
Happy New Year, Art Dice, Dream Cars and Podcasts!
Wishing all of you a happy new year as we roll into week two of January 2023. Matt and I have lots to share. On January 2nd, we kicked off the new year with a full-day professional learning workshop in Aledo ISD. It was a great day with outstanding art teachers, one of the big hits was something Matt has used in his classroom for years, Art Dice. If you are looking for a fun way to get your students to collaborate, share, play a game or break down the fear of a blank page


Celebrate with Us; 8 years of #K12ArtChat
We are celebrating our anniversary! 8 years ago, Matt and I started a Twitter art chat for our school district; shortly after the first couple of chats, we had people reaching out from all over asking if they could join the discussion and #K12ArtChat was born. For many, Twitter has ebbed and flowed; there was a time when people needed a break from the platform. We even heard twitter chats were dead…… Well, we adapted a bit, added the companion podcast #K12ArtChat the Podca


Matt Cockrell an Educator with heART
Late Sunday night Matt came into our room and said he’s gone……… I knew immediately he was speaking of our sweet friend Matt Cockrell. Over the past few weeks Matt Cockrell had been fighting Covid, he was struggling but he was young, healthy, a newlywed, we were certain he’d pull through. So we prayed, we sent good vibes and we were positive just like Cockrell would want us to be. But the news we didn’t expect came, we are in shock and feel helpless. So we thought it would

#Reflect31: 31Days of mindful reflection, sharing, and connecting tailored to educators
On July 29th, Team Grundler hosted a #K12ArtChat Twitter chat and kicked off #Reflect31: 31 Days of mindful reflection, sharing, and connecting tailored to educators as they begin a new school year. This topic has been near and dear to our hearts since 2015 when we first started our annual reflection challenge. As we have been riding the rollercoaster of life all summer (really the past 20+ months), right alongside you all and it’s made us even more passionate about the #R

Summer Refresh....... #Joy31
As you know we are encouraging you all to take care of yourself this summer, and if you follow Matt and me on Instagram that you know one of the ways we practice self-care is through the practice of visual journaling. We recently had the opportunity to do a few mixed media /visual journaling workshops in the Arlington Independent School District and enjoyed sharing so much that we wanted to keep the momentum going by creating a new Facebook group. Art Educators who Visual J

What and Why of K12ArtChat the PLN, the Chat and Podcast
If you follow us on social media, you know that we are constantly reflecting on everything that happens in our lives. From instructional practices to self-care, to parenting, we aim to cultivate this important dialogue through our podcast and professional learning network (PLN). What is a PLN you ask? Well, for us it’s the Creativity Department and K12ArtChat on Facebook, and #K12ArtChat on Twitter. But in general, it’s a network you can use to grow and learn. Sometimes learn


2021 is in Full Swing with K12ArtChat
Our ongoing commitment to the K12ArtChat community is to bring you relevant topics and amazing hosts to support art educators' learning and growth. 2020 brought us new challenges and a renewed focus on the importance of timely and pertinent professional learning. 2020 also brought us a wonderful new partnership with Davis that makes this focus ever more possible. So far in 2021, we’ve dropped three new podcast episodes: Episode 9: Reflection, Intention and Goal Setting with


Spending a little Time with Adobe Creative Edu
This Thursday is an Adobe Education and Team Grundler mash-up day! Matt and I will be on their live stream via social media @adobeforEdu to discuss arts across all content areas and social-emotional learning. We are so excited about this opportunity as it's such a great opportunity to advocate for the power of the arts! #artmatters #adobecreativeedu Then during our regularly scheduled #K12ArtChat time, we'll be live chatting on twitter about how we are all Creatively Connec

PLN POWER
Our mission .... the mission of The Creativity Department is multi-dimensional. The Creativity Department/GrundlerArt.com's mission is to connect creatively minded educators with ideas and colleagues. Building a Professional Learning Network and a community of arts advocates via the #K12ArtChat twitter chat, the Creativity Department podcast, and blog. However, a primary component of the department is to help educators connect with colleagues that share ideas, inspire and su

Augmented Reality, Tech, Art and STEAM
#K12ArtChat has spent at little time focusing on art and tech this month, on December 5th with Art-Tech Teacher Tim Needles and December 12th with the creator of the 3D modeling and Augmented Reality app Morphi, Sophia G. Whether you are extremely comfortable around tech or not sure where to begin, take a listen to the latest Creativity Dept podcast with Tim Needles. As he helps spark some ways to use Augmented Reality in the classroom! Ever wonder why furniture has a parti