented by Sally Gordon & Kriss Webert. I am already using Dannielle (Wilson) Arneson’s unique way to cooperatively assess student work. In addition, I am currently working on making some great visuals for my autistic students, which were demonstrated by Jessica Balsley.

All in all, the 2013 WAEA Conference was a great professional development opportunity. I have so many ideas and inspirations from the conference...I don’t even know where to begin!