I want to express my appreciation to all of the people who helped celebrate the opening of my exhibition, The Wee Worlds of Salley Mavor at the SOUTHERN VERMONT ARTS CENTER. It was wonderful to meet you and feel your enthusiasm! I’m overwhelmed by the response to the show. In its first 3 weeks, visitors have traveled from several northeastern states and across the border from Canada. Sally, who drove to Vermont from Glen Ridge, NJ, wrote with this