NORTH TALKS: Visualizing a Career Pathway at Sheboygan North High School

December 7, 2025December 18, 2025Leave a comment

This program is supported by a grant from the Utely Education Foundation

Sheboygan North High School is pleased to announce a new program called North Talks: Visualizing a Career Pathway. This college and career readiness program invites local professionals to share their job experiences, industry culture, and the importance of retaining talent in Sheboygan. This program aims to highlight how creativity plays an integral part in solving industry challenges, enabling the development of creative solutions within the visual arts and technical education fields.

Our 2025-2026 presenters are Mayor Sorenson, City of Sheboygan; Jeff Leismer, CEO and Founder of VibeTech; Agata Augustine, Interior Designer, Kohler Design Center; Rob Hurrie, Owner and Chef of Black Pig; and Ann Brusky, Deputy Director of Programming, John Michael Kohler Arts Center.

“We strive to provide a positive and supportive environment at North High School, to allow creativity to flourish. Within our learning environment, we prioritize collaboration and problem-solving to prepare our students for challenges and life beyond SASD. We are grateful for the knowledge and experiences that will be shared by our presenters and the benefit to our students as they chart their next steps.” – Nic Collins, Principal.

Through the collaborative efforts of teachers Frank Juárez, Visual Arts; Cathy Newport, Family and Consumer Science; and Alan Rekowski, Technical Education, they hope that these stories encourage North High students to start thinking about career possibilities after graduation.

2025-2026 Speakers

Mayor Sorenson, City of Sheboygan

Ryan Sorenson is the 59^th Mayor of the City of Sheboygan. He is the youngest serving mayor in the city’s history, and he is currently serving in his second term. Prior to being elected mayor, Sorenson served on the City Council and was the Council President. Mayor Sorenson was born and raised in Sheboygan. He graduated from South High School.

Sorenson graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with his Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and History. While at UW-Milwaukee, Sorenson served as the student body president, and was in the political science honor society.

The Mayor is the CEO of the City, and is the head of government. The Mayor is also primarily responsible for managing external relations for the city. Some of Mayor Sorenson’s key initiatives center around improving infrastructure, supporting local businesses, and advocating for housing.

Mayor Sorenson is very active with the US Conference of Mayor. The Mayor serves as the Co-Chair for the Great Lakes and St Lawrence Cities Initiative. He is also on the board for The Bay Lakes Regional Planning Commission, and is on the Executive Committee for the Sheboygan County Economic Development Corporation. He also serves on the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition Wisconsin Advisory Committee. The Mayor additionally serves on the board for the Wisconsin- Hessen Society.

Image courtesy of Mayor Sorenson.

Mayor Sorenson sharing updates on the City of Sheboygan. Exciting things are happening!

Dr. Jeff Leismer, CEO and Founder of VibeTech

Dr. Jeff Leismer is the founder, president, and CEO of VibeTech Enterprises, LLC, a NASA spinoff MedTech company located in Sheboygan, WI. VibeTech utilizes advanced technology developed by Leismer to enhance strength and mobility in individuals with difficulty standing and walking, with a focus on reducing falls in older adults. As an inventor and product designer, he blends creativity and logic to develop sophisticated technology that minimizes invasiveness and maximizes ease of use while producing optimal clinical outcomes for its users. Creativity is an essential aspect of Dr. Leismer’s daily professional duties.

Leismer received his PhD in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering (’07) from the University of Florida (Gainesville, FL), a Master of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering (Biomechanics) (’02), and a Bachelor of Science in Engineering degree in Biomedical Engineering (’01) from Michigan Technological University (Houghton, MI). He is named inventor on 13 issued patents and 2 pending patents in the US and abroad. He has designed and run over 20 clinical studies while testing and advancing VibeTech’s technology to commercialization through 3 major robotic design iterations and a variety of prototypes. He serves as Advisory Board Member (Industry Liaison) to the University of Wisconsin-Stout Computer & Electrical Engineering (CEE) Program, where he also has been a sponsor to over 2 dozen capstone projects. He also serves as a Technical Committee Member to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) where he writes and reviews standards governing Human Exposure Limits to Mechanical Vibration. He has reviewed proposals for the National Science Foundation (NSF) Biomedical Engineering Directorate and a Graduate Education program, as well as the University of Wisconsin’s Applied Research Program (ARP).

