Making something from everything…

Celebrated children’s author, illustrator, and paragon of creativity and community Ashley Bryan passed away in February 2022 at the age of 98. Over the past decades, many within the College of the Atlantic community were touched by Bryan’s broad spirit—whether from his many appearances on campus or during visits to his energetic, whimsical home on Little Cranberry Island, where his incredible collection of puppets—made out of bones, shells, and other objects he found on nearby beaches—filled the shelves.

This year, COA was lucky enough to become the caretaker of 25 of Bryan’s puppets thanks to the generosity of the Ashley Bryan Center. A selection of the puppets is  now on display in the Davis Center for Human Ecology in an exhibit designed by COA professor Dru Colbert. The showcase, including some of Bryan’s books and illustrations, is a reminder of his contagious joie de vivre and all the good he brought to the world. Six puppets will be featured on campus on a rotating basis, and a selection of the work will rotate through an exhibit at the Ashley Bryan Center Storyteller’s Pavilion on Little Cranberry Island.