| Michael Wodynski was born in New Jersey in 1943. He has a Bachelor and Masters Degree in Art Education and was painting throughout the sixties while teaching art in the Teaneck Public Schools. He then spent his remaining thirty four year career working in New Jersey higher education in the areas of administration, theater management, instructional media, television production, multimedia design, as a video production and lighting instructor, and computer graphic artist. He produced and directed numerous television productions, many which were biographies of artists and hosted a magazine, discussion show called Quest for the Cable Television Network of New Jersey. This show won many “Best Program” awards. |
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Brother Hank and Mike, 1947 |
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| He returned to painting for a short time in the 1980’s while vacationing on Hummock Pond in Nantucket. |
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Hummock Pond sunset. Judy and Mike, 1983. |
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| After retiring in 1998 from The College of New Jersey he cared for his aging parents until they passed and then moved to Nantucket with his wife Judy who became the Director of External Relations at the Nantucket Historical Association for six years and is recently retired from her post as Director of Development and Community Relations at the Westmorland Davis Memorial Foundation in Leesburg, VA. Fully retired he refocused his energies back to fulfilling the ever present need to paint in the abstract expressionist style. |
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| Creating art in all its forms has been a principle theme in Wodynski’s life. He composed electronic music tracks and props for dance pieces, computer graphics for television productions and presentations and created stick furniture and crafts. His life long avocation as an FCC licensed Amateur Radio Operator helped provide the skills to integrate technology into much of his creative work. |
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Wodynski had a parallel career for seventeen years as a dancer, lighting, set, and audio designer in the New York City area. He performed with Alwin Nikolais and Murray Louis and was a member of Charles Weidman’s Dance Company. He was a founding member and principle of the Jan Wodynski Dance Company, which performed from 1969 to 1977. A description of the Company can be found in Don McDonagh’s book “The Complete Guide to Modern Dance.” |
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