Eli Gratz is on of 2017’s graduates of The New School. He will be attending Montserrat School of Art this fall. Eli’s inspiration began at an early age, when he wrote his first comic series about “Bugy.” Through The New School, Eli has turned his passion into an online web comic called “Mars,” as his required senior project.
Each senior at The New School completes a senior project that includes an original piece of work, 200 hours dedicated to creating the project, a “give-back” opportunity whereby the student does volunteer work in the community, and finishes with a presentation to the senior round table whose members work with the student as guides throughout the process.
Eli tells us about his project, and his plans for college at Monserrat:
“For my senior project I began making a webcomic. The story is based in the future when people have populated Mars and the misadventures of the main characters. During my senior project I learned a lot about myself and about art in general. From how it’s been used for activism to the creative processes behind some great modern cartoonists. I also learnt about how to organize my time and to take breaks if I’ve spent too much time drawing.”
“After taking the summer course at Montserrat I knew it would be a place where I could continue working and bettering myself as an artist. I enjoy the small campus and student body as well as the location in Beverley, Mass. It’s in the middle of town and very easy to walk from place to place. The school also has a very diverse and accepting atmosphere about it.”
Eli successfully combines his passion for art, specifically web comics, and his self-directed learning skills that he honed in on at his time at The New School to move on forward!
Good luck, Eli!
