Debra Aken

Drawing, painting, and almost any kind of visual art have been an important part of my life for as long as I can remember. I drew constantly as a kid, filling up every blank sheet of paper in the house, so it was no surprise when I chose to study art in college.

I attended Ilinois State University in 1971 as a comprehensive Art Education major. I graduated in 1975 and began my career teaching art in several small rural communities in central Illinois in 1976. I remained there until my husband and I decided to make the move to beautiful Oregon in 1981. I pursued my master’s in Art Education at The University of Oregon. During the next few years, I taught community education art classes, as well as completed my master’s degree. I began a full-time position teaching art to 1st graders through high school in 1987. It was an awesome experience. Several years later, I moved to a 9 through 12th-grade position from which I retired in 2011. As the sole art teacher in the high school, I taught nearly all media. My curriculum included drawing, multi-media, painting, pottery, printmaking, and a variety of crafts. Now that I am retired, I work primarily in two-dimensional media. I paint in watercolor, acrylics, and pastels, and draw in just about any medium. I love printmaking techniques, including block printing and monoprints. Recently, I have been experimenting with mixed media montage, using my own printed papers, dried flowers, and various collected materials. My inspiration comes from the natural world, especially trees, and images from our travels around the world.

I loved teaching art and felt so lucky to be able to enjoy this career for 29 years, but now we find ourselves in this wonderful place, Yachats, where I have plenty of time to be as creative and productive as I choose to be. We had always dreamed of retiring in Yachats, a place that felt right for us.