Goshen College alumni host workshops at the AEAI Art Education Convention

Goshen will host the 2026 edition of the annual Art Education Convention, run by the Art Education Association of Indiana. This year’s convention will be on Nov. 6-7, and will be hosting workshops in various places around town. Multiple workshops will be held by Goshen College alumni, with some taking place at the college. Registration is still open. 

The alumni include:

• Ida Short ’15, who will host a printmaking workshop at GC’s visual arts building;
• Eric Kaufmann ’96, hosting a ceramics workshop; 
• Breanna Daugherty ’11, with a printmaking and clay workshop;
• Julia Hitt ’25, who will host a mold-making workshop at GC’s visual arts building.

 

Two current GC professors will also host workshops. Tiffany Wyse-Fisher ’02, professor of art, will teach a pendant-making workshop, where she will guide participants in creating colorful enamel pendants on copper discs in GC’s arts building. Additionally, John Mishler ’72, professor of sculpture, will host two metal sculpture workshops on campus.

“Not everybody has tried metal enameling, and I think it would be an interesting thing for them to try,” Wyse-Fisher said. “It is something that I also really enjoy doing, but more importantly, I want them to sign up for our workshop so they come and see our campus and see all of the cool things we have to offer.”

Besides being a growth opportunity for people to learn and be creative, the art convention is a way to get Goshen recognized. The convention provides an opportunity for art lovers to visit Goshen and discover local talents.

“I think that this is a great opportunity to bring people from all over the state to see what unique things Goshen has to offer for artists and art lovers,” Wyse-Fisher said. “It is just a really creative and art-rich community.”

The gathering of multiple local and regional artists is not just an opportunity for art lovers, but also a chance for the artists to be inspired by their peers. Art grows when people feel inspired, and being surrounded by multiple graduates of art studies helps the creative process.

“The amount of ideas exchanged is really valuable to be a better art teacher,” Wyse-Fisher said. “It is also just really inspiring to see what other people are doing in their classrooms, in other parts of the state or other parts of the country.”

 

About the Artists

Eric Kaufmann earned a degree in art and education from Goshen College in 1996, and has spent 25 years teaching a range of media to students in grades 4 through 12. He is a founding and active member of the Goshen Clay Artists Guild and serves on the Northern Indiana Clay Alliance (NICA) board. Eric is always experimenting, specializes in crystalline glazes, and also enjoys wood firing and making functional ware. Kaufmann’s ceramics workshop will focus on wheel-throwing.

Ida Mae Short earned a degree in printmaking from GC. After establishing a printmaking co-op in Oregon, she returned to Goshen and founded the Printmakers Guild. She enjoys teaching people how to use antique letterpress equipment found in her studio. Short will host two sessions at the convention: Poster & Type and LEGO & Letterpress. 

Julia Hitt earned degrees in biology and criminal justice/restorative justice from GC, but found her true passion in the studio. Along with having her own studio and producing work through her business, Jaded Clay, she is now working as both a teaching assistant at GC and an apprentice to Jesse Woodworth of Riverwood Pottery. Hitt will host a slipcasting workshop at GC in the visual arts building.

Brenna Daugherty earned an undergraduate degree in art education from GC and a master’s degree in art education from Western Michigan University. Together with her husband, Trevor Daugherty, they run the Northern Indiana Clay Center, which is a community clay center operated under NICA, a non-profit focused on ceramics, art and education. They will host ceramic workshops both in the morning and afternoon on Friday.

Tiffany Wyse-Fisher earned an undergraduate degree in art education with a focus in darkroom photography from GC and a master’s degree in fine art photography from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Besides being a GC instructor, Wyse-Fisher has taught students from middle school through college and is currently a practicing photographer and ceramicist.

John Mishler is a nationally renowned art sculptor who earned his degree in art from GC and his master’s degree in sculpture from the University of Tennessee. Besides his artistic career where he incorporates kinetic energy and moving parts into his sculptures, Mishler teaches sculpture part-time at GC. For the convention, he will host two metal sculpture workshops in GC’s Chairman Building.