Image courtesy of Tryg Jacobson.

www.vibetechglobal.com

Agata Augustine, Interior Designer, Kohler Design Center

Agata Augustine was born into an artistic family in Poland, so it’s not so much that she chose to become an artist and a designer, but naturally developed into one.

She was involved with art all her life. At 15 years old, she entered a school that emphasizes the arts and design in Lodz, Poland. This is when her love for fine art started intertwining with her passion for interior design. In 2002, she received her internationally recognized master’s degree in Studio Painting from the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Lodz, Poland.

She also has experience in movie set dressing, including the Oscar-winning “Peter and the Wolf, “where she did detailed set work with other fine artists using many different media.

From sculpting, painting, print making, or space planning and color coordinating, she is happy to help with creating beautiful spaces.

Since 2012, she has been sharing her experiences and talent in a professional setting, while working for one of the most luxurious furniture brands in the USA- owned by KOHLER- Baker Furniture. With the sale of Baker in 2017, she transitioned to the role of an Interior Designer at the Kohler Design Center, where she specializes in bathroom designs. Augustine holds the title of AKBD, CLIPP, and every day she helps guests with product selection, either for one bathroom or all houses. She helps them create beautiful, cohesive designs that have a unique, artistic Kohler flair.

Upcoming

Rob Hurrie, Owner and Chef, Black Pig

Ann Brusky, Deputy Director of Programming, John Michael Kohler Arts Center

Contact

Mr. Frank Juárez

Art Department Chair

fjuarez@sasd.net

North and South High Art Departments Host Steamroller Printmaking Event

September 30, 2025October 2, 2025Leave a comment

Sheboygan, WI – North and South High School Art Departments are excited to announce a community art event called “Steamroller Printmaking Event.” The event will consist of a 3-foot roller, creating large-scale prints that were carved out of wood. All wood carvings were hand-carved by North & South art students. During the event, there will be a make & take area where people can make their own prints and buy lunch from the Thai Express food truck.

This event is popular across our state, hosted by art institutions. On October 12th, we will bring this to the high school level. It is going to be a great opportunity to offer this to our students, staff, families, and the general public to experience and enjoy.

The Steamroller Printmaking Event is open to the public. FREE.

This event is supported by a grant from the Utely Education Foundation and Sheboygan Area School District.

If you go:

Steamroller Printmaking Event

North High West Parking Lot, 12th and School Avenue, Sheboygan 53083

Sunday, October 12th, 10 am – 2 pm.

All large-scale prints will be available for purchase by donation. Proceeds go toward both art departments.

Through Our Eyes Exhibition at Sheboygan North High School

May 30, 2024June 27, 2024Leave a comment

Eight advanced art students from Drawing/Painting 2, 3D Design, and Portfolio 2 were selected to participate in a 9-week collaborative student art exhibition centered on Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion, Social Emotional Learning, and Belonging as part of an action research project. At the start of quarter 4 Mr. Juárez provided them with enough content to kickstart the brainstorming session. This resulted in weekly meetings at the start of the class period to go over project ideas, questions, and peer feedback. As a collective, it was decided to create up to three pieces addressing the aforementioned topics.

They were introduced to a variety of logistics involved in the organization of an art exhibition. Items discussed were curation, curator, intent, thematic, body of work, sight line, and image list. In addition, designing promotional materials such as an exhibition poster and brochure. Throughout the allotted timeframe, Mr. Juárez scheduled 1-to-1 conversations to check-in on their progress, answer questions and/or address concerns. Two weeks prior to the installation of “Through Our Eyes” Exhibition, they participated in a series of audio interviews that delve a bit deeper into this project, their creative process, and artwork.

Objective(s)

To design a themed exhibition centered on Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion and Social Emotional Learning.
To express themselves, their thoughts, curiosities, and emotions through their art and ideas.
To give students ownership and agency of their own learning, exploration, and investigation.

Goals(s)

Activate the art room as a place of belonging.
Encourage ongoing communication between students.

