Fairbanks Arts May Exhibitions: Deb Horner and Theresa Woldstad

Join Fairbanks Arts in the Bear Gallery for our June exhibitions: Peregrinations by Deb Horner and Natural Artistic Resources: An Exploration of Utilization, Permitting, and Management by Theresa Woldstad.

Deb Horner discovered both the joys and frustrations of watercolor painting close to the half-century mark of her life. During her youth, Deb was an accomplished cellist, which taught her the importance of practice in any artistic pursuit – as with music, painting requires regular practice and diligence. 

Peregrinations provides a personal diary of Deb’s travels over the past two years during unprecedented times in the world.  From snowshoe treks north of Fairbanks, to the Rainbow Ridge area, and even to Ireland, the natural world was her artistic inspiration and source of well-being. 

Theresa Woldstad is a Wildlife Biologist and Indigenous Artist. Her maternal family is Salish and Kootenai. While living in Ketchikan, Theresa and her mother enrolled in the Ketchikan Indian Community. Thus, she is an Indigenous Artist in Alaska; but not an Alaska Native Artist. While she has learned much of her traditional weaving skills from her mother, she also draws many cultural references from her Norwegian father. Both her paternal grandfather and father were Fish and Wildlife Conservation Officers who lived and worked across Alaska. 

Theresa was born on Kodiak, spent her early childhood on Prince of Wales Island, lived and worked out of a variety of locations including Sand Point and Aleknagik, and had the opportunity to study a wide variety of Alaskan art styles. As she traveled around the state of Alaska, she was able to study under numerous Alaska Native Elders and Artisans. As such her art style is diverse and encompasses numerous cultural groups. Her current work features Athabaskan beading, Northwest Coast formline and regalia, and Alutiiq style carved plank masks