When she is not teaching art, she is in her studio creating art. She has shown her paintings, drawings and multi-media sculptures in galleries and various venus in Ohio, New York and Delaware.
Debbie currently serves on the executive Committee of the Newark Arts Alliance, helping to organize community art shows, poetry readings, and dance and musical performances.
She loves spreading the magical language of ART with her students.
Debbie Hegedus has been NCCL's art teacher for over twelve years. She believes that through art, the children gain a sense of history and a better understanding of their world. The younger kids love analyzing art and are able to take what they see and relate it to their own lives. Debbie goes into more detail with the older kids and challenges them to think about more abstract concepts. "I feel so lucky to teach here. The kids are so curious and willing to explore. Because the school is so small, I can work with all the teachers and gear my lessons to what's happening in their classrooms." Debbie also loves the fact that she teaches part-time. She wishes everyone could work part-time and encourages it whenever possible. "Work-play. It's a wonderful balance and makes for an incredibly enjoyable life! And, I feel, makes me a better teacher!"
Her favorite projects over the years have been those in which the kids worked together. For example, in Monsters Under My Bed the class used soft sculpture, plaster, and papier-mâché to create a bedroom that included a cot with a person sleeping on it and various monsters to complete the effect. The students are now working on another collaboration based on Judy Chicago's Dinner Party project. Students are researching artists and will create a place setting in honor of their artist based on that artist's style.
When she's not at NCCL, Debbie spends time in her studio. She's especially interested in sculpture, as well as drawing and painting, and likes to incorporate all of these media in her work. She also likes hiking, music, reading, exercise, the outdoors, and often can be found working at the "Art House," which she encourages everyone to visit to see art and hear poetry and music.
Debbie is originally from Cleveland, Ohio, and lived in New York state before moving to Delaware 18 years ago. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Delaware. Both of her children are NCCL graduates. Her son, is a geologist who recently returned home to pursue a teaching certificate and her daughteris a college freshman. She believes that NCCL gave both of her children an invaluable love of learning, as well as a deep respect for community, the environment, and their world.
Debbie loves spreading the language of art and believes that drawing is a skill that anyone can learn. "You have to want to do it. There are ways to build that skill." A few years ago Debbie led an evening workshop for students and parents. Everyone had fun, and even the parents who thought they couldn't draw were surprised to see what they could do. She hopes that parents support their children's artistic capabilities by drawing with them at home and taking them to art museums. "There should never be such a thing as boredom. Encourage your children to draw, draw, draw!"
Debbie has maintained her enthusiasm throughout her years at NCCL. "I love teaching here, the kind of learning that goes on here. I hope to give the kids an appreciation of art and the visual world around them. Art gives them a chance to use a nonverbal language to express themselves. Some of us need to speak without words!"