I’ve gone back to school full time in order to learn new computer programs and get better acquainted with the publishing possibilities in today’s world of cyber-creativity. One of the first things I learned was that my old computer that has been limping along is never going to miraculously gain more RAM and there’s no room to put more…second thing was that my version 4 or 7 that’s ten years out of date on the programs at home isnt going to let me do my homework on Adobe CS3 programs even if I say “please”. They simply (and simple is the operative word here) don’t have the same tools and capabilities.
So….its time to bite the big bullet and take out loans to get a new computer. Then, learn how to use it and make it pay for itself!! This seems to be a goal of many of my fellow students as well, some of whom are returning to school after 25 years at IBM or other “good jobs” that are now no longer there. The third thing I learned was that some things remain the same about school. Homework is always with us. Sometimes I “get” things easily, sometimes its a slog through the book several times until I do. I love learning and creativity. And Aesop’s still out there, telling tales. Or rather, the tales are still there, since Aesop himself was thrown off a cliff by a disgruntled ruler who didnt care for parody. As is told in “Squids Will Be Squids–Fresh Morals Beastly Fables” by Jon Scieszka (Author) and Lane Smith (Illustrator), its important to change the names when making fun of kings…and dont stand near cliffs. These two wonderful collaborators also brought us “The Stinky Cheese Man” and other wonderfully bent children’s stories. When I first went to college, I wanted to illustrate children’s books in my spare time as a famous designer. Maybe I’ll get there yet! Here’s my homework from my Adobe Illustrator class, where we chose a fable from Aesop and rendered it.