The Story of the DUCKLINGS!

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: So earlier this week I told you the story of the chance of meeting with NANCY SCHÖN, the sculptor of the famous Boston Public Garden – – and so many other gorgeous works of public art. I told you about our newfound friendship, and how fabulous she is. But wait, there’s more.

I got an email from a guppy friend, Kelly, who had seen my newsletter that mentioned meeting Nancy.

She told me that a friend of hers named Darcy Pattison had written a children’s book about Nancy and the ducklings, and didn’t I want to know about that, too?

Well, of course I did! Of course I did!

(And meanwhile, Nancy had even given me a copy of that book at lunch .)

So, of course, reporter-me, and writer-me needed to know how it all happened. As a result, I set up an email back-and-forth among the three of us.

And here’s what I found out.

And other fun stuff, too.

HANK: How did it all happen? Take turns telling us!

NANCY SCHÖN: After I put the ducks in the Boston Public Garden, I promised Robert McCloskey that I would never put the sculpture anywhere but in Boston, where they belong. (One exception was Moscow as it was for children.) Due to that promise I have refused many people or institutions the sculpture- National Gallery, the President of Bank Luxenberg, and many others. Alice Walton, of the Wal-Mart family had created the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and wanted the ducklings sculpture for that museum. But then, after much searching, the then-curator of the museum suggested they purchase the Tortoise and Hare sculpture. The original sits at the end of the Boston Marathon, but I could duplicate it. And I did!

DARCY PATTISON: I live in Arkansas, the home of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, established by Alice Walton (of the Wal-Mart family). While visiting there in the summer of 2022, I saw a Tortoise and Hare sculpture. I had a book just out (DIEGO, THE GALAPAGOS GIANT TORTOISE) about a turtle, so I was taking photos with any turtle/tortoise I saw.

I sat down and had a chat with this tortoise, thinking I'd use it for publicity for the Diego book.

Afterward, I wondered who the sculptor was. I didn't recognize Nancy's name at first, but when I saw that she'd done the duck family sculpture - I was hooked.

I researched her and saw she had a website. I thought she'd be in her 90s, so I expected her granddaughter to answer, but I emailed.

She answered.

NANCY: She won my heart immediately with her photo of herself and the tortoise. She asked if anyone had ever written a bio about me and I said no, but I was intrigued. So we chatted and I was honored especially after I read Friday Comes on Wednesday, a book about the Crystal Bridges Museum which Darcy wrote and Rich Davis illustrated. But most of all I loved that she introduced children to the art of the museum. From what I know, her books all have this important educational element. SO IMPORTANT! We met on Zoom , and I believe we both sensed a warm feeling and that we could work together.

DARCY: After this, we talked many times and I researched, looking for a focus for the story. With a life so rich and full as Nancy's has been, it's hard to find a focus. But a children's picture book has to be tightly focused.

In the end, I asked Nancy what she'd like her biography to say to kids.

She told me the story of working on the famous duck sculpture. At one point, she became VERY discouraged, and a friend gave her a sign, BE STRONG.

Those two simple words carried her through that project and many since. Nancy said she wanted to encourage kids to keep going in hard, dark days. (Here’s a photo from May, 2023, with Nancy sitting beneath the BE STRONG sign.)

NANCY: Darcy continued to ask questions to make sure the photos had accurate appellations. If I didn’t know, she was able by assiduous detective work find what she needed.

DARCY: After we decided to focus on encouraging kids, the story went quickly. We decided to entrust the art to Rich Davis. He worked to make the art as STRONG as Nancy. One fascinating thing is how he added sculptural elements to the art work. He painted on construction paper, cut it out and pasted it onto the images. Through it all, we kept Nancy in the loop with our progress until--we finally had proof copies.

NANCY: Rich asked me to contact people I knew best to write a sentence about me, so he could get some insights into who I was..He asked for the color of my and the kids hair and eyes. Both Rich and Darcy wanted pictures of me from the time I was a little girl until now. He was meticulous about finding out any detail about me and he in turn sent various food recipes he baked just for fun.

It was hard to go back so many years as I am constantly taking out photos for articles and other books and of course although I intend to, I never do put them back, hence my office is often quite mess.

But it was all a lot of fun and pleasant and working with these creative people who understood much about me that even I didn’t realize. It was quite a trip!

HANK: And what happened next? This!

DARCY: BE STRONG: The Rise of Beloved Public Art Sculptor Nancy Schön will release in March, 2024. We're excited to put the book into the hands of kids. For those who already love McCloskey's MAKE WAY FOR DUCKLINGS book, we hope this will extend the story and give some of the rich backstory on Nancy's work.

HANK: Can you all believe it? Happy Saturday, everyone! Thank you, Nancy and Darcy--amazing! Truly amazing. 

So, Reds and Readers, I know you’ll have questions–like: can we buy ducklings?

>>Yes, well, no, well, maybe. Best to look at Nancy’s website and see! And she has lots of other sculptures and stories, too. And a fabulous book of photos of all the ways people have dressed the Public Garden ducklings!

And: What did Robert McCloskey say when he saw the statues?

>>According to Nancy, the first thing he said when he saw them in her studio, was that they “might be too big.” But then, Nancy took the ducks outside to an elementary school--if I remember correctly–and kids instantly climbed all over them. And everyone was happy.

Here's a page from the book!

And: Is there a book for adults about Nancy? 

   >>Yes, and she wrote it! It’s about her process, and how her public art came to be, and all kinds of fascinating other stuff. And here's where you can find out all about her, too

https://schon.com/make-way-for-nancy/index.php

And: Where can we get Darcy’s children’s book about Nancy?

Right here.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/darcypattison/strong

https://mimshousebooks.com/products/be-strong


NANCY SCHÖN's bio is SO wonderful (but long.) I know you don't want me to cut a a word of it. So click here.

DARCY PATTISON:

Children’s book author and indie publisher DARCY PATTISON writes award-winning fiction and non-fiction books for children. Five books have received starred PW, Kirkus, or BCCB reviews.

And find out much more here:

LINKS: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/darcypattison/strong

https://mimshousebooks.com/products/be-strong