Deborah Kobayashi. If all of life’s a stage, then the backdrop of Deborah Kobayashi’s childhood was the artistic lives of her parents. Her own creative endeavors began with ceramics, drawing, then painting and sculpture. Her career field was social work, and she relished the way art could create community among art students of any age. She opened Articipate in 2013. It is a storefront art studio striving to promote art through teaching and exhibitions. She lives a mile away from Articipate, a doable distance for a daily bike ride or walk.