I met some really nice people at the book signing last Sunday at the Danforth Museum. There were 2 women from Utah, here in Boston on a business trip, who made the trek out to Framingham. I met another pair of women who have followed my work for years. One invited the other on a “surprise outing” and they ended up at my show! The children’s librarian from Framingham Public Library brought some wonderful dolls that she made using my how-to book, Felt Wee Folk. One doll looked like a “little maid from school” in the Mikado. In the photo below, I’m signing a copy of Pocketful of Posies for Horn Book editor Martha Parravano (seated), whom I was delighted to meet for the first time.

Margaret Raymo, my editor at Houghton Mifflin came, too! This was the first time we’ve seen each other since “Posies” came out. We’ve been working on this book for 5 years, so it was great to celebrate together. I am grateful to Margaret for doing the opposite of micro-managing and trusting me fully. Margaret always said, “take as long as you need” and didn’t balk when told her I couldn’t finished the illustrations in time to make the original pub date of 2009.

Salley with Houghton Mifflin editor Margaret Raymo

The Danforth had art activities set up for children that day, including this fabric and found object collage workshop.

art day activities at the Danforth

I gave a short gallery talk about the artwork, explaining the process of illustrating a book and telling about how I made the pictures.

Children and their parents did a scavenger hunt for different animals and objects in the illustrations. They looked closely at the artwork and searched around and around the gallery, holding miniature magnifying glasses.

The exhibit will be on display in the children’s gallery at the Danforth Museum in Framingham, MA until January 23rd, 2011. The Pocketful of Posies Traveling Exhibit will tour for 3 years.