Teacher News
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Stay up to date on the latest news for educators! From important information about back-to-school orders to awards, events, sponsor news, and more, find updates and resources to enrich your teaching experience while connecting you to fellow educators and organizations across the country.
Blick 115th Anniversary and 50th Anniversary of Blickrylic
Blick’s commitment to artists of all ages continues in 2026, 115 years since its founding. We're proud to continue to serve the art supply needs of our customers, from elementary students to professional artists. Stocking more than 110,000 products, we are committed to supporting the students, teachers, and artists of today and building a creative future for tomorrow.
Along with our anniversary, one of our tried-and-true products is also celebrating its own 50th birthday. Blickrylic Student Acrylic Paint has been a mainstay of classrooms across the country for five decades, with vibrant, pigment-rich colors delivering outstanding performance at an unbeatable price. Non-toxic and allergy-friendly, our wide range of brilliant, highly pigmented colors are a favorite among teachers. Stop by our booth at NAEA 2026 for a free sample!
Diamond Sponsor of the 2026 NAEA National Convention
Blick is again the proud Diamond Sponsor of the NAEA National Convention. Visual arts, design, and media arts educators from all over the US and around the world will connect in Chicago, IL on March 5-7th, 2026 for professional learning, connectivity, and creativity. As part of our sponsorship, the Blick team will greet attendees in the exhibit hall with an interactive booth where we will share our newest products and lesson plans and offer hands-on art making experiences. We hope to see you in Chicago!
Blick is proud to continue its support of NAEA and other art education organizations throughout the year by exhibiting at state and regional conferences, advertising in organization publications, presenting workshops, and offering support materials including door prizes, product samples, and more for educator-led professional development events.
For more information or to register for the conference, visit: https://www.arteducators.org/events-and-opportunities/national-convention/
Blick Offers 'Future Orders' Option for Educators and Schools
Skip the stress of ordering classroom supplies when the school year starts – place an order ahead of time and we’ll send it to you when you need it.
Schedule your order in advance and we'll ship it when you need it. Payment is processed only when your order ships — giving you better budget control and early access to high-demand inventory.
How it Works:
1. At checkout, select " I would like this order to be billed and shipped to me at a future date."
2. Choose your preferred ship date.
3. We'll take care of the rest and ship on your schedule
4. For purchase order, simply indicate the preferred shipping date on your order.
Blick Sends Two Grant Winners to NAEA 2026
Blick is once again proud to support educators at the NAEA 2026 conference. As part of our commitment to their professional growth, two winners will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to the event, with an estimated value of $2,300 each.
This year's winners are Kelly Shradley-Horst, of Harrisonburg High School in Harrisonburg, VA, and Krystal Fender, of Lanier County Elementary in Lakeland, GA.
Both teachers will join their fellow art educators in a spirit of education and networking at the upcoming conference in Chicago, IL.
Blick Sponsors 2026 Celebrating Art Contests
Celebrating Art hosts three art contests each year for students across the United States in grades K-12. There is no cost to enter and no fee to be published. Judges select the top 35% of the entries received to be published in a national anthology.
For over 10 years, Blick has provided support in the form of gift certificates to be redeemed for classroom supplies for sponsoring art educators and awards for the Top Ten winning students. We are pleased to support this program, which provides young artists a platform to share their work and gives teachers the opportunity to earn free art supplies. For contest information, visit CelebratingArt.com.
The Council for Art Education Recognizes 2025 Youth Art Month Award Winners
The Council for Art Education Board of Directors voted to recognize the following individuals for contributions to their 2025 Youth Art Month Programs:
Claire Flanagan Grand Award
New York: Tracy Berges, Patti Krakoff
Awards of Excellence
Kansas: Linda Nelson-Bova, Lynn Felts
Wisconsin: Jen Dahl, Kathryn Rulien-Bareis
Texas: Amber Forgey, Gretchen Bell-Young
Awards of Merit
Maine: Elise Pelletier, Matt Johnson
Georgia: Amanda Durant, Elizabeth Bush, Maysha Pate
West Virginia: Holly Kincaid
Virginia: Karla Kolb, Kaitlyn Canter
Missouri: Amy Rushing
Special Recognition by Category
Participation:
Utah - Elizabeth Sampson, Kristy Carter, for exploring the healing aspects of color with teachers and students
North Carolina, Jana Farris, for involving YAM with home school students
Promotion:
Rhode Island – Kerri Marshall, for expanding community engagement and showcasing student artwork in public spaces
Oklahoma – Holly Proctor, Kuwantu Camon, for introducing new creative elements at the event
South Dakota – Marica Shannon, for outstanding improvement in YAM promotions Minnesota – Tiffany Erie - for outstanding improvement in YAM promotions
Special Materials:
Alabama – Julie Harrison, for exceptional efforts in creating YAM buttons for winners
Pennsylvania – Andrea Keefe, Rebecca Hughes, for impressive large-scale printed banners of top YAM winners displayed at the state capitol during YAM week
New Jersey – Danielle Davis, Patricia Carper-Brown, for excellence in incorporating keynote speakers into the state YAM event
Illinois – Ailysh Cooper, for integrating the YAM poster contest into the state celebration
Iowa – Christy Humpal, for outstanding contributions in developing special YAM materials
State chairpersons submitted documentation of their Youth Art Month Programs to be eligible for recognition. Documentation was evaluated across a variety of key categories based on predetermined criteria.
Sponsored nationally by the Council for Art Education (CFAE), Youth Art Month (typically the month of March) is a celebration of the visual arts. Through student exhibitions, public artworks, art festivals, and school events, organizers and student artists raise awareness and support for the visual arts.
Find out more about Youth Art Month at: councilforarteducation.org/youth-art-month/
The Council for Art Education is a non-profit 501(c)(3) association created in 1984 through the Art & Creative Materials Institute Inc (ACMI). ACMI seeks to promote safety in art and creative products through its certification program and is a major sponsor of CFAE.