National Visual Arts Standards

Responding – Anchor Standard 7: Perceive and analyze artistic work.

Performance Standard- VA:Re.7.2.IIIa | Analyze how responses to art develop over time based on knowledge of and experience with art and life.

Presenting – Anchor Standard 4: Select, analyze, and interpret artistic work.

Performance Standard- VA:Pr4.1.IIIa | Critique, justify, and present choices in the process of analyzing, selecting, curating, and presenting artwork for a specific exhibit or event.

Connecting – Anchor Standard 11: Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding.

Performance Standard– VA:Cn11.1.IIIa | Appraise the impact of an artist or a group of artists on the beliefs, values, and behaviors of a society.

Responding – Anchor Standard 7: Perceive and analyze artistic work.

Performance Standard– VA:Re.7.1.IIIa | Analyze how responses to art develop over time based on knowledge of and experience with art and life.

About the action research project

Mr. Juárez is part of a national virtual professional learning community (PLC) group, Connected Arts Network (CAN). He is one of 17 national teacher leaders focusing on creating curriculum and programming that is equitable, diverse, and inclusive as well as focusing on social emotional learning to create a community that supports, uplifts, and empowers each other through art, identity, voice, and collaboration.

Weekly Meetings

Art students decided to meet on Wednesdays to check in, ask questions, problem-solve, etc. These weekly meetings provided the structure needed to finish within the allotted timeline.

Works in Progress

Documenting student work during the creating phase is important in personal reflection.

Installation

Students were introduced to the proper way to install art. This was a great opportunity to talk about curation, sight line, installation, and creating a dialogue between the artworks as a way of storytelling.

Reception

What better way to celebrate than to have a closing reception for “Through Our Eyes” Exhibition.

Artworks

Here is a collection of original artworks addressing Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Social Emotional Learning, and Belonging through their perspective, curiosities, and ideas.

Belonging (2024) by Maya B.

This piece is 64 frames of animation, played at 8 frames per second. In order to prioritize my time, I had to make the drawings very simple, but with the black and white imagery it resulted in a fairly interesting outcome. To me, the animation conveys the journey of learning how to belong within your own skin.

In Conclusion

The intention behind this action research project was to provide art students with a platform to exercise agency over their learning to gain ownership, build camaraderie, and increase engagement. The goals are a) to encourage them to create a support system within the art room, b) to socialize as artists, and c) to provide them a space to take creative risks, experiment, and build empathy towards each other. Throughout this unit, friendships sparked as they shared common experiences that embraced their identity, perspective, and voice to communicate how they see the world in the form of a student-led exhibition.

The first step to create an authentic art experience is to let go of the control we, as art teachers, have over our art curriculum. The decision-making process should center on students’ voices. Students shared a common experience of reflecting, responding, and addressing what they felt was important to contribute to a better classroom culture.

Guiding art students through a complex system that exists in the gallery world in the form of an exhibition is one of the best ways to tackle significant timely issues and trends that are happening today in the art/education landscape. Students need a place of belonging within the art room and beyond. Creating original artworks that are relevant to their lives provided an avenue for conversations centered on equity, diversity, inclusion, belonging, and social-emotional learning.

Addressing difficult issues is a necessity in preparing them for life after graduation. These issues lay at the forefront of art education. How we address them will vary from one art educator to the next. Sometimes what we think is appropriate may not be the best solution. Involving art students into these conversations can provide a path to create something impactful that results in an increase in engagement, collaboration, and understanding. It provided them the freedom to express their identity, curiosities, and ideas by amplifying their voices. There are important interpersonal and intrapersonal skills that are taking place that are transferable to any field even if they do not go into the field of art.

Equity, diversity, inclusion, belonging, and social emotional learning have become pillars within my teaching practice. Nowadays, I think about these timely issues and trends as I design new curriculum. As an art teacher and artist, I want to equip my students with the necessary art and business of art skills possible to advocate for themselves and others. We all have our differences, which makes us unique. I want them to create the world that they want to live in. Their ideas matter. It is important to listen to what they have to say through the power of art.

