He went from there to the Rhode Island School of Design, where he received a master of fine arts and remains as a teacher of illustration.
Van Allsburg's fascination with drawing and painting began in elementary school, where art classes were held twice a week. An anecdote related in his Caldecott acceptance speech demonstrates his early devotion to art: as a second grader, unwilling to miss art day, he attended school despite feeling sick at breakfast. As a result, he threw up in the boots of an unfortunate classmate, Billy Marcus, whom Van Allsburg still remembers by name. His interest in art was to waver in sixth grade, however, as Van Allsburg reached adolescence and peer pressure swayed him from pen and paper to more acceptable, traditionally masculine pursuits such as football. "Kids who draw or wear white socks and bring violins to school on Wednesdays might have cooties." he explains.
In college his interest returned to art, though this time its function in his life was, initially a means of avoiding serious study of academic subjects. He recalls, in a story that betrays his naiveté as a freshman of college art curriculum, enrolling in an eight o'clock A.M. course listed cryptically as "Fgdrw" on his schedule.
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