After spending entirely too long at Indiana University getting her degree in both painting and art education, Cassie Stephens did her student teaching in the magical land of Ireland. While she was away, her parents, fully aware of her slacker ways, sent out 52 art teacherin’ job applications to such far away places as Alaska. One such place that called her for an interview was Nashville, Tennessee. On a whim, she loaded up her jean-jumpers, resume and chain-smoking grandma to made the trip to Nashville where she landed her first teaching gig. Fast forward nearly 15 years and Cassie had settled down with her husband and their three cats. Sadly, she’d fallen into an art teacherin’ slump rehashing stale art lessons, still wearing those sad jean jumpers and doing little creating of her own. It was then that she decided to create a blog that might help snap her out of her funk. She’ll be sharing more about that here in a moment. Zip forward once more to the present. These days, you can find Cassie teaching in Franklin, Tennessee, just south of Nashville. She’s written two books: Stitch and String Lab for Kids and Clay Lab for Kids, both available wherever you purchase your favorite books. You can also take a listen to her podcast, Cassie Stephens, where she shares all things life and art teacherin’, available on your favorite podcast platform. This summer will mark her second annual Art Teacherin' Extravaganza, a professional development experience for art teachers, created by art teachers!