Artist Ashley Bryan, 91, seen in his Islesford studio, has been making art on Little Cranberry Island since 1946 and retired there full time in the 1980s.
Ashley Bryan recites a poem to a crowd assembled July 22 for the opening of the Ashley Bryan Center at the Isleford Historical Museum.
Sprawling collections of books, canvases, puppets and papier-mache fill Ashley Bryan’s Islesford home, where sea-glass mobiles hang from the ceiling. Bryan never locks his door, and guests frequently drop by unannounced but never unwelcomed. “Every morning is a whole new day of discovery,” the artist says.
Ashley Bryan holds up to his window a piece of art he helped a young girl make with sea glass. He wanted to see how the light pours through the glass in his workshop on Isleford last month.
Ashley Bryan hugs a visitor to the Ashley Bryan Center in the Isleford Historical Museum last month. Bryan spends about an hour a day at the museum, greeting visitors. “The one thing I have in common with any adult I meet is childhood. Every person has survived childhood,” the 91-year-old artist says.
ISLEFORD, ME - JULY 22: Artist Ashley Bryan, 91, demonstrates how he works with sea glass to make art at his workshop on Little Cranberry Island Tuesday, July 22, 2014. Bryan has visited the island to create art since 1946 and retired there in the 1980s. (Photo by Gabe Souza/Staff Photographer)
ISLEFORD, ME - JULY 22: Artist Ashley Bryan, 91, pours coffee for his guests, including good friends Joyce Taylor Gibson and Roland Gibson in the dining room of his home Tuesday, July 22, 2014. There's a saying on the island that once you've met Ashley, you're his friend for life. (Photo by Gabe Souza/Staff Photographer)
ISLEFORD, ME - JULY 22: The front window of artist Ashley Bryan's home is decorated with action figures seen Tuesday, July 22, 2014. Bryan, 91, has been making art on the islands since 1946, and moved there full time in the 1980s. (Photo by Gabe Souza/Staff Photographer)
ISLEFORD, ME - JULY 22: Artist Ashley Bryan, 91, lets out a yell while reciting a poem to a gathered crowd at the Isleford Historical Museum Tuesday, July 22, 2014. The event was to celebrate the opening of the Ashley Bryan Center inside the museum, which celebrates Brown's hear 80-year career as an artist. He has been coming to the Cranberry Isles since 1946, and moved there full time in the 1980s. (Photo by Gabe Souza/Staff Photographer)
ISLEFORD, ME - JULY 22: People pass through the Ashley Bryan Center at the Isleford Historical Museum on Little Cranberry Island Tuesday, July 22, 2014. The center was put together with pieces of art and history from Bryan's near 80-year career as an artist. (Photo by Gabe Souza/Staff Photographer)
ISLEFORD, ME - JULY 22: Artist Ashley Bryan, 91, looks up as he talks with Steve Lauder and his wife, Claire Prontnicki, of Waterville, as he visited with guests at the Ashley Bryan Center as part of the Isleford Historical Museum Tuesday, July 22, 2014. (Photo by Gabe Souza/Staff Photographer)
ISLEFORD, ME - JULY 22: Artist Ashley Bryan, 91, signs a book for Nancy Bujold while visiting the Ashley Bryan Center at the Isleford Historical Museum on Little Cranberry Island Tuesday, July 22, 2014. (Photo by Gabe Souza/Staff Photographer)
ISLEFORD, ME - JULY 22: Artist Ashley Bryan, 91, sits with Virginia Fowler, right, a professor at Virginia Tech, at the Isleford Congregational Church as they talk to filmmaker Richard Kane Tuesday, July 22, 2014. Kane is working on a documentary about Bryan, and was interviewing Nikki Giovanni, a famous poet and friend of Bryan's, for the film. (Photo by Gabe Souza/Staff Photographer)
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