* mail order education *

I loved used book stores. Even the lingering smell signals my serotonin level and it gushes out my pores. I can never quickly pop in and out. It’s one of my favorite places to linger when I am procrastinating. All this because I once found a great set of books a few years ago. Since that day, I have not found anything to gush over. I still have hope, one day I will find the rest of the Modern Illustrating, my great find.





Federal Schools Inc., out of Minneapolis Minn, had a series of mail order classes you could take during the early part of the 20th century. The student would read this magazine - type booklet and then complete a series of projects on bristol board, then submit for a crit. In return, an instructor would review the work and send the student a typed response. I guess it’s similar to our modern day online courses.





What about peer involvement? In any type of correspondence class that involvement is lost. I signed up for a online class SCAD had to offer and realized it was not for me. It had a forum type setup via what seem to be 100’s of emails flying back in forth. I quickly realized the importance of sitting in a class room with a teacher and other students.





While trying to find a bit of information on my great find, I found that one of our greatest pulp artist, Norman Saunders, was a student of the Federal Schools. The skilled Saunders perfected the art of half naked chicks and graphic skulls. His comic book cover art was a little more family appropriate, showing the popular themed cowboys and indians. Saunders also work on a series of trading cards that had images of aliens attacking various cities. All of Saunders art was very detailed and imaginative to say the least. I can’t even think of a single artist to compare his style to.




I have so much more to share, but once again my eyes hurt!!