The Bay Gull Featured in The Bay Magazine August 2010

In just a year, The Bay has grown as one of the most popular magazines in RI for information on "Living Well on the East Bay & South Coast." This free monthly magazine can be found throughout the Ocean State and we are SO proud to be featured in the August 2010 Kids Issue.

On page 24, Julie Sickel reviewed two books by local authors, Bun, Onion, Burger by Peter Mandel and The Bay Gull by Emerson Colwell. What an honor to be recognized with Mr. Mandel, adventure journalist and author of nine children's books.

For those of you who are unable to pick up your own copy, you can check out the review here!

Special thanks to Julie Sickel for the great review, The Bay's Editor Julie Tremaine for requesting a copy of the book when we were in town last March and the entire staff at The Bay for your hard work every month!

You can find them on Facebook - search "Bay Mag" and send a friend request.

The Bay Gull Featured in The Bay Magazine August 2010

View entry - Create Your Opportunity Contest

View entry - Create Your Opportunity Contest

We have entered a contest for the opportunity to expand The Bay Gull's reach all across the U.S. Will you help us win by checking out the entry and voting for our idea?? We appreciate you!!

UPDATE ON 6/15/10
The contest entry period has closed. The judges will be determining from the entries who will win the grand prize from the contest. Thank you all for your support! We appreciate your votes & your prayers! Stay tuned for an update.....

View entry - Create Your Opportunity Contest

Art Walk & Lighthouse Pictures along with The Bay Gull

This past Saturday, Emerson had the opportunity to participate in an Art Walk, scheduled as an added benefit to a first anniversary celebration for an upscale apartment/condo village in Surprise. In addition to the 15 or so artists, residents and guests were treated to breakfast, children participated in carnival games along with treats like face painting, snow cones and cotton candy, a fun "treasure hunt" was available for those who toured several apartment models and overall, it was a very fun family event. We found out about the event through a friend who sent along an invitation for our family and in conversation, she mentioned that they were still looking for artists. Only a little over a week away, we decided to jump on the chance and signed up for a table on the Art Walk. Since publishing The Bay Gull last summer, Emerson has been working on his drawings, practicing with different mediums like watercolors and watercolor pencils (although he prefers colored pencils) and even completed a drawing course to learn some new techniques, particularly with charcoal.
The Art Walk posed as a great opportunity for several reasons: Emerson was able to display his book along with other art work that he has created for free, he talked with everyone about his work to get their feedback, particularly listening to areas where he could improve for public appeal, he networked with other local artists and swapped cards with them and he had a chance to create a great table display.

On display at his table we had a book of his cartoons, 10 framed lighthouse drawings that he has created and The Bay Gull. We used boxes to create height, lots of tablecoths, sheets and fabric to cover the two 8 foot tables, nautical accents including shells that our son collected from Narragansett Bay on our last trip back in March and some fabulous "fish nets" for our backdrop and more texture on the table. In addition, Emerson displayed a nautical chart plus a couple of books, one about lighthouses and the other, Narragansett Bay, by Richard Benjamin and John Torgan, which is the most beautiful photo book offering breathtaking photos from throughout the state of Rhode Island.
It was a great day for us as a family and, because the opportunity was free, we were able to fully enjoy the event without the stress of covering any costs. Our rewards for this event included the experience and knowledge that we gained from putting everything together for the tables, the additional artwork Emerson completed in time for the show as deadlines ALWAYS help to get work done, being in the presence of other talented, gifted artists, plus we won a raffle prize, beautiful custom designed coasters, from one of the other artists!

Art Walk & Lighthouse Pictures along with The Bay Gull

Rhode Island Lighthouses and Narragansett Bay History

Our home in Arizona is filled with reminders of the ocean. The walls are covered with pictures of boats, framed charts of Narragansett Bay and a few fabulous lighthouses. Most guests who spend some time with us are treated to a history lesson from Emerson about "The Ocean State" as he walks them through the pictures, telling stories about his home state. Most recently, he tracks the sea gull's journey from Bristol, RI to Block Island, describing the various points along the way through Narragansett Bay.


A visit to our house is much like his presentations to children, taking them on the trip with the bagel loving seagull. Little did we know that he has been practicing his storytelling for over two years before the book was released. The message of sharing is certainly foremost for importance in the story. All parents we know would love for their own children to be as kind, generous and polite as this seagull. The geography and history Emerson shares during his presentation is a side benefit for those children fortunate to hear him read the book here in AZ. 
 
As you flip through the pages of "The Bay Gull," you may notice that several different lighthouses are part of the seagull's journey. Emerson incorporated six of Rhode Island's twenty one standing lighthouses which together protect ships from the 384 miles of shoreline in Narragansett Bay. His illustrations were created from photographs, drawn with accurate detail and incorporated into the book as resting places for the sea gull.
 
If you are interested in learning more, there are many lighthouse resources on-line. One of the best sites to check out Hog Island, Prudence Island, Castle Hill, Beavertail, North Light and Southeast Light is Lighthouse Friends. Thanks to their hard work, you can look up U.S. lighthouses by state, then click on each lighthouse individually to receive well organized, accurate, detailed information along with interesting stories about each one.
 
In addition to all the information, the site offers lighthouse merchandise. Perhaps we'll even have "The Bay Gull" available through their site one of these days!

Rhode Island Lighthouses and Narragansett Bay History