About Salley Mavor

I make 3-dimensional fabric relief pictures that are photographed and used to illustrate children’s books. I sew together different materials to create fanciful scenes in relief, much like a miniature stage set, with figures imposed on an embellished fabric background. My work is decorative and detailed, full of patterns from nature and found objects, all sewn together by hand with a needle and thread.

Fairy Houses of Beebe Woods exhibit

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Salley Mavor

You may wonder, “Where is this Beebe Woods that keeps popping up in titles on my blog”? It’s a gem of a property (pronounced Bee-bee) in the center of my home town of Falmouth, Massachusetts, right on the edge of Historic Highfield Hall, which was built in 1878 for the Beebe family, who were prominent summer people. My Birds of Beebe Woods piece was made for last year’s exhibit celebrating the forest. Also, Highfield is hosting the Pocketful of Posies traveling exhibit Sept. 4 – Oct. 31, 2013.

This summer, the grounds and gardens of Highfield will be magically transformed into a “fairy” neighborhood, with small-scale habitats hidden throughout the property. Highfield has given me the exciting opportunity to curate The Fairy Houses of Beebe Woods exhibit, which promises to be a popular event during the height of the season.

I got the idea from the Florence Griswold Museum in Lyme, CT, which has hosted several Fairy house events. See my posts about last fall’s exhibit here and here.

I’ve invited 2 dozen local artists to participate in the event and they’ve spent the last few months picking building spots, gathering natural construction materials and thinking about what to make and how to make it. Everyone will bring their own vision and sensibility to their structure, creating a wildly varied display full of architectural whimsy. The outdoor exhibit will be open June 20th – July 21, 2013.

This past winter, I made and photographed 2 models that could be used for advance publicity purposes. Since I didn’t use a glue suitable for outdoors, these won’t be in the exhibit, but I will have another house to show. I’m in the process of constructing a more weather resistant cottage that will be perched in a magnificent copper beech tree. I hope that many of you will have a chance to visit the exhibit this summer and for those of you who live far away, I’ll post pictures.

baby quilt in process

Posted on May 5, 2013 by Salley Mavor

My friend Terry and I are at it again! We’ve collaborated many times over the years and our recent projects include the Woods Hole Village Quilt, nursery rhyme cookies and a wonderful wedding cake. Now we’re making a baby quilt for a friend who’s due to have her baby boy any day. Terry pieced and sewed together a trapezoidal grid of bright cotton fabric and I embroidered designs that had a connection to the baby’s parents. There’s their red truck towing their boat and their chickens and honey bees, along with other fun images that a baby can identify. The chain-stitched objects are from 1 to 2 inches in size. For the past month, I’ve been posting a new embroidery from this quilt every day on my Facebook page. Most of the quilt was embroidered in airport waiting rooms and aboard airplanes during our recent trip to California. When Terry puts the layers together, we’ll figure out how we’re going to quilt it. I’ll show the completed project when we’re finished. I hope that we get it done before he goes to college!

closeups (wheels)

Posted on April 27, 2013 by Salley Mavor

Working in miniature, there are many objects available for wheels; buttons, washers, snaps, key rings, etc. This series of images are mostly from my earlier work, starting with a detail from a piece I made in 1986. The wire bicycle is less than 2 inches long. Looking at these, I’m amazed that I had time to do all of the stitching because I had a baby and a preschooler to take care of. I remember working every evening after they went to bed.

The button wheels in this detail (below) from “Fall”, 1987, are about 1/2″ in diameter.

Skip ahead 10 years for this detail from the Sidewalks poem in my 1997 book, “You and Me: Poems of Friendship“. The car hub-caps are fancy coat buttons and the tires are made from black insulated wire. The stroller wheels are 1/2″ buttons.

Here’s a detail from “The Hollyhock Wall”, 1999. The car hub-caps are made from regular sized snaps.

The bicycle wheels in this detail from “You and Me” are made from the smallest key rings I could find, about 1/2″. The bicycle spokes are metallic thread and the helmets are painted acorn caps.

This is another detail from the same Fast Friends illustration in “You and Me”. That’s my husband Rob in the truck.

16 years later and I’m still making ice cream trucks. This 2″ embroidered one is from a baby quilt I’m in the process of making for a friend. Stay tuned for more quilt images!

Posies bookmark

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Salley Mavor

I had some bookmarks printed to advertise the Pocketful of Posies Traveling Exhibit. The image of “the old woman who lived under a hill” was chosen because the narrow vertical cropping provided lots of space for type. I’ve been including a bookmark with orders from my Etsy Shop if it fits in the packaging. I also distribute them to shops which sell Pocketful of Posies. Businesses that carry my book or quilting, doll making and needlework groups can request bookmarks by contacting me at weefolk@cape.com. Sorry, due to the postage cost, I can’t send out bookmarks to individuals.

Birds poster giveaway winners

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Salley Mavor

This was the most fun giveaway! Thank you to all of the participants– I loved reading your comments, with such entertaining stories and apt descriptions of your favorite birds. Tallying the count, every bird was acknowledged, but the flashy blue jay won the popularity contest. The crow, female cardinal and male cardinal (their pictures are below) also garnered quite a few votes of approval, too.

Soooo….the winners of the giveaway are Cindy and Jan Johnson. I will alert them by e-mail and send them each a Birds of Beebe Woods poster. If you are one of the 100 whose name wasn’t picked and you still want a poster (or note cards), they are available in my Etsy Shop.

houses in California’s central coast

Posted on April 18, 2013 by Salley Mavor

Here’s a selection of houses we saw last month, while traveling around the rural back roads and towns of San Luis Obispo County, California.

Poster Giveaway!

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Salley Mavor

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Poster – Birds of Beebe Woods

To mark the one year anniversary of my Etsy Shop, I will be giving away 2 Birds of Beebe Woods posters. Because of the cost of postage, the contest is just open to US and Canadian residents. To enter, please leave a comment saying something about your favorite bird from the piece by April 21st, 2013. Two winners will be picked at random on April 22nd.

I love all of your stories about why you’ve chosen a particular bird. Keep ‘em coming!

The original Birds of Beebe Woods is currently in the Fantastic Fibers show at the Yeiser Art Center in Paducah, KY.

Destination Cedarhurst

Posted on April 13, 2013 by Salley Mavor

In the past few days, I have heard from three different people who’ve traveled some distance to see the Pocketful of Posies Traveling Exhibit at the Cedarhurst Center for the Arts. I can picture carloads of quilters, embroiderers and children’s book from the Midwest heading down the highway, all converging in Mt. Vernon, IL. Let’s hope that there was a lot of chatting and laughter during the hours on the road And some have driven quite far, from hundreds of miles away in Wisconsin and Indiana.

Cindy Gehrke told me about how she and two needle-worker friends took a 4 day road trip which included a visit to my show. MarySusan Farmer, who came with a group that drove the 2 1/2 hours from Springfiled, IL writes, “What a TREAT!!! Your artistry is so totally engaging it was beyond belief!!” And Louann Mattes Brown checked in after she and some other members of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators had a field trip to the exhibit.

Added 4/15/13: Bonnie from St. Louis, MO just wrote to say that nine members of the Doll-a-holics ( a hands on soft doll making group) carpooled 2 hours to Cedarhurst to see the exhibit. She says, ” We were all overwhelmed by your intensity of stitches, the small size, and the dimensional quality that you created in each. What a wonderful day we had.”

I’ve also heard from quilters who are planning on taking in the Cedarhurst exhibit, which is only 1 1/2 hours from Paducah, KY and the The American Quilter’s Society Annual Show and Contest (April 24th-27). And while they are in Paducah, they can also see my piece, Birds of Beebe Woods in the Fantastic Fibers show at the Yeiser Art Center!

I’m impressed that people are making an effort to see my work while it is within reach, even though they have to travel for hours! The exhibit will be up until May 5, 2013 at Cedarhurst Center for the Arts. I’ve also heard from people who’ve driven long distances to see the other half of the book illustrations in Fresno, CA. That exhibit runs through May 24 at the Arne Nixon Center for the Study of Children’s Literature, Henry Madden Library at Fresno State.

Because of continued interest, I’ve decided to keep touring a select group of original Pocketful of Posies illustrations beyond 2013. At this point, I don’t have the time to send out proposals and search out exhibit opportunities, so I can’t target specific cities or parts of the country. I would love to have the show go far and wide and it all depends on which venues contact me. I am in discussion with a few prospective hosts who have asked about future shows. Inquiries from libraries, art centers and museums with a shipping budget are welcome.

all natural in California

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Salley Mavor

Here are photographs of some natural curves and textures that we saw in California.

working on Felt Wee Folk – 2nd edition

Posted on April 6, 2013 by Salley Mavor

I really can’t believe that 10 years have gone by since Felt Wee Folk: Enchanting Projects was published! I’m grateful that it has had such a good run and is still in print. I’ve said repeatedly that I won’t be writing another how-to book and that I want to focus on exploring my art form. I still want to continue on that path, but the practical side of me has decided to take some time this year to update Felt Wee Folk. I want to do what I can to keep the book in print for at least another 10 years.

In the 2nd edition, the popular projects, like the fairies and dolls will remain and the non-doll felt projects will be replaced with new varieties of wee folk characters and more doll-making tips. This all doll version will have a new cover and about 30 more pages than the first edition. The second edition will feature many new projects for seasoned wee folk makers as well as yet-to-be converts, who are just beginning to learn how to wrap pipe-cleaner limbs. We don’t have a definite date for publication, but with the work I still have to do, combined with C&T’s production time, the book should be on the shelves sometime in 2015. And because the information is propitiatory, I won’t be able to show the new projects I’m designing until the book comes out. Sorry, but that’s how these things work.

For now, Amazon is selling print-on-demand copies of Felt Wee Folk. They don’t mention that it’s print-on-demand, but it is. They also have a Kindle version. The book’s publisher, C&T sells an e-book version, too. Downloading the book may be the easiest way for people from around the world to obtain the information without paying for overseas postage.

I have a limited number of the high quality original edition in my Etsy Shop and will switch over to selling the print-on-demand version when those run out. Don’t worry, the felt purses, pins, etc. will not disappear - they’ll be available separately as downloads from C&T’s Pattern Spot, when the new edition is published. So, please be patient and enjoy the first edition for another couple of years!