Lori Santos
art and art history professor, 308.865.8081
The second annual Developing Culturally Responsive Teachers Through Collaborative Connections mini-conference will be held at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, Friday – Saturday, April 15 -16.
Artists Mark Tahbo, Margaret Berry and Inna Kulagina will present workshops for UNK art students and area art educators at workshops. Tahbo will discuss pottery at his workshops, Berry will present encaustic painting, and Kulagina will demonstrate painting silk scarves.
Before the conference, Tahbo will present Hopi clay workshop sessions Tuesday – Saturday, April 12 -16, in the UNK Fine Arts Building. Participants will create hand-built pottery or sculptural forms, work with traditional materials, learn traditional techniques, experience cultural stories and fire clay creations in a traditional outdoor firing.
An Artist Talk, held from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m., Friday in the Fine Arts Building Room 312, will feature presentations by all three artists. This event is free and open to the public.
On Saturday, a Traditional Clay Firing will be done by Tahbo. The firing will take place from 7 a.m. – 1 p.m. in Fine Arts Building Room 307.
“The process of making pottery is a time-honored tradition among the Hopi-Tewa potters of First Mesa Arizona,” said Lori Santos, UNK assistant professor of art education.
Tahbo’s art is influenced by his Hopi-Tewa ancestry. He is a resident of the First Mesa in Hopi, northeastern Arizona. The pottery he creates is classified as Sikyatki Revival Ware. The great-grandson of noted potter Grace Chapella, Tahbo is among the leaders of Hopi-Tewa potters.
Painting workshops, presented by Berry and Kulagina, will be held Saturday, from 8 -10 a.m. and 10:10 a.m. – 12:10 p.m. The workshops will be presented twice to allow participants to attend both. Berry’s encaustic painting workshop will be held in Fine Arts Building Room 302, and the silk scarf painting workshop presented by Kulagina will be held in the Fine Arts Building Room 304.
“Encaustic painting is an ancient process of using hot bees wax, pigments and resin,” said Santos.
Berry currently serves as an artist-in-residence for the Nebraska Art Council and teaches Hot Wax/Cool Art workshops throughout the United States. She is also a charter member of International Encaustic Artists and has served on its board of directors. Her work has been included in exhibitions across the U.S., and she recently received the Juror’s Prize in the Working in Wax national competition and first place in the American Art Awards. She is a featured artist on Brushstrokes TV.
Kulagina is from former Soviet Central Asia, and has since lived in Honduras, Massachusetts, Virginia, Nebraska and Germany.
“These experiences have allowed her to look at art from the point of view of difference cultures, economies and political systems,” Santos said.
An unveiling of the pots will be held after the workshops, beginning at 1 p.m.
The mini-conference will conclude with a talk circle with all the artists and participants at 2 p.m.
This event is sponsored by the UNK Department of Art and Art History, Faculty Senate Artists and Lecturers Committee, Ethnic Studies Committee, UNK Office of Multicultural Affairs, Student Affairs and Teacher Education.
Attendees must register for the workshops as studio space is limited. For more information, or to register, contact Lori Santos at 308.865.8081 or santoslj@unk.edu or Donna Alden at 308.865.8080 or aldend1@unk.edu.
