PLEASE NOTE: That the blog is now located at www.ethanbodnar.com and the feed has been updated but I am unsure of how that process will occur, you might get this post twice, but it should transfer you over. This site will now be serving as an archive so please update any bookmarks. Thank you.
On August 30th I moved into my new living space at the University of Hartford where I am attending The Hartford Art School. I am very happy here and all the people are amazing. The photo above is of my roommate Jeff and I at one of the art shows.
The Hartford Art School is a remarkable place and I am very happy to be pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design here. It feels magical to be making art all the time, we go to the studio late at night to work and it is a great feeling to be producing creative work in this new atmosphere. The professors are very friendly and caring on top of just being very knowledgeable and creative individuals. The way the school works is that the first year we all take the same courses as every other art student, this is called Foundation Year. This semester I have a great lineup of classes.
Drawing is providing an introduction to representational drawing, we have done a large self portrait, large charcoals drawings, interior and exterior spaces, photo reproduction and will be moving on to the figure shortly. 3D is a sculpture class in which we create three dimensional work and we are now focusing on linear pieces of work. And 2D Color is a color theory class based around painting, we have been doing color scales, abstract paintings, and exploring the way different colors work with other colors. As for non-artist classes I am taking a course on Western Heritage and a Rhetoric and Writing course.
The first week there was an Alumni Art Show that some friends of mine and I went to. This was before classes even started and it was great to see all the work in the gallery and talk with some of the teachers. The photos above are of us at the show and my two favorite pieces.
Then there was The Hartford Art School Faculty Show which was a great experience to see the artwork that our teachers have made recently. We met up with some of our teachers and the opening was packed. The photos above are from that show.
Several weeks ago, my mom and I attended the AIGA Design Gala event in New York City. It was a wonderful experience and that evening I was honored for receiving an AIGA Worldstudio Scholarship. I went on stage an took a bow and spent the rest of the night with fellow recipients and meeting designers and contributing artists to my book. I met Debbie Millman, Armin Vit, Troy Monroe and many others. I ran into Scott Belsky from Behance where I am interning. Also, Khoi Vinh came and introduced himself, he is the design director for the New York Times website. Stanley Hainsworth was generous enough to buy the table for the scholarship receipents and has been the creative director at Nike, Starbucks, and LEGO. Also, I was introduced to Richard Grefe, the executive director of the AIGA and Ivan Chermayeff, past AIGA Medalist. The photos above are from that night in the city.
We also attending Adam Machose’s solo show in Hartford. He is our drawing teacher and he presented a series of small acrylic portraits of friends and imaginary characters.
The completed manuscript for my first book, Creative Grab Bag, was sent off to my wonderful editor over at HOW Books at the end of August. I have received initial feedback on everything and they are very pleased with the outcome of the book and the direction we are moving forward with it. The book is scheduled to be published sometime later this year in the Spring of 2009. Thank you to everyone who has made the book what it is and to all of the contributing artists. It is a wonderful thing to create a book and I look forward to sharing it with you.
There have also been some changes around here on my weblog and personal website. The header has been designed as a cleaner version of the past one. As seen in the navigation at the top the structure of the site as also changed. The Blog is now located on the Front page and the retired web address for the weblog is now serving as an Archive. There is a Portfolio of graphic design work which will soon feature new work from The Hartford Art School, there is Books section which contains information on Creative Grab Bag and A New World Platform, along with the About section where you can learn more about myself.
In the Elsewhere section of the sidebar there have been the additions of Last.FM which tracks all of the music that I listen too and FriendFeed which combines all my online activity into one online space. For the time being Videos for Creatives, a weblog featuring video from the online creative world is being retired.
The other night we made some pasta in the kitchen on the bottom floor of our building. My roommate Jeff has started a radio show on campus and some friends and I sat in as guests for a little while. I got a typewriter for our place as well. And tried tea, some funky lights, and a live plant. A bunch of nights we worked in the studio for a while, late into the night. And during the week I get the New York Times for free, I read it every day. The photos below are from all of those experiences. You can see more pictures from all of the recent events including the art shows, the AIGA Design Gala, and my time at The Hartford Art School here.
The blog moving forward will have four main types of posts, Photography posts containing just photos from my life, Art School Work which will feature photos from the work I have produced along with artists statements, Sharing Links which will be a collection of links to other interesting things online, and then Normal Posts that will be my own thoughts, stories, and projects.
I will soon be introducing a series of poster for sale, along with some new photography, recent projects from my art classes, and a brand new project that will document my art school career and life going forth in a new manner. Thanks to you all, your the best, see you soon.