Spring 2022 Iridescence Literary Magazine Now Available Online

May 17, 2022May 26, 2022Leave a comment

Iridescence Literary Magazine showcases art, photography, and creative writings submitted by 9-12 Sheboygan North High students. Take a look at the Spring 2022 issue and download your very own copy. Printed copies will become available in early June 2022. Pending delivery delays.

Iridescence Literary Magazine was founded and conceptualized in 2021 by Junior Grace Z.

Advisors: Mrs. Cavanaugh, Mr. Juárez, and Mr. McGoldrick.

Iridescence Literary Magazine is supported by a grant from the Kohler Foundation, Inc.

8 questions with Editor-in-Chief, Grace Z.

Mr. Juárez: What is Iridescence?

Grace Z: Iridescence is a yearly literary magazine produced entirely by North High students. Throughout the year, we collect submissions and select a diverse amount of writing and art to be placed in the magazine.

MJ: What was the inspiration behind Iridescence Literary Magazine?

GZ: I was first inspired to start Iridescence after I saw another high school literary magazine in a school library. Seeing that it was all curated, created, and collected by students, it was truly inspiring to see a glimpse of the students’ creativity from that school. I wanted to bring that same opportunity for students at Sheboygan North High, which is what led me to founding the Iridescence Literary Magazine.

MJ: How did you come up with the name of the magazine?

GZ: Iridescence is defined as: “showing luminous colors that seem to change when seen from different angles.” This name resonated with me the most as I felt that in a metaphorical way, that represented the purpose of the Iridescence Literary Magazine– a publication that showcases the vibrant, creative aspects of Sheboygan North High School in a new light.

MJ: What is the goal of the magazine?

GZ: The goal for the magazine is to provide a platform for students at Sheboygan North High School to showcase their work. Whether that be words or illustrations, we encourage students to get their work out there, become published creatives, and have their work seen throughout the community.

MJ: What long-term goals do you have for the magazine?

GZ: The Iridescence Literary Magazine aspires to foster an atmosphere of individual creativity. We intend to promote emerging strong, unique voices to represent the talented group of emerging writers in Sheboygan and elsewhere.

MJ: Have you encountered challenges during the process of putting it together?

GZ: The challenge with putting the magazine together was making sure that every detail was taken care of. From designing all of the pages, collecting submissions, to acquiring funding, the process of putting the magazine together took countless hours. However, even so, it was truly an incredibly exciting and rewarding process. To be able to have a final magazine with work from Sheboygan North High feels truly incredible, and I’m looking forward to putting together issue #3 next year as well.

MJ: What have you learned about yourself as the editor-in-chief?

GZ: Being editor-in-chief of the Iridescence Literary Magazine has taught me a lot. I’ve learned not only about the process of making such a magazine and having it being printed, but also many life lessons along the way. Time management, planning, and communication has been an integral part in Iridescence, and I hope to continue learning and improving as Iridescence’s editor-in-chief.

MJ: What advice would you give a fellow student in pursuit of a creative project?

GZ: My greatest advice would be to find a mentor. Whether that be a teacher, someone who works in that field, or a parent, finding someone who is preferably knowledgeable in your particular creative project is extremely helpful, as they can help guide you through the process. For Iridescence, my advisors and teachers are my mentors. I feel incredibly grateful to have all their support, as they have played a significant role in helping make the Iridescence Literary Magazine possible.

Get your downloadable PDF today!Download

SchoolArts Magazine April 2022 Issue – Contemporary Art

March 10, 2022Leave a comment

Mr. Juárez co-edits his third issue alongside Nancy Walkup, SchoolArts Magazine Editor-in-Chief. The April 2022 issue focuses on Contemporary Art in a preK – 12 setting. In addition, he has a published article on our artist-in-residency program. A big thanks to the Davis Publication/SchoolArts Magazine staff for another great issue.

Here are a few screenshots of his contribution.

Click the link to read this issue: https://www.davisart.com/schoolarts/issues/

Virtual Artist Talk with Erica Barringer, class of 2014

November 13, 2021November 17, 2021Leave a comment

New to 2021-2022, we will be creating a new series focused on North High Art Alumni and what they are doing as young creative professionals. This platform provides us the opportunity to talk about various topics relating to college and career readiness and to share it with our students.

