I recently had an amazing opportunity to speak at the ICON9 Illustration Educational Symposium earlier this month. Educators from around the world spoke on the theme of RADICAL TEACHING; NEW APPROACHES IN PEDAGOGY. My contribution was on the subject of young creatives staying relevant in today's creative environment as it relates to my illustration elective class, MICRO.

Staying relevant in todays evolving illustration field is of the upmost importance now more than ever. There is an increasing need for illustrator/designer hybrids possessing both skill-sets in today’s market. MICRO is one way to address this need and prepare students for the competitive creative world ahead.

I was also honored to participate in the educational roundtable that took place after the educational symposium wrapped up. The subject was "How are educators today preparing students, in the classroom and online, for a changing industry and global market?" The roundtable discussion was hosted by Sam Weber, with Nannette Hoogslag, Lee Ford, Petrula Vontrikis, Lynda Weinman, Laurie Burrus, and David Terrill.

At the bottom of this post is a link to view the talk in its entirety.

Tossing out a few t-shirts after my talk.

Roundtable discussion, hosted by Sam Weber, with Nannette Hoogslag, Lee Ford, Petrula Vontrikis, Lynda Weinman, Laurie Burrus, and David Terrill.