NAHS National Student Conference
Session and Workshop Descriptions
NAHS Conference Session and Workshop Descriptions
Download complete conference details here.
Morning Keynote
Time: 9:00 am - 10:30 am
Presenter(s): Lynda Barry
Title: Keynote Session
Lynda Barry has worked as a painter, cartoonist, writer, illustrator, playwright, editor, commentator, and teacher and found these roles are very much alike. The New York Times has described Barry as “among this country’s greatest conjoiners of words and images, known for plumbing all kinds of touchy subjects in cartoons, comic strips and novels, both graphic and illustrated.”
Morning Whole-Group Session
Time: 10:40 am - 11:30 am
Presenter(s): Alice Mizrachi
Title: Engage + Empower: Opportunities for Thinking and Creating Together
Engage with interdisciplinary artist Alice Mizrachi to create a collaborative art piece that aims to amplify positive messages about our collective community. Empower each other and energize our communities by working, thinking, and creating together.
Morning Workshops
Time: 11:40 am - 12:30 pm (Select 1. The number of students for each workshop is limited to the first 35 who register.)
Presenter(s): Lynda Barry
Title: Drawn Together With Lynda Barry
A fast-paced comics-based drawing workshop open to all—especially those who are scared to draw or have given up on being able to draw a long time ago. The kind of exercises we’ll be doing will demonstrate what else drawing can be besides a means to make a pleasing picture. This workshop is about a kind of drawing that can set the conditions for unexpected insight and discovery and also make us laugh really hard.
Presenter(s): Peyton Scott Russell
Title: coming soon
For more than 35 years, Peyton Scott Russell has been a professional artist and educator. Born in Minneapolis, MN, Russell’s earliest memories as a child were making art and being creative. This continued into high school, where he discovered graffiti art from the film Style Wars in 1984. He has founded organizations like House of Daskarone, Juxtaposition Arts, and Art House Education. A description of this hands-on workshop session will be coming soon!
Presenter(s): David Modler and Sam Peck
Title: Visual Journal Beginnings: A Journey Into Mixed Media
This is an introductory workshop that will explore image-making and writing processes using mixed-media art materials in a visual journal. Instruction will focus on addressing personal themes and concepts while learning a variety of watercolor painting, collage, and image transfer techniques.
Afternoon Whole-Group Session
Time: 2:30 pm - 3:00 pm
Presenter(s): Rebecca Stone-Danahy, Director of AP Art and Design with The College Board
Title: Share Your Story: Developing a Narrative for Your AP Art and Design Portfolio
Discover best practices for showcasing your thinking and artmaking in a body of artwork. Whether submitting your portfolio to AP Art and Design or for college applications, it’s important to consider how visual images and words create a narrative that shares your unique story. Stand out from the crowd and consider how process images and final artworks showcase your unique way of developing art using meaningful ideas.
Afternoon Workshops
Time: 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm (Select 1. The number of students for each workshop is limited to the first 35 who register.)
Presenter(s): Rebecca Stone-Danahy
Title: Portfolio Review
Discover and refine your creative voice during this Portfolio Review session. Students will present their portfolios, share insights, and receive constructive feedback, creating a supportive space for personal and artistic growth. Students must bring digital examples of their artwork in a PowerPoint format for review and feedback.
Presenter(s): Matt Grundler and Jody Nix
Title: Exploring Gelli Arts: A Creative Printmaking Workshop
During this fun workshop, participants will explore the Gelli Arts printing process while gaining a basic understanding of skills and other printmaking techniques. Through experimentation, students will use various mixed-media materials and explore new approaches to creating uniquely and visually personalized artwork that is stunning and expressive.
Presenter(s): Marlena Myles
Title: coming soon
Marlena Myles’s journey as a self-taught Native American (Spirit Lake Dakota/Mohegan/Muscogee) artist in Minnesota is one of honoring the past while embracing the present and future using technology. Through her work, she aspires to be a catalyst for change, celebrating the vibrancy of Dakota history, languages, and oral traditions while breaking new ground with the power of modern artistic expression. A description of this hands-on workshop session will be coming soon!