In this episode, Erica Barringer (class of 2014) talks about how her creative work as an art director in Los Angeles, the importance of meeting deadlines, and engaging in personal projects to balance work and life.

“The type of art I do in graphic design is bold and graphic, where I really try to express ideas in a clever, fun and entertaining way. I use typography, iconography, and photography to create visual communication pieces and design systems. While craftsmanship is extremely important to me, I try hard to produce art that goes beyond “pretty”. My goal is to create pieces that are cinematic and memorable”
– Erica Barringer

Erica Barringer is a Los Angeles based art director who specializes in advertising and entertainment. She uses photoshop and illustrator to design and bring visual concepts to life. She’s created a variety of work from logos, brand identity, presentations, out of home placements, commercials, and products.

She graduated from Columbia College Chicago in 2017 with a BA in Advertising and Advertising Art Direction.

She’s worked on clients such as Barbie, Samsung, Google, Quibi, E!, as well has been a Webby Nominee (2020), Young Ones ADC merit winner (2017).

This video is edited by Artdose Magazine. In collaboration with the Sheboygan North High School Art Department.

This series is supported by a grant from the Kohler Foundation, Inc.

View past artist talks here

Radial Designs by Art Foundations 1 and Senior Art 1

October 3, 2020October 3, 2020Leave a comment

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“Reflections on this Moment in Time” – an Art Foundations 4 online exhibition

April 28, 2020April 28, 20206 Comments

Galleries, arts center, artist run spaces, and art museums have all closed since mid-March due to the pandemic. Many of which canceled or postponed their exhibitions and events until further notice. At Sheboygan North High School, we have an exhibition space called NHS ARTifacts Gallery, which showcases all of our students’ works from across all content areas. To continue our programming, we’ve put together an online exhibition featuring new works by our Art Foundations 4 students.

The Sheboygan North High Art Department believes that art should be shared beyond the walls of our school. Nowadays, art can be shared through various platforms, many of which are now being used online. We experience art from all over the globe through virtual studio tours to ZOOM artist talks, augmented virtual art exhibitions to social media. This exhibition, “Reflections on this Moment in Time” provided our Art Foundations 4 students the opportunity to use art as a way to reflect, respond, and connect to what is happening right now through their art, their creativity, and their perspective.

Exhibition

Featured artists

**Abigail Beyersdorf**

This piece shows the reality of what it feels like through the difficult times of quarantine. We are forced to social distance ourselves from others. Being stuck inside we must go virtual/online to work, chat and basically keep our sanity. We can go outside and go places, but we have to be careful because you never when you can catch the virus.

Abigail Beyersdorf, Stuck Inside, 2020, Prismacolor colored pencils on poster board, 9 x 8.5 inches

**Ted Wind**

“Muffled”, which is a parody of Edvard Munich’s infamous painting, “The Scream” reflects my feelings during the coronavirus pandemic. Each day this pandemic goes on I feel like I want to scream. I tried to capture this feeling in the painting. The man’s mask which covers his scream represents how China covered up the virus and how trapped we all feel in isolation from others. The river behind the man is polluted and filled with radioactive waste and the bank on the left is full of graves. The man wants to scream out against all the injustice that is being done to the world and to himself but can’t… all because of the mask.

Ted Wind, “Muffled”, Acrylic paint on paper, 10 x 8 inches. 2020

**Emily Fisher**

I decided to draw a doctor with a mask on. I wanted to do this because doctors are so important in this crisis. They are saving lives and I wanted to represent that in my drawing. They are heroes. I added paint on the mask to make it pop and to represent how important it is to be safe and to not get infected. On the background I painted it a dark red color because the coronavirus is that color and I wanted to have a dramatic feel. Finally, the doctor is in a side view because it makes her look determined and ready to face the disease.

Emily Fisher, “Hero in Disguise”, Pencil and acrylic on paper, 12 x 9 inches, 2020

**Erik Mujkanovic**

The intent of my artwork was to show negative emotions of the whole covid-19 situation. I wanted to symbolically put objects to represent parts of our lives where we are losing. I put in adjectives for each object to show emotions. Finally, I rarely get migraines, but when I do, there are lots of fuzzy, and flashy colors in all peripheral vision. I tried to represent that on the edges of the piece. I did that because when I get these migraines, it gives me an intense headache, like the virus. I get blind spots wherever I look, hence why I called it, Losing Vision.

