NEW BEDFORD — There’s a herring gull named Glen flying around the Whaling City, and he’s about to make his big debut in an upcoming children’s book.
“New Bedford has a lot of history, a lot of future, and just a ton to offer as an artist,” said Margo Connolly-Masson, author of “And Then… Glen.”
The children’s book is about chasing around a furry town resident in hopes of catching him causing trouble in the town. But he was embraced by the community and people laughed with his heart and personality.
“It’s about finding the places where he lives,” Connolly-Masson said. “We know he’s here like everyone else – how is the city of everyone here.”
Appreciating the whales in New Bedford is one of the highlights of the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park. In July 2021, the park posted signs asking drivers to be mindful of baby birds on the road.
“People just jump here!” said Jennifer Smith, former director of New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park Common times Article. “Looks like there are a lot of baby fish around and we need to keep an eye on them.”
Connolly-Masson was inspired to write the book after meeting “the real Glen” while dining at Moby Dick Brewing Co with his son Roger.
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“When people got up and left their tables, there was a bird that kept flying over the tables and snatching the french fries,” he said.
“We were laughing at him, and the nurse came over and said, ‘Glen. He’s always here.’ I really liked the name and it has this meaning. “
The artist is Hatch Street Studio in New Bedford
As one of the artists at the Hatch Street Studio, Connolly-Masson is no stranger to local photography. She sells her work through the Etsy shop MargoPaints Co. According to her artist statement on her website, Connolly-Masson’s art “depicts objects and scenes she finds while walking beaches, salt flats, artificial beaches, and coastal communities. Massachusetts, Alaska, and South Carolina.”
A native of New Bedford, he holds degrees in biology, environmental studies and environmental education from the University of Pennsylvania and certification in natural science illustration with the Rhode Island School of Design.
Connolly-Masson has worked as an after-school program director for Friends Academy, an application reader for Brown and UMass Dartmouth and an admissions counselor for the University of Alaska Southeast. He is a senior educator for the Buzzards Bay Coalition and a fisheries technician for the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries.
Artist-in-Residence at New Bedford Whaling National Park
In 2022, Connolly-Masson will be an Artist-in-Residence at the New Bedford Whaling Historical National Park Artist-in-Residence program, which has four artists, one quarter, from different schools, serving in their can be for three months. like the internet.
Out of the 420 national parks in the United States, only 50 parks offer this type of program.
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“New Bedford understands the value of creativity and having artists tell stories,” said Lindsay Compton, park ranger and resident program director.
Compton said the project is a creative exercise in storytelling and community involvement in a way that is not a traditional lecture.
Since the start of the project in 2018, the park has welcomed 15 artists. In 2022, the program welcomed their first artist outside of the New England area from Kentucky. This year, they will welcome artists from Boston, Providence, New Bedford and Portland, Oregon.
“Margo is a great artist. The projects that really float to the top, like Margo’s, are the ones that address something specific in New Bedford, using New Bedford as inspiration,” Compton said.
“And Margo explained what she wanted to do, how she wanted to do it and how she was going to engage with the public while doing all of those things.”
Bedford’s latest appearance in ‘And Then…Glen’
In October, Connolly-Masson said she hit the ground running with her idea. As a mother of two, she is more than familiar with children’s books.
“I try to pay more attention to what we’re reading and what the pictures are,” he said, “Jabari Jumps” by Gaia Cornwall, “The Snowy Day” by Ezra Jack Keats and “Let’s Go! A Story Collection” by Hannah Lindoff are some of her biggest inspirations for the look and feel of her book.
“I want to really think about the diversity of cultures that we have, and the businesses in town,” he said.
“I’m in the town of New Bedford. So, just the experience of sitting in yoga classes and hearing the seagulls screeching outside the studios and, going to The Baker every week and seeing Victor. [Fonseca] Dear customers, I want to show that.
Taking photos of the area this past summer, Connolly-Masson said the book features photos from The Baker, YMCA and the downtown beach, although New Bedford is not mentioned. in the story.
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“I want it to appeal to a wide audience and people see things about the places in the book that they feel like they live in,” he said.
He also used menus from local restaurants, a map of the national park, city posters about Frederick Douglass and Abolition Row Park as material for the collage.
“He’s good. “Margo is a real go-getter,” Compton said. “I’m very impressed with her work ethic, her professionalism, her creativity and the ease with which she works with our guests and the community.”
Compton said the park will print about 100 books and give them away free to the public. After that, it was Connolly-Masson’s opinion about the job.
“I hope to do more,” he said. “I need to spend some time thinking about the next steps, but there are many stories that I can clearly tell Glen,” said Connolly-Masson.
Standard-Times staff writer Seth Chitwood can be reached at [email protected] Follow him on twitter: @Kakaumaka.Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print copy of The Standard-Times today.