About the Presenters
Lynda Barry: Keynote Speaker and Morning Workshop Presenter
Lynda Barry has worked as a painter, cartoonist, writer, illustrator, playwright, editor, commentator, and teacher and found these roles are very much alike. The New York Times has described Barry as “among this country’s greatest conjoiners of words and images, known for plumbing all kinds of touchy subjects in cartoons, comic strips and novels, both graphic and illustrated.”
Alice Mizrachi: Morning Whole-Group Presenter
Alice Mizrachi is a New York–based mixed-media artist. Her practice includes work as a muralist, fine artist, educator, and curator. Grounded in deep compassion for the human experience across borders, Mizrachi explores both the spiritual and physical dimensions of being human, and in particular, female. Mizrachi’s intentions include the empowerment of self and others through artistic expression, as well as advocacy for women, youth, and the environment.
Peyton Scott Russell: Morning Workshop Presenter
For more than 35 years, Peyton Scott Russell has been a professional artist and educator. Born in Minneapolis, MN, Russell’s earliest memories as a child were making art and being creative. This continued into high school, where he discovered graffiti art from the film Style Wars in 1984. He has founded organizations like House of Daskarone, Juxtaposition Arts, and Art House Education.
David R. Modler: Morning Workshop Presenter
David R. Modler is a maker, scholar, and professor from Baltimore, MD. He earned his BS and MEd from Towson University and his MFA from James Madison University. Modler serves as a professor of art and the chair of the Department of Contemporary Art, Communication, and Theater at Shepherd University.
Samuel Peck: Morning Workshop Presenter
Samuel Peck’s a/r/tographic practice explores conceptual, expressive, and contextual concerns of inclusion, collaboration, and authority. With 20 years of teaching experience, Peck has become an international expert in visual journals, including a BFA from URI (2001) and an MFA from UNCG (2010). Currently, he’s working on a PhD from UMinn.
Rebecca Stone-Danahy: Afternoon Whole-Group and Workshop Presenter
At The College Board, Rebecca Stone-Danahy is responsible for the AP Art and Design course curriculum, instruction, and assessment, overseeing the annual exam assessment of approximately 70,000 high school AP Art and Design student portfolios. She creates an annual exhibit of exemplary AP Art and Design student works designed as a teaching and research tool. She often liaises with students and their teachers to understand and promote excellent pedagogy. She regularly presents, speaks, and moderates dialogue with significant academic and membership audiences to ensure that ongoing change and improvement within AP Art and Design are understood, accepted, and supported in both secondary and postsecondary educational communities.
Matt Grundler: Afternoon Workshop Presenter
Matt Grundler is a passionate art educator and advocate based in Plano, TX. With over 20 years of experience teaching at all grade levels, Grundler has dedicated himself to understanding and nurturing each student’s unique learning style while fostering their creativity. Beyond the classroom, Grundler is the visionary cofounder of the hashtag, and online professional learning community, and podcast #K12ArtChat.
Jody Nix: Afternoon Workshop Presenter
Jody Nix, assistant professor and program director of art education and pre-art therapy at the University of Saint Francis, stands out for her fearless approach to teaching and commitment to innovation. Recognized with the 2018 Outstanding Overall Art Educator of Indiana Award, Nix holds a master’s degree in art education and a BA in English. Beyond her academic achievements, she has earned accolades such as the 2011 Middle School Art Educator of the Year.
Marlena Myles: Afternoon Workshop Presenter
Marlena Myles’s journey as a self-taught Native American (Spirit Lake Dakota/Mohegan/Muscogee) artist in Minnesota is one of honoring the past while embracing the present and future using technology. Through her work, she aspires to be a catalyst for change, celebrating the vibrancy of Dakota history, languages, and oral traditions while breaking new ground with the power of modern artistic expression.