Erik Mujkanovic, “Losing Vision”, Sharpie and acrylic on paper, 8.5 x 11 inches, 2020

**Samantha Wood**

My drawing is about when I go to with my dad to Lake Michigan. I saw some big waves while it was nice out. I see people walk.

Samantha Wood, “Lake Michigan”, Markers on paper, 12 x 9 inches, 2020

**Anthony Eckert**

This painting communicates how I feel about the coronavirus. I’m upset.

Anthony Eckert, “Upset by the Day”, Acrylic on canvas, 8 x 10 inches, 2020

**Anny Chang**

The purpose of the artwork I created was because when we were being quarantined I realized that everyone must wear a mask when they go outside or go shopping. I heard that kids at age 1-9 can’t go shopping because they might get infected by other people in the stores.

Anny Chang, “The Mask of Quarantine”, Colored pencil on paper, 11 x 8.5 inches, 2020

**Spencer Collins**

I wanted this piece to give people a very eery feeling but also help to maybe educate on the effects this is having on the United States. The fact we live in Sheboygan, we have been kept within a fairly safe distance from the epicenter of this pandemic. I feel that because of our distance from this we cannot truly feel the effects of the virus, and that’s why I want to show the effects through my art. I think my piece does a great job of displaying how vulnerable we are, no matter how big we build, we can still be crippled and sent into very hard times.

Spencer Collins, “Eery”, Prismacolor colored pencil on paper, 12 x 9 inches, 2020

**Andy Thao**

My intention of my artwork is to show how the world would look if the virus isn’t gone. It communicates people wearing a mask to be protected!

Andy Thao, “Covid-19 Burndown Takeover”, Pencil on paper, 8.5 x 11 inches, 2020

**Justin Gmach**

My art piece is of a man looking out his window in quarantine. In this piece you can see the shaded black sky to create of dark and sad mood. You can also see very large buildings in the background to show a city with lights on in the buildings.

Justin Gmach, “Mood”, Colored pencil on paper, 8.5 x 11 inches, 2020

**Luecy Xiong**

Through the difficulty and dark times we are facing right now, there is still hope for the world to return to its former state. The word “hope” resonates with this piece through the bright glow in the girl’s eyes. The restrictions of interacting have inspired me to restrict the tools I’ve used in this piece, resorting to my fingers, a ruler, and paint.

Luecy Xiong, “Hope”, Acrylic on canvas, 18 x 14 inches, 2020

**Florence Butterfield**

In my art piece, I wanted to try to show how the whole world is struggling with the coronavirus. I made a collage of pictures of the Earth. All the pictures are news articles from all over the world. The Earth is also representing the shape of the coronavirus. The “land” is made up of the coronavirus showing every continent has it. The water and the Alert are made up of photos from different news stories. It also shows how so many healthcare workers are risking their lives by helping people.

Florence Butterfield, “Alert”, Collage on paper, 24 x 18 inches, 2020

**Aileen Zenk**

This is an 8 x 10 inch painting that focuses on a girl. She is all alone and wearing a mask. She is surrounded by different shades of green, which symbolizes germs all around her. She looks a little emotionless or overwhelmed with everything going on in our world today. The point of this painting is to show how important it is to wear a mask and stay safe.

Aileen Zenk, “Stay Safe”, Acrylic on paper, 10 x 8 inches, 2020

**Amelia Redell**

This painting shows the feelings of fear, loneliness and uncertainty during the pandemic.

Amelia Redell, “Alone in Fear”, Acrylic on paper, 11 x 8.5 inches, 2020

A COVID-19 Coloring Book (downloadable)

April 25, 2020April 27, 2020Leave a comment

a_covid_19_coloring_book_2020 Download

A note from Mr. Juarez

On March 17th, schools across Wisconsin closed due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. I noticed a trend forming with higher education and how it would change education after Spring Break. Not knowing how this would affect K-12 public education and noticing an increase in online activity on social media regarding this pandemic and how it was going to change the infrastructure of art education made me think about our art students.

There is a group on FaceBook called Online Art Teachers. In this group, I reached out to an art teacher, Angie Hamele Szabo from Forth Atkinson High School, to see if I could use an activity that she created and assigned her students called YAY Art Bingo.

One of the drawing prompts that I kept as part of our version of YAY Art Bingo was Covid-19 is changing our world overnight and it is very surreal. Create a piece that captures your feelings and thoughts in this moment in history. At the time, I wanted my students to create a piece of art to fulfill the requirements of the project. Little did I know, that this pandemic would become our reality and change how we currently teach art.

The weekend before Governor Evers’s announcement stating that school would be closed until April 4th, I had somewhat of a plan.

The thing that I love about art is how it provides us with a way to express ourselves. It is a great medium to reflect and to make sense of what is happening. No matter where we live, we are all facing the same challenges.

How do we cope with what is becoming our new norm? In what ways can we find comfort in what we experience from our own homes? How can we use art to heal?

This coloring book is a compilation of drawings that my Art Foundations 2 and Senior Art 2 students created based on their thoughts, feelings, and their level of understanding surrounding this pandemic. It brings me joy knowing that art can be a way of escape even if it is for a moment.

This PDF can be downloaded and shared.

Courtesy of the Sheboygan North High School and contributing artists.

Mr. Juarez

Art Department Chair

Art teachers impact others through best practices

October 11, 2019October 14, 2019Leave a comment

For Immediate Release

Sheboygan North High

Art Department

2926 N. 10^th Street

Sheboygan, WI 53083

Contact Information

Frank Juarez, art department chair

fjuarez@sasd.net

Press Release

Sheboygan, Wisconsin – Local art teachers from the Sheboygan Area School District were selected from a pool of 120 art teachers from the state of Wisconsin to present at this year’s fall conference in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.

The Wisconsin Art Education Association (WAEA) conference runs from October 17 – 18, 2019 at Silver Lake College in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. This conference brings over 300+ art educators from across the state to learn new teaching strategies, opportunities for networking, present on topics that are making a difference inside their art rooms, and to rejuvenate the creative spirit. This Fall, four Sheboygan Area School District K-12 art teachers will be presenting. They are Michelle Jorgensen (Sheridan Elementary), Frank Juarez (Sheboygan North High), Brian Sommersberger (Sheboygan South High), and Mary Starnitcky (Pigeon Elementay).

Michelle Jorgensen and artist, Erica Huntzinger, will be presenting on “Art Therapy Techniques in the Classroom”. They will be sharing the art therapy techniques that Huntzinger brought to the elementary schools during her artist residency at Sheridan, Washington, Lincoln Erdman, Pigeon River, Etude Elementary and Jefferson last school year.

Students working with artist Erica Huntzinger at Sheridan Elementary

Frank Juarez will be presenting on “Social Networking via Skype”. This presentation introduces an innovative way to connect art students with professional contemporary artists from across the globe. Skype is a great platform to engage students in critiques, Q & A, virtual tours of artists’ studios, building art community, and so on.

Sheboygan North High art students Skyping with LA-based, collage artist, Jay Riggio

Brian Sommersberger will be co-presenting with local artist, Craig Grabhorn, on “Malibu of the Midwest” Surfboard Making”. This presentation will provide K-12 art teaches with a new perspective into the surf culture of Sheboygan and how it became known as the Midwest Surfing Capital! The presentation will feature the process of board making along with student and community experience. Cultural connections to the great lakes and the shores of Sheboygan will also be highlighted.

Artist Craig Grabhorn working with South High art students on making surfboards

Mary Starnitcky will be presenting on “How to connect with your little artists”. This session will take art educators to new ideas and a few hands-on art projects to make art classes maybe run a little smoother.

About WAEA

The mission of the Wisconsin Art Education Association is to promote excellence in visual art and design education for all students by providing professional growth opportunities for visual art and design teachers, showcasing student talents and abilities supporting art and design as academic core disciplines, communicating with other art and design organizations, and offering lifelong learning opportunities acting on vital art and design education issues.

For further information, please email Frank Juarez at fjuarez@sasd.net.

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