Riding the Creative Wave: Visual Journaling Techniques to Spark Artmaking All Year Long
Includes a Live Web Event on 07/15/2026 at 7:00 PM (EDT)
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Register
- Non-member - $49
- Member - Free!
Riding the Creative Wave: Visual Journaling Techniques to Spark Artmaking All Year Long
Wednesday, July 15, 2026
FREE for NAEA members; $49 for nonmembers
Visual journaling is a powerful way to fuel creativity, deepen reflection, and spark meaningful artmaking—for both teachers and students. In this energizing webinar, artists and educators David Modler, Eric Scott, and Sam Peck will guide participants through accessible journaling processes that support personal art practice while enriching K–12 classroom instruction.
Using surfing metaphors as a playful entry point, the presenters will explore intuition, a/r/tography, and culturally responsive art education through hands-on prompts and materials. Throughout the session, they will demonstrate a range of visual journaling techniques and materials, modeling accessible processes you can immediately bring into your own teaching and artmaking. You’ll experience how visual journaling can capture lived experience, connect identity to creative inquiry, and create space for exploration—whether during the school year or in summer art experiences.
Designed for K–12 art educators at all experience levels, this webinar offers ready-to-use strategies, adaptable prompts, and practical ways to integrate visual journals into your studio classroom. Participants will leave with techniques they can apply immediately to inspire experimentation, reflection, and sustained artistic momentum.
What You’ll Learn:
- Practical journaling strategies and prompts that support both teacher and student creativity.
- Hands-on techniques that connect intuition, identity, and visual inquiry.
- Adaptable approaches for summer artmaking or year-round classroom use.
- Real examples that help you inspire reflection, experimentation, and playful exploration.
David Modler
Professor of Art, Coordinator of Art Education, Department Chair
David Modler is a maker, scholar, and professor originally from Baltimore, Maryland. He earned his BS and MEd degrees in Art Education from Towson State University and his MFA in Studio Art from James Madison University. He works obsessively in visual journals, and his work is conceptually rooted in art and social practice structures, cultivating community engagement, and exploring collaborative systems. He is currently serving as a fully tenured professor of art, coordinator of art education, and the chair of the Department of Contemporary Art, Communication, and Theater at Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.
Eric Scott
Artist–Educator, Round Hill Arts Center and Loudoun School for Advanced Studies
Eric Scott is an artist and educator born and raised in Washington, Pennsylvania.He is dedicated to sharing his art and helping people tap into their artistic potential and cultivate their creativity. With 30 years of teaching experience, he frequently travels and provides workshops and presentations on the power of art and the visual journal.
In 2005 he teamed up with friend and artistic accomplice David Modler to coauthor two bestselling books, The Journal Junkies Workshop and Journal Fodder 365, both published by North Light Books. Eric lives in Purcellville, Virginia, with his wife and their menagerie of animals.
Sam Peck
PhD Candidate; Artist–Researcher–Teacher, New Bedford Public Schools, New Bedford, MA
Sam Peck is an artist, researcher, and teacher based in Warwick, Rhode Island, with a daughter on the way. While his foundation is in making art objects, stepping back for a broader view has sharpened his curiosity about how art shapes relationships. His recent projects focus on creating experiences that foster deeper human connection. Sam is a PhD student in Art Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Minnesota. Working through post-intentional phenomenology infused with a playful a/r/tographic approach, he explores collaborative visual journaling and object-oriented ways of understanding the world.
Upon completion of this NAEA webinar, you may earn 1 hour of professional development credit as designated by NAEA. Once the webinar is completed, you may view/print a Certification of Participation under the "Contents" tab. You may also print a transcript of all webinars attended under the "Dashboard" link in the right sidebar section of the page.
Clock hours provided upon completion of any NAEA professional learning program are granted for participation in an organized professional learning experience under responsible sponsorship, capable direction and qualified instruction, and can be used toward continuing education credit in most states. It is the responsibility of the participant to verify acceptance by professional governing authorities in their area.
