With the current state of the world, I want to create art that is a distraction…that injects fun and happiness into people’s lives.
Each of the painted bear statues on Bridgewater State University’s campus has an intriguing origin story. The newest bear in front of the Welcome Center is no exception; its story begins on a subway car.
At 16, Forrest Bailey, ’26, was visiting Boston and riding the Green Line when a man noticed and commented on the hat Forrest was wearing.
“We got to chatting after he said he liked my beanie,” Forrest said. “He told me his name was Fred Clark, and he was the president of BSU. When he learned I wanted to study art, he said they have a great art program there.”
Forrest wasn’t really thinking about college just yet but thanked Clark for his input.
After graduating high school in 2019, Forrest attended community college in their native Maine. When COVID hit, Forrest struggled and decided to take time off from school and entered the workforce.
A couple years later, the idea of returning to school surfaced and that’s when Forrest remembered the man on the train.
“It just kind of popped into my head. ‘What was that college that guy on the train told me about? I looked it up and thought it sounded great,” they said.
That chance encounter with President Frederick W. Clark Jr is how Forrest ended up studying art at Bridgewater State University.
“My experience at BSU has been incredibly positive. I love all of my professors, particularly Professor Sarah Washburn. I took her drawing class one semester and since then she’s been such a big supporter of me,” Forrest said.
It was Washburn who encouraged Forrest to submit a proposal for an open call to design one of the iconic bear statues on campus.
“I really wanted to create a piece of public art, something people could see,” Forrest said.
They then met with BSU’s Jay Block, associate director of collections and exhibition manager, who curates and approves public art at the university.
“I had a lot of concepts, and admittedly overdesigned some of them,” Forrest said. “But I had this one idea that was stuck in my brain…a pink gummy bear.”
On a whim, Forrest drew up their concept and presented it to Block, who ultimately decided that it would be a fun, colorful design for the bear statue that sits in front of the school’s Welcome Center.
The bear was shipped to Forrest’s home in Biddeford, Maine, where they worked on it all summer. The result is a hot pink bear that creates an illusion of translucency.
“There are lots of shapes that look like liquid, I really wanted to create a sense of motion, of jelly jiggling around while the bear is walking,” Forrest said.
Forrest will have to wait to see the bear installed on campus as they will be studying abroad in Ireland this semester. But, for those that do pass by and view the bear, Forrest hopes the response is joyful.
“I want to make people smile, to brighten someone’s day by seeing this fun, whimsical, silly piece of art,” Forrest said.
Overall, the project has helped Forrest determine what type of art they want to produce.
“With the current state of the world, I want to create art that is a distraction…that injects fun and happiness into people’s lives,” they said. “I’m grateful to have had this experience and really hope this helps open doors for me to more opportunities where I can create public art.”
Do you have a BSU story you'd like to share? Email stories@bridgew.edu