Before visual arts class on Monday and Thursday afternoons, I am usually drained from hours of trivial schoolwork. I place my heavy backpack in the hallway and sluggishly walk into the studio. I am, however, greeted by a burst of excitement; Deborah Kriger’s enthusiasm and larger-than-life personality seem to renew my spirits almost instantly. Her passion for the craft and investment in my work inspire me to pick up the paint brush and create. It is no surprise that her other students testify to a similar joy when they are in the presence of Kriger.
“My history is not a linear one,” Kriger says referring to her career. Before working at Fieldston, she was a women’s history adjunct professor, worked at the mayor’s office and even was a puppeteer. She also contributed to a program called “Fun Wagon” where she would teach art to under-resourced kids in Baltimore.
Earlier, Kriger helped kickstart two schools in Baltimore alongside her mother and brother. “One was called the Baltimore Experimental High School,” Kriger says. “It was incredibly successful and the real meaning of an experimental, progressive school.”
She brings a similar progressive style of teaching into her Fieldston classroom. “Education has always been really important to me, particularly progressive education,” she says. “And in the art department, it is very progressive. We are allowed to teach whatever we want.”
Moving from Philadelphia to New York, Kriger was introduced to the community with a temporary position; an art teacher was taking a 1 year sabbatical and needed an interim replacement. “I walked on the campus, and I thought it looked just like Hogwarts,” Kriger says. “I was blown away by the buildings.”
The teacher she was standing in for eventually announced his permanent leave, and a full teaching position presented itself. Kriger decided to apply; while the competition was fierce, Kriger was very well regarded among the Fieldston students, and she earned the spot.
Kriger’s teaching schedule today is very similar to her schedule 16 years ago. She has always taught the same grades — 7th, 8th and 9th — as well as the same electives — printmaking, life drawing and photoshop. Kriger also works with the visual arts major students alongside Scott Wolfson who occupies the room adjacent to her’s.
When asked what she will miss most about the community, Kriger undoubtedly says the students. “I don’t know what I’m gonna do,” she says chuckling. “I will miss seeing them every day and watching them grow.”
While Kriger speaks fondly of her students, she speaks even more fondly of what they create. “I am blown away by the quality of the work that they all do,” Kriger says. “I loved when Scott and I would hang the art show because it was just a room of strong, beautiful work.”
“There is also a big handful of faculty that I absolutely love and have gotten to know during all these 16 years,” Kriger says. Her appreciation for the Fieldston community has surely been reciprocated, and students and teachers alike have been touched and inspired by her time at the school.
“Ms. Kriger was the most amazing art teacher I could have ever asked for,” says Lorelei Essman-Freeman (VI). “She taught me everything I know and was always by my side. I have never enjoyed art so much in my life.”
“Throughout my time at Fieldston, Ms. Kriger has been both a wonderful teacher and friend,” says Jane Lipper (VI). “The doors of her classroom were always open if I was having a hard day or just needed a quiet place to work. We were all so lucky to work with her during our time at Fieldston!”
“Ms. Kriger has been there for me from the second I stepped into her classroom,” says Camila Dangot (VI). “Her advice and support allowed me to grow immensely as an artist, giving me the freedom to explore my creativity in unimaginable ways. She inspired me to delve deep into my curiosities and pursue my visions every single class and will surely continue to inspire me in the future.”
While she is leaving Fieldston, Kriger’s commitment to teaching and inspiring others through art will not go to waste. She is planning to teach private lessons at her daughter’s house in Oneonta, New York. “I will teach local people during all parts of the year and hopefully have some Fieldston students who I love dearly come up for workshops starting next summer,” says Kriger.
Although Kriger’s students regard her as an amazing educator, they also regard her as a friend, and it is this friendship that greets her students — and me — at the door when entering her classroom.
If interested in contacting her, please use the following email: debbiekriger@gmail.com.
