Donalyn Heise taught art in K12 public and private schools, and several Universities. Most recently, she was Associate Professor of Art Education at the University of Memphis.She has conducted workshops for teachers in a variety of media, including china painting, working with polymer clay, drawing, painting, bookmaking and collaborative art making. Residencies focus on using art for meaningful interdisciplinary learning that helps us discover who we are and our relationship to our community. Themes include empathy, art for healing, individual and community assets, resiliency through art, and service learning. She has been a porcelain artist and educator for more than 30 years. She learned the ancient art of china painting as a teenager and has been painting ever since. Her artwork has been selected for juried art exhibitions at state and national competitions.
Dr. Donalyn Heise was a full time art teacher in public and private schools for grades K-8, and has also taught middle school math and language arts. She taught art education at the University of Nebraska and the University of Memphis, and has designed and implemented numerous community art programs that use the transformative power of art to foster resilience and meet the needs of diverse student populations. Her collaborative art programs explore art education in a variety of settings, including K12 schools, out of school community and urban art settings. Her work has been published in School Arts, Art Education, Journal of Social Theory in Arts Education, Art Education Advisory and Journal of Online Learning. She has received numerous grants and has conducted over 100 professional development workshops and presentations at the state, regional and national levels. Dr. Heise served as Art and Technology Coordinator for The Community Discovered, a USDE Technology Innovation Grant, and Coordinator for ConferNet, the nation’s first art-based academic conference for K12 students. She also served as the Paul R Williams Project Education Director, President of the Tennessee Art Education Association, and was Director for the Center for Innovation in Art Education. Awards include the 2010 Tennessee Art Educator of the Year, the 2010 NAEA SE Region Higher Ed Art Educator, 2009 NAEA VSA CEC Beverly Levett Gerber Special Needs Lifetime Achievement Award, 2007 Tennessee Higher Ed Art Educator and Nebraska Art Teachers’ Association Supervisor /Administrator Award. She earned a doctorate from Nova Southeastern University, an MA from University of Nebraska-Omaha, and BS in Art Education from Louisiana State University
