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It was 1978 and I was sitting in the Balboa Park selling my paintings, when my brother suggested that I go back to school and study computer science. I had absolutely no interest in the subject, but decided to take the entrance exam just to make him happy -- and especially to get him off my back! As it turns out, I passed the entrance exam by one point, so it was clear to me that I had no particular aptitude for the subject. I had never planned to do anything in my life but paint, but I did have two little boys to support, so I decided to give it a try. The thought occurred to me that I might find a job designing computer games, which is another story.

Most people in my classes were either in the military or had some background in data processing, but I was starting from the beginning and it was hard to grasp the concepts. Because I didn't have a clue, I would go home and crawl around on the floor drawing pictures of operating systems and telecommunications systems so I could visualize what they were talking about.

Four months into the program, the San Diego Unified School District staged a massive data processing jobfest in a high school cafeteria. You had to take a two-hour test before they would even consider your application, and after that, they were going to interview only those with the top five scores. I decided to give it a try, although I wasn't sure if I had learned much of anything so far. I was halfway through the exam when people started to leave. "Oh great," I thought, "they're already done, and here I am wallowing around in all this hexadecimal garbage." I considered walking out, but decided to give it my best shot. Good thing, too, because I had the sixth highest score out of over two hundred applicants. Not enough to get an interview, but it did wonders for my confidence. (I didn't want to work there, anyway.)

So I finished the course and graduated with something less than honors, but it was good enough to get started! Carl Sagan gave the commencement address because his son was in our graduating class. All this happened at Coleman College in Old Town, San Diego, which I always thought of as something like a salad bar where you could take a little PL1, and little Assembler, a little Cobol, a little RPG2, but never spend enough time on any subject to feel like you knew anything. But I did learn enough to be dangerous, which has been my motto ever since. And it was good enough to land my first job.

I eventually discovered that there are many places for creative people in technical fields, and probably more so today than ever before.  I found my niche as a technical communicator, working first in product training, and later in documentation for commercial software companies. Because I approach things from a visual standpoint, it gives me a slightly different perspective than you find in most technical material. I'm great at mapping things out, and basically, if I can understand something, then anyone can!

Making a career shift from selling paintings in the park to working in the computer industry required all my brain cells, and it was thirty years before I painted again. But I did find new ways to channel that energy by designing training materials with funny illustrations, or in page layout and book design. Although painting has never been far from my mind, it really is just one of many outlets for creative expression. 

Which brings us to the reason why I am writing this -- to announce that I have painted a portrait of my daughter-in-law, Petra, and my grandson, Lars. It's a big deal to me and I'm giving it to them for Christmas. So now that I've dusted off my paints, I plan to paint all my four of my children, and their children as they come along. I signed this painting "Oma Claire," which is German for "Grandma Claire."

Petra & Lars