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Even at age 91, artist and book illustrator Ashley Bryan was still “trying to tap that inner mystery of who I am.” That’s what he told the Bangor Daily News back in 2014 at his home in Islesford. Through his art and through his life, he radiated joy in a continued pursuit of self-discovery and learning about the world around him.
His own journey ended Friday after 98 years. Maine, the country and the world has lost a gentle giant of the arts. But we haven’t lost the lessons he left for us, if, like him, we’re willing to listen and learn.
“The world has lost a wonderful person,” members of Bryan’s family of nieces and nephews said Friday evening. “In our lives there have been few people as special. His joy of discovery, invention, learning and community has had a profound impact on us all.”
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How do you measure the impact of a person’s life? If it’s by productivity, Bryan’s immense collection of books, drawings and other artwork stands on its own. If awards are a useful metric here, Bryan amassed quite the collection of those, too. His many recognitions include multiple Coretta Scott King book awards, a Newbery Honor, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, the Virginia Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Award and being named a Literary Lion by the New York Public Library.
Some things, however, can’t be measured in productivity or praise. Along with his extensive and award-winning art, Bryan also leaves us with his wonderment and wisdom, which he generously shared with generations of children and artists. Take, for example, his insights from the interview he did with the BDN in 2014.
“I knew if I could find the rhythm of whatever I was experiencing, that I could do all of my work and know who I am, keep trying to get to that core of who I am,” Bryan told reporter Bill Trotter at the time. “And it didn’t matter if I was doing a painting, if I was doing a puppet, a sea glass panel, doing a book — all of it is trying to tap that inner mystery of who I am.”
Bryan’s work was not just about who he was, but about who we all are.
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“The artist is not a special kind of person,” Bryan told Trotter. “Every person is a special kind of artist.”
Bryan served in World War II, survived D-Day and overcame racism — and after all of that and more, managed to keep believing that everyone has something special to share. That should give us all hope, even during difficult times, that the power of joy and imagination are unmatched.
Maine and the world will miss Bryan. But he left behind valuable lessons, in his work and his words.
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