Before delving into Part 6 in the series about making the spring landscape, Mossy Glen, Id like to give you a preview of Harvest Time, the fall landscape that I just finished making. For the past 6 months, I’ve documented its progress on Facebook and/or Instagram and I look forward to later sharing photos and videos about making the scene on this blog, too.

The fall scene shows a cutaway view, with a tree stump dwelling above ground and tunnel storage spaces underground. It took way longer to make than I’d planned, which may have to do with the insane amount of mossy French knots on the stump.

The 3 seasons I’ve completed so far, winter, spring and fall, will be included in this summer’s exhibition, What a Relief: The Art of Salley Mavor at the Brick Store Museum in Kennebunk, Maine, (June 7 – Sept. 11, 2022). I will be there on Sat., June 25th from 1 – 3 pm for a meet and greet and book-signing. The retrospective exhibition will feature a large selection of my artwork, spanning over 40 years, from early on to the present day. Pieces from my collection and rarely seen works on loan from private collections will fill multiple galleries on the museum’s entire first floor. Original picture book illustrations, including the entire series from my most recent book, MY BED will also be shown.

Now back to Mossy Glen – In this Part 6, I share photos, videos and commentary about how I created the chain stitched leaves. Part 1 is all about stitching a moss-like texture, Part 2 gives a glimpse at how I made the cherry trees, Part 3 is about the stone walls, Part 4 shows how I made the forsythia blossoms and Part 5 features wire and felt leaves.

To rest the eye from all of the 3-dimensional busyness in this scene, I mixed in flat chain stitched designs. They’re also busy, but the overall effect is calmer. While I work on a piece, I’m constantly aware of how its composition, color, texture and depth direct the eye. Maybe that’s why I never get bored – there’s always something to consider about the next step in the process. I’m often asked if I listen to books on tape while stitching, as if it’s a mindless activity. There’s no way I could follow a story and give my artwork the attention it needs. There are too many decisions to make along the way!

I chain stitched the leaf shapes with cotton flower thread. Its matte finish is different from the glossy sheen of cotton embroidery floss, which I used to wrap the wire stem. DMC flower thread is no longer available, but if you’re interested, Dutch Treat Designs has some of the discontinued thread in stock. 

Watch how I chain stitched around and around the leaf shape with gradated colors in this Stitch Minute video.

Sometimes I mark lines on the felt with a chalk pencil or basting, but mostly I eyeball the designs. Here’s another Stitch Minute video, showing the smaller chain stitched leaves.

I also made ferns with strung together fly stitches.

To make the ferns pop, I underlined one side with a darker shade of green.

To see me stitching the ferns, including a fiddle head, watch this Stitch Minute video.

Stay tuned for more posts about making Mossy Glen. Other parts in the series will focus on other plants, embroidered embellishments and the wee folk characters.
Mossy Glen (overview)
Part 1 (moss)
Part 2 (cherry trees)
Part 3 (stone walls)
Part 4 (forsythia)
Part 5 (felt and wire leaves)

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