INTRODUCTION

In 1979, I dreamt I was a young boy walking on the beach and embedded in the sand. I found a magic box that emitted dots of light that danced in the moonless night. The day before, I saw the Apple II computer. I knew it would be my art medium. I bought the Apple II and was determined to create computer art. Writing simple programs in BASIC, I got a glimpse of how computers understand information and what might be possible. In 1982, I coauthored the Designers Toolkit, a computer graphics program published by Apple Computer, Inc. Designing the software, I learned about Apple II hardware and software. I coauthored a book on Applevisions, A Unique Approach to Assembly Language Programming, Along with Bob Bishop, in 1986. Bob and I published SpaceLace: Creating Computer Kaleidoscopes the following year. I am glad my first computer was the Apple II because I had to learn about the software and hardware to use it.