Examples from drawing classes Pellino took over the course of various semesters at Parsons. Pellino found the process of learning to draw from life quite challenging. "At the time we were encouraged by our instructors to draw loosely," Pellino writes. "Although I was not fully conscious of it at the time, the theme I was exploring in many of these projects had to do with being educated within the context of modernism while still attempting to grasp traditional forms, techniques and ideas."