I just wanted to point out that my Etsy shop will be closed while I’m away on vacation, from Dec. 5 to 20. So, if you’d like to order books, cards or posters before Christmas, please visit the shop in the next few days. I’ve recently added some new items: cards with a baby nestled in a walnut shell and autographed copies of my board book, Hey, Diddle, Diddle!
This has been a big week for bubble wrap! I drove mounds of bubble wrapped artwork in my Subaru to Plymouth for the Fairy Christmas on Thursday and then 25 more pieces to the Sturgis Library in Barnstable, Massachusetts (Cape Cod) yesterday. Both locations are about 25 miles from where I live, but in opposite directions. The Sturgis Library was constructed in 1644 for the Reverend John Lothrop, founder of Barnstable. The house, which forms the original part of the Library is the oldest building housing a public library in the United States. If you’re interested in this kind of historical stuff, read about it here.
My framed original illustrations from Pocketful of Posies are hung between the book stacks and displayed in 3 glass cases throughout the library.
The artwork will be in the library until Dec. 29th, 2012. I hope that some of you will get a chance to visit the library during December!
from “Pocketful of Posies” 2010
Yesterday, I dropped off artwork at the Hedge House Museum in Plymouth, MA, for their Fairy Christmas celebration. Two originals from Pocketful of Posies and Birds of Beebe Woods will be on display during the 2 weekend event (Dec. 1,2,7,8,9, noon to 7pm). I kicked myself because I forgot my camera! First of all, the museum has a spectacular location, with a view of Plymouth Harbor and the 1809 house is full of antique charm. Plymouth Antiquarian Society Director Donna Curtin has gone all out for this affair, with fairy houses, precious woodland scenes and fairy decorations all over the historic mansion. There’s even a special Crystal Throne Room set up for the Fairy Queen to receive visitors. I heartily recommend this event to anyone who is open to enchantment, young or old. It’s all done in a genuine, beautiful way, so leave plenty of time to take in all of the detail.
detail from “Pocketful of Posies” 2010
Birds of Beebe Woods, fabric relief, 2012
Polly Doll is going on a trip next month and her regular outfit will not do! She loved Oregon (see here) and San Francisco (see here), but missed the flight to Ireland. For this next excursion, she is determined to go along. She will need to bring some warm clothes to wear. Can you guess where she’s going?
She’ll be leaving her straw hat at home and will wear her new red coat and hat, warm mittens and Ugg style boots (size 3/4″).
This is a clue: Polly will be heading south from her home on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The first person to answer correctly (on this blog) before she leaves in a week, gets a prize. International contestants are welcome!
The prize is…
an autographed paperback copy of my book, Mary Had a Little Lamb. Good Luck! Oh, and I will be tagging along, too. That means my Etsy shop will be on vacation from Dec. 6 to 20, so order early for Christmas!
This is what the Pocketful of Posies tree looked like in my studio before it was taken all apart and transported to its next destination, the Family Trees exhibit at the Concord Museum in Concord MA. See blog posts about making the Posies book here.
On Monday, I drove up to Concord, through morning rush hour traffic on Rt. 128 with my Subaru full of artificial tree limbs and Pocketful of Posies felt ornaments. By the time I arrived at the Concord Museum, dozens of volunteers were already setting up their trees for the Family Trees exhibit. There will be over 30 decorated trees throughout the museum, all based on classic and new children’s books. The museum describes itself as the gateway to Concord’s remarkable revolutionary history. I was led through a maze of narrow, winding hallways, past the Emerson Room and the Thoreau Room, to my assigned location, the blue room.
I got right to work, assembling the tree and hanging the larger parts, including the thread spool garlands and felt-covered wire book title. A volunteer was nice enough to take my picture during the process. Below is a page from my sketch book from last spring, when I started jotting down ideas for the tree. I wanted to make vignettes, that would act as hanging stages for the different nursery rhymes.
I hung dolls and felt purses that I had made years earlier, too. Some were sample projects from my how-to book, Felt Wee Folk. I also scattered yellow painted wooden stars around the tree. Many other tree decorators came by to see what I was doing. They couldn’t believe that I had made everything by hand. One woman asked, “Are you crazy?” To tell the truth, I think working this way prevents me from going crazy.
I really like the way the tree looks in the blue room with the antique furnishings and bright museum lighting. It also has a security fence, so I don’t have to worry about ornaments walking away.
If you live in the Boston area, go see this exhibit! It opened on Nov. 21st and will run through January 1, 2013. All ages will enjoy a visit to Family Trees this holiday season (it’s held every year). If you want to see more about the tree on my blog, stay tuned, because I’ll be writing several posts, with close-ups of the individual ornaments.
I’ve just about finished decorating the Pocketful of Posies tree for Family Trees: A Celebration of Children’s Literature at the Concord Museum. Early Monday morning, I’m driving everything up to Concord, the day after my Open Studio, which you can find out about here. I have to remove my decorations and take the tree apart on Sunday night and reassemble it again in the museum. There will be over 30 trees set up around the museum, all representing different children’s books. All of the trees, except for mine and another illustrator’s, are being decorated by museum volunteers, who have been preparing for months. So the museum will be swarming with industrious volunteers. They’ve promised lunch for us all!
My tree is dotted with little vignettes that serve as stages for the nursery rhyme doll characters. I added a garland strung with old wooden thread spools and beads. I used some J&P Coats and Star brand cotton thread that my grandmother had about 50 years ago. To supplement my supply, I bought some empty wooden spools and wound them with yarn.
Hung in loops on the tree, the spool garland breaks up the space, almost like doodles in a notebook.
Also, please visit my new Facebook page, which you can get to by clicking the orange “F” button in the right hand column of the blog’s home page.
In the spirit of fall and the upcoming Halloween festivities, I will be slipping a free poster into every mailing tube that’s sent from Wee Folk Studio. From now until October 31st, customers will receive a free 18″ x 24″ On Halloween poster with the purchase of any poster from my Etsy Shop.
RISD classmate and the talented and prolific children’s book illustrator Ashley Wolff came to visit last week. It was a beautiful day, so we decided to take the boat over to Kettle Cove on Naushon Island. After we rowed our dingy ashore, Ashley strolled the beach with her border collie Tula. We made a funny face with the stuff Ashley collected. There’s always art to be made!
My husband Rob and Tula sat in the shade of the umbrella and Ashley painted …
this scene of our lobster boat Mary Lou and the Tabor Boy, which comes from across Buzzards Bay in Marion. A whole pack of Tabor Academy students swam ashore from the ship.
Ashley did this wonderful watercolor in her sketchbook in about 15 minutes. We had a great day! Read the post about her visit last year here.
This Tuesday, August 14th, I will meet the public and sign books from 10am to noon at the Brewster Book Store, Brewster MA (Cape Cod). I’ll bring a few original fabric relief illustrations from Pocketful of Posies to show during the event. I look forward to meeting you. Free posters will be given out too!
Earlier this week, we delivered 30 framed originals from Pocketful of Posies to the Mahopac Public Library, which is the next stop on the tour (see full schedule here). The town is located in New York state, off Rt 84, just over the border from Danbury, CT. The artwork will be on display for most of the summer, through Wed., August 29th. I will return to give a talk about my work that evening at 7:00pm.
Pocketful of Posies, July 3 – August 29, 2012 at the Mahopac Public Library, Mahopac, New York. Talk by Salley Mavor- Wed., Aug. 29th, 7:00pm
