Artist Series Volume Two brings together practicing artists and educators to explore creativity, ritual, play, and professional renewal within the art classroom. This series features three collaborative days with multiples sessions that invite participants to slow down, reconnect with their creative identities, and consider how everyday practices shape classroom culture. Through hands-on experiences and reflective dialogue, educators will engage with strategies that are immediately transferable to K-12 settings.

The first Friday session, Keynote, Connection, and Community, establishes a welcoming space for educators to meet colleagues from across the state and build professional relationships. Hosted by the North Dakota Art Education Association, this opening gathering introduces the goals of the series and lays the groundwork for shared exploration. Participants will consider how the professional community strengthens teaching practice and supports long-term engagement in the field.

The second Friday session, Creative Rituals with artist Montana Myer and musician Aaron Dugeon, guides educators through sensory-based exercises that encourage observation, listening, and presence. Montana and Aaron share approaches from their creative practices, demonstrating how small "micro rituals" can be woven into the school day to support transitions, focus, and emotional regulation. Participants experience these rituals firsthand and discuss ways they might shift the tone of a classroom and nurture creative confidence in students.

The third Friday session, Play and Process to Product with former FACS teachers Lana Feely and Carol Braunberger, uses pasta making as a metaphor for the joyful messiness of art education. Through a make-and-take activity, Lana and Carol highlight how experimentation, collaboration, and problem solving mirror the creative processes students encounter in the art room. Educators reflect on balancing process and product and leave with practical ideas for designing lessons that honor exploration and resilience.

Learning continues beyond the event through a Creative Exchange Assignment, pairing participants in a four-week pen-pal style conversation. Using postcards, email, or shared documents, educators will reflect on how they are incorporating Creative Rituals and Play and Process ideas into their classrooms, fostering ongoing connection and accountability.

The K-8 strand features sessions with Steve Knutson and Kristin Ide, who share developmentally responsive pedagogy for middle and elementary learners. The series concludes with a tour of Rising Dawn Ceramics Studio led by owner Kelsey Williams, a former public school art teacher. Kelsey discusses her transition from the classroom to operating a community studio, the challenges and rewards of that shift, and how her experiences continue to inform her approach to art education.

Through Artist Series Volume Two, the North Dakota Art Education Association continues its mission to support, promote, and advance art education across the state. These sessions are designed to be engaging, relevant, and immediately applicable, offering educators practical tools, renewed inspiration, and meaningful connections within the professional community.