Russian born artist Michael Chepourkoff wrote a script for a ballet, Flame Flower, while he was a graduate student at the University of California at Berkeley, California. He received his Master of Arts degree in art in May, 1933. He went on to become an active part of San Francisco's art scene in the 1930's and 1940's. Flame Flower was inspired by Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring." Chepourkoff created seventeen figrure designs embossed on aluminum to illustrate his ballet, which are included in the book. Chepourkoff became known as the "Tin Can Artist" because of his many animal sculptures made of metal. He exibited five huge metal sculptures at the 1939 Golden Gate International Exhibition in San Francisco. He was also a painter and printmaker.