Robert Sirko obtained his undergraduate BA degree in Fine Arts from Indiana University in 1982 and his MFA in Visual Communications from the California Institute of the Arts in 1988. After working for design firms in Los Angeles and Chicago he joined the faculty of Valparaiso University in 1989. From 2000 to 2013 he chaired Valpo’s Department of Art and spent nearly 30 years teaching there within a number of art disciplines including graphic design, electronic art, web design and animation. Unfortunately due to cancer his teaching career came to an abrupt end in 2018. Sirko spent over 25 years as a practicing designer serving a variety of local and regional clients. At the age of 50 he turned his creative passions once again towards drawing and painting, where his early artistic interests began.