From Bulls fan to professor: Elburn native brings first tattoo design course to Rhode Island School of Design

Dennis Rodman received all sorts of accolades for his basketball skills as a member of the Chicago Bulls in the late 1990s, eventually earning a spot in the sport’s Hall of Fame in 2011.

But his eccentricity, with colorful hair and tattoos, also caught the attention of his fan base, possibly none more so than young loyal Bulls fan Adam Krueger of Elburn.

During his teen years, Krueger’s fascination with his NBA hero eventually steered him into his life’s work. Krueger loves all art forms, but above all, he likes tattoo design as a historically important and fascinating trade that connects all art.

After attending St. Peter Catholic School in Geneva from 1986 to 1996 and graduating from Aurora Central High School in 2000, Krueger began studying art at the age of 18 at the Rhode Island School of Design.

Years later, in 2018, he approached the university with his idea to introduce a tattoo design class, the first of its kind at the now 149-year-old university. The university said yes, and Krueger is now two years into teaching Introduction to Tattooing at the school.

“We launched the course in the fall of 2025, and the response from students was overwhelming,” the 44-year-old Krueger said. “It filled almost immediately, with a long waitlist, and that enthusiasm continued into this year’s offering.”

His class doesn’t appear to be one that students pick up as an elective just to nab a few credits. Students meet for 13 five-hour sessions throughout the semester and are expected to complete 10 hours of homework each week.

“Even with that amount of time, there’s only so much we can cover in a single semester, given the extraordinary depth of tattooing’s history, techniques and artistic possibilities,” Krueger noted.

In addition to the full-circle experience of returning to the Rhode Island school 20 years after graduating, Krueger points to something of which he is most proud.

“What makes this particularly meaningful is that tattooing is finally being studied with the same historical, conceptual and technical rigor as other established artistic disciplines,” he said. “This isn’t simply a course about designing tattoos. Students are learning the foundations of tattooing as an artistic practice, while respecting its traditions and developing their own creative voices.”

It may have taken Krueger two decades to return to Rhode Island, but the time spent in between was well worth it.

He studied art in Florence, Italy, and later earned an art degree from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Throughout those years, he said he was studying classical art, contemporary painting, conceptual art and other disciplines.

“I've never believed in rigid boundaries between art forms,” he said. “I find beauty and value in all of them.”

After graduate school, he became part of the New York contemporary art world, exhibiting with galleries including Deitch Projects, Marlborough, Zwirner and Barbara Gladstone.

“During that period, I also began teaching myself about tattooing,” Krueger noted. “I didn’t have a particular mentor who introduced me to the medium. It was really a personal obsession that developed through curiosity, research, experimentation and an enormous amount of practice.”

Over time, tattooing became an increasingly important part of Krueger’s artistic practice. He said he found it combined so many things he loved about art — drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, design and even performance.

But it created “an entirely different relationship between the artist and the person receiving the work,” he explained. “Unlike a painting that hangs on a wall, a tattoo becomes part of someone’s identity and life story. That human connection, combined with the technical challenges of the medium, is what continues to fascinate me.”

Seeing the potential in bridging the gap with traditional art and tattooing, Krueger began the process of creating a curriculum to present to the Rhode Island school’s administrators.

“I wanted to create a course that would bridge that divide while respecting tattooing’s traditions,” he said. “After extensive research into higher education programs, I developed a curriculum combining tattoo history, cultural studies, design, technical instruction and hands-on practice with professional tattoo machines on synthetic silicone skin.”

Though he and his family’s life is entrenched in Brooklyn, New York, Krueger enjoys visiting family and friends in Elburn. His mother taught preschool and kindergarten at St. Peter and his father had a dental practice in Geneva.

“There’s something really special about returning to the place where you grew up, especially now that I get to share it with my own kids,” he said. “My 6-year-old son recently told me how nice it is to get away from the chaos of Brooklyn. I think he appreciates the slower pace of life in Elburn just as much as I do.”

And it all started there when Krueger spent countless hours drawing and painting portraits of Dennis Rodman, with some featured in publications such as Sports Illustrated for Kids, Beckett and other sports-related media.

“Looking back, it’s interesting to realize that my fascination with tattoos and the relationship between art and personal identity began so early,” Krueger said.

“Dennis Rodman was my favorite player,” he added. “I was captivated by his personality, his constantly changing hair colors and especially his tattoos. To me, he was an incredible combination of athlete, performer and walking artwork.”

Now, it is Krueger who is captivating the minds of young students seeking an understanding of the history of tattoo design and how it translates to art in a world in which tattoos have transformed to fashion.

Bliss Woods expands

The few times we have walked through Bliss Woods in Sugar Grove have convinced us that it is an excellent property in the Kane County Forest Preserve’s network.

As such, it was good to hear Bliss Woods, the second oldest preserve in Kane County, has added 33 acres, bringing more wildflowers and huge oak trees for visitors to enjoy. The district says it spent $546,000 to acquire the land.

The property acquired was used as a gun club, so the district acknowledges some work is needed in small areas affected by lead contamination. Because of that, the district feels especially pleased with the acquisition because many trees on that land were in danger of being lost.

“These parcels hold some of the oldest forest still in existence in Kane County,” Benjamin Haberthur, executive director of the Forest Preserve District of Kane County, said in a press release. “The land has never been put to the plow, and the mature oak, maple and ash trees retain the forest structure found here hundreds of years ago.”

The core of Bliss Woods had a role in Sugar Grove becoming the community’s name, as it had a protected maple sugar camp used for generations known as “Sin Qua Sip.” Translated, it was known as “Sugar Grove,” the district stated.

Breakfast options dwindle

We seem to be losing downtown breakfast restaurants in the Tri-Cities, which historically have been some of the most popular spots in a community.

With Daddio’s Diner in Batavia closing on Wilson Street and the Brunch Café in St. Charles not extending its lease on First Street, it cuts down on options.

There are still some breakfast spots on the outskirts of town, but St. Charles would be served well by a new place reopening in the downtown area.

Seeing clearly now

After spending the past month recovering from cataract surgery on both eyes, it made sense I would learn something new about myself.

Turns out, I am terrible at putting eyedrops into my eyes. The drops end up on my face, eyelid or shirt. Over time, I sort of got the hang of it. But I am not good at it.

Everything else I heard about cataract surgery prior to mine held true. It’s painless and easy. But you can’t rub your eyes or get water in them in the shower for weeks. That takes extraordinary discipline.

But mostly, you put in a zillion eyedrops. Thinking about cataract surgery? Practice your eyedrop method first.

Dave Heun is a freelance columnist based in Geneva. He can be reached at dheun@sbcglobal.net.