The Artist / Teacher

Many years ago, after moving to Colorado, I realized that on a day to day basis, I spent more time on teaching in the studio than anything else. At the same time I happened to watch a video: “Jiro Dreams of Sushi” a documentary revealing a sushi master and his relentless dedication to perfecting his craft. Jiro said when he started out, he believed that to achieve success, he had to fall in love with his work and so he set about a daily routine that involved an almost superhuman focus on his objective. This concept was not particularly new to me, yet it arrived at just the right time to clarify my own destiny…

When I saw that it would be possible to have a blog on this website, I wondered how I could offer anything in writing that would be of any interest to the world at large. Beginning teaching back in 1980, there was not a single computer on the Ringling campus, and so I raised my voice on the first day and asked why that would be…apparently this struck a nerve and I was soon flying to Washington DC for a SIGGRAPH workshop. Hardware and software meant nothing to me, so I listened and learned at length and when asked if the college should get a computer or two, upon my return, I offered a simple reply: “Absolutely!”

This was the beginning of the story as to how Ringling College of Art & Design bought their first computers.