For fifteen school years, THURSDAYS FOR TEACHERS included opportunities for teachers from all disciplines, who are actively teaching in a school system, to engage in special training to integrate art into their curriculum. Lesson plans and teaching posters from previous sessions are available online through the Nelson Teacher Resource Center.

Native Americans: 1800s to Today

Study new artworks and rediscover old favorites on view in Joslyn’s Durham Gallery (gallery 7), which features Art of the American West, with Annika Johnson, Ph.D., Associate Curator of Native American Art. Steve Tamayo, a Sicangu Lakota Culture Bearer who contributed to the Durham Gallery’s fresh interpretation, shares his knowledge, discussing the aesthetic choices and cultural significance of the objects. Finally, discover raw hide container (parfleche) design motifs as you create a paper version with Tamayo. Click here to request this recording.

Leadership: Making a Difference

Explore artists Mickalene Thomas and Rashid Johnson with Karin Campbell, Phil Willson Curator of Contemporary Art. Learn about how Thomas leads the charge to carve out a defined, lasting space for Black bodies and narratives in art. Rashid's work addresses the power of the amplified voice in fighting for change. Participate in a looking exercise with docent Judy Boelts. Together you will look closely at works with a leadership theme and activate your critical thinking muscles. Inspired by Mickalene Thomas portraiture, create a layered "power portrait" with Joslyn teaching artist Therese Straseski. Discover how to create a variety of skin tones with watercolors and learn how to draw the facial features. These portraits will embody a person’s power. Click here to request this recording.

Nostalgic Reflection

Explore the intersection of nostalgia, art, and emotions, like stress, with Laura Huntimer, Director of School Programs and Interactive Media. Consider how Grant Wood responded to a difficult time in history through his paint brush. Study this popular work, Stone City, Iowa, 1930, which has a special place in Joslyn's permanent collection. Inspired by Wood's rolling landscape, create a watercolor landscape with Joslyn teaching artist Therese Straseski. Relax as you create your own scene or watch as one unfolds on the screen. Focus on space as you compose your nostalgic landscape. Click here to request this recording.

Read a Portrait; Tell a Story

The Dutch Golden Age–a time of economic success and wealthy citizens celebrated this with their likeness, hanging of the wall. Learn about master portraitist Rembrandt van Rijn and his sitter Dirck van Os with Laura Huntimer, Director of School Programs and Interactive Media. What does this portrait tell us about the sitter? After learning about the elements of a portrait, we will look at another artwork by a popular portraitist. Which one? Join us to find out and develop the sitter's story. Playing with the dark dramatic colors of Rembrandt’s palette, learn how to create subtle textures using printmaking and stamping with Joslyn teaching artist Therese Straseski. Compose a textured portrait or relax as you watch one come together. Click here to request this recording.

Faces from the Interior

Explore Faces from the Interior: The North American Portraits of Karl Bodmer with Annika K. Johnson, Ph.D., Associate Curator of Native American Art. In addition to learning more about this exhibition, discover how Indigenous voices are incorporated into the interpretation. Steve Tamayo, a Sicangu Lakota Culture Bearer, and his grandson Izzy Tamayo, replicated the headdress from Bodmer’s painting Wahktägeli,Yankton Sioux Chief, 1833, which is part of the Faces from the Interior exhibition. Discover more about Steve’s work as you learn about the seven rawhide containers of the Plains from him. The designs are all geometrical and symmetrical, and the colors used are representational to what exists on earth. Click here to request this recording.