Celebrating whales at Portland Public Library
Once upon a hot Saturday a very happy crowd dove into the ocean at the Portland Public Library in honor of Here Come the Humpbacks! According to Native American wisdom, a whale is like a swimming library, carrying the history of Mother Earth and knowing the memories of ancient knowledge. It was both striking and fitting to see Istar fill the Rines Auditorium, thanks to Children’s Museum & Theater of Maine. (All photos © Greta Rybus) This 15 foot inflatable humpback was crafted for the museum by George York and is 15 years old, modeled after a real whale (named Istar) who just...
Read Morelegacies
With Memorial Day just passed, my thoughts are thrown back to another era. I visited my Uncle Roley last week, now living in an assisted living facility in New Hampshire. He asked me to help clear out his studio, over the garage, where I found objects and ephemera from a lifetime. Roland B. Hogan, Jr. followed in his father’s artistic footsteps, becoming a commercial artist in the early 50’s. He was the middle son, between my Aunt Eleanor and my father, William, the baby below. Roley has outlived them both by decades. I encountered sweet moments dismantling his keepsakes. To say...
Read Moremother’s tale
I received the sweetest Mother’s Day card from my daughter, this watercolor of a humpback floating among flower petals. She knows as well as anybody I have whales on the brain. We were in Boston for my nephew’s graduation, and shared delicious time with family. A little rain didn’t dampen our spirits in the least. Let a smile be your umbrella. Before leaving town, the sun came out. Boston can be so pretty. My daughter also took some lovely photos in the Public Gardens. Upon returning home, it was back to the drawing table, working on a migration game for my upcoming book...
Read Morethar she blows
My superhero Marty framed three originals from Here Come the Humpbacks for the upcoming Children’s Book Illustration Exhibit at Charlesbridge Publishing during Children’s Book Week in May. It was worth the hustle: Charlesbridge designer Whitney Leader-Picone was due to arrive on Peaks Island for a quick outing with her parents, visiting from California. What good sports to sail across the bay on a blustery spring day. We gathered at the island cafe along with fellow islanders and Charlesbridge regulars Tim Nihoff and Anne Sibley O’Brien. I can’t tell you how rare such...
Read MoreNew England made
Complaining about the weather is a perennial sport for New Englanders, but I wouldn’t trade the four seasons for anything. These natural shifts are important to my rhythm, and provide endless inspiration. As seasons come and go, spring is definite marker of time. Everybody’s wondering, are we DONE with winter yet? As the snow recedes once again I’m aware how winter has narrowed my hunched and huddled orbits. I noticed a bench in the woods for the first time. It overlooks a small pond, but the path is very hidden. Sitting there, I recalled an early illustration that set my...
Read MoreOceans alive at PIE
What a treat to visit the amazing kids at the Peaks Island School on Read Across America Day! I brought along my latest book, Here Come the Humpbacks to talk about reading pictures. Color and composition are part of the visual narrative. Color can tell us about time of day, temperature; how cold is the water? Scale can show us size relationships. I showed this spread to talk about why I take a plastic bag to the beach: first, there’s the poop business to pick up. Then, always some plastic: a bottle, a coffee cup, part of a shoe. Every little bit I carry away makes a better habitat for...
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