As an international educator, with over thirty years’ experience of teaching in disparate countries and continents throughout the world, I seek to draw my inspiration from my current location, ensuring that I use my experiences and environment to inform my themes and invigorate my subject matter, as well as to source locally available art materials.
Through my art I seek to raise people’s awareness of the losses involved in an expatriate’s nomadic lifestyle and to help viewers to return to find meaning in their loss, facilitating the restoration of hope.
Read about Stage 3 Creative Arts Student Debbie's learning journey below.
Debbie is hosting an event during our Student Voice Festival on her learning journey and creative practice. Find out more information and register your interest here.
What is your previous educational experiences and what drew you to OCA?
I qualified as an Elementary School Teacher from the Cape Town College of Education (now the Cape Peninsula University of Technology) with specialization in art education. Whilst teaching art full-time in Kazakhstan, I embarked upon studying towards a BA (Hons) Creative Arts Degree with OCA in order to upgrade my qualifications, learn graphic design and provide an opportunity for me to advance my art training. As part of my courses towards the BA (Hons) Creative Arts Degree, my studies focused on Digital Art, Graphic Design and Drawing - with attention given to non-traditional forms of drawing. It was during my studies that my love for the artforms of bricolage and installation developed.
Can you describe your OCA journey?
My biggest challenge was being able to keep up the rigor and pace of my studies while moving between continents. Since commencing my studies, I have moved continents three times. Each time I moved, I was thrown into physical and emotional turmoil. I had to prune back my art supplies, sell my art desk, and get rid of some of my artworks; only to have to try to re-establish a ‘studio’ space and art materials in my new country of residence and work. Being an expatriate, you also spend a lot of your vacations visiting family back 'home'. Trying to complete assignments whilst visiting family was also a challenge.
What was the Tutor and/or Peer Support like on your course?
The only reason that I have been able to continue my studies has been due to OCA's support and flexibility. Their willingness to allow me to get extensions on assignment submissions when faced with a move, helped me to keep progressing despite the disruptions. Additionally, I have been privileged to have received tremendous support from my tutors: Diana Ali, Emma Powell, Doug Burton, and now Adam Thompson.
What does studying with OCA mean to you?
Studying with OCA has meant that I could work towards my life-long goal of gaining a graduate degree in art at a pace that fitted my full-time teaching schedule. It has also meant that I could work through some of my emotional baggage related to harsh critiques I received, related to my art, in my early twenties. I have been able to develop in ways that I would never have imagined I was capable of. In fact, my art is totally diverse from anything I would have ever conceived myself creating when I started out approximately 12 years ago.
What's next?
I plan to continue to teach internationally, while developing my own art, seeing whether I can become an artistic voice for expatriates. I plan to get qualified as an AP Art teacher, enabling me to AP Art courses. Once I have had a much-needed break from studying with OCA, I might pursue a master's degree.
Any advice?
Never give up! I remember many times when I was so exhausted from having to keep up a full-time teaching job, whilst studying, that I felt I would never complete my course. This was particularly the case during December 2020, after a year of having to teach online. I will never forget the support of my husband and friends who told me to keep just doing the next thing and not to give up.
At times, I have found that when I reach a total impasse, the best thing to do is to take a hike in nature. After a bit of fresh air, and the soothing effects of being in nature, I usually am able to see my art from a new perspective and find solutions to my blockage.
Follow Debbie
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/debbie.l.johnston/
1. Interactive Installation From Losses to Hope, 2024
Medium: Six potted palm saplings, 16 moringa saplings and paper machetes with oil pastel words.
Size: varies according to installation
2. Nurturing Children. Au-delà des mots (Beyond Words) Series #6, 2023. Medium: West African fabric; miscellaneous repurposed discarded items, child's sandal, tiles, electronic circuit boards; fabric dyes; machete print; palm plant fruit and webbing on a cardboard support.
Size: 30.5 X 45.5 cm
3. Time. Machete Print Series, 2023.
Medium: machete and shoe monoprints, naturally sourced palm oils and dyes, clothing dyes, and mixed media drawing materials on paper.
Size: 30.5 X 45.5 cm
4. Move, 2023.
Medium: Machete, shoe and spatula prints, bubble prints, homemade printing ink, palm fruit ‘crayon’ and acrylic on paper
Size: 60 x 42 cm.
An amazing body of work. Looking at your website which to do it justice I will have to return to many times because there is so much to take in. Your installation works summon up thoughts of Joseph Beuys in me, but whereas Beuys is pure abstraction yours have a reality, or is that surreal quality? They are part of this world but they possess that playful joy. Fantastic and very refreshing.