Is it possible to cultivate well-being through creative practice, both as artists and as art educators? In this session, participants will discuss how to heal and bring joy through art education, including through such practices as sketchbook thinking and project planning. Participants will also learn how to identify obstacles to creative well-being and how to inspire artistic renewal in themselves and others.
Paige Medlock teaches visual art and art education courses, and she supervises student teachers at Middle Tennessee State University. She serves on the board of the Tennessee Art Education Association (TAEA) as president-elect and was awarded the TAEA 2024 Art Educator of the Year award for Middle Tennessee. Medlock holds a degree in art education from Asbury University in Kentucky, a degree in visual culture from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, and a practice-based doctorate in visual culture from the University of Stirling, Scotland. Medlock is a practicing artist with large-scale commissioned stained-glass installations in three countries. She presents at regional, state, national, and international conferences on ways that visual art education can navigate trauma and provide pathways to well-being. Her research and artwork focus on visual art as a place where an inner shift can occur that transforms the way people act and interact.