Photos by Katherine Lacaze
ABOVE: A copy of a work by Leonardo da Vinci that Deborah Stenberg painted during an
undergraduate course at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. RIGHT: Stenberg
works on a painting at her studio in Astoria.
Continued from Page 8
Ahead of the curve
instruction books about decorative paint-
ings and taught at conventions throughout
the U.S.
However, she continually found herself
longing to teach college students.
“I really wanted to get those students
who are seeking a career. They’re making
life choices and deciding, ‘How am I going
to make it in the art world?’” she said.
In the early 2000s, after earning a mas-
ter’s in fine arts degree, Stenberg started
teaching as an adjunct professor at the
University of Alaska’s campus in Kodiak,
where her husband Bill was stationed
with the U.S. Coast Guard. She eventually
became a full-time professor.
When it came time to move, Sten-
berg asked if she could continue teaching
courses remotely. She felt confident that
she could develop an online course for stu-
dio art. Although the administration was
initially skeptical, they took a chance.
“It opened the door for being able to
offer all these people in little remote Alas-
kan villages the ability to take a studio art
class, whereas they never had that,” she
said.
Fast forward to 2020, when the coro-
navirus pandemic turned remote learn-
ing into the new normal, Stenberg felt
comfortably ahead of the curve. She was
teaching at Brookhaven College in Dallas,
Texas, when the pandemic threw the uni-
versity into a tailspin.
Stenberg underwent a quick, intense
educational training to teach her fellow
professors how to lead their studio art
classes online and help them create their
own course curriculum. Although remote
courses are more time-consuming and
less effectual than in-person classes, Sten-
berg believes there is value in continu-
ing to provide opportunities of all kinds to
students.
In Astoria, where Stenberg and her
husband have settled into their “for-
ever home,” she continues to teach seven
courses between two universities in Alaska
and Texas. She is also leading workshops
and giving private lessons. Course sub-
jects range from drawing to watercolor
and oil painting to color theory and art
appreciation.
She also likes instructing students in
the business side of art. There are numer-
ous steps a person must follow to become
professional, self-supported artist: entering
shows, being featured in publications, sell-
ing artwork, winning awards and getting
into galleries.
“You can’t just go out there and expect
to be discovered — it’s not going to hap-
pen,” she said. “It’s hard to stand out
anymore.”
Stenberg helps her students explore via-
ble options to make a living while build-
ing their portfolio and reputation. She
also encourages them to explore and take
classes from multiple people.
“I always emphasize, ‘You’re learning
the Debbie Stenberg technique of art,’”
she said. “My teaching philosophy is the
more people you take lessons from, the
better exposure you’re going to be getting
to the art world.”
THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 2021 // 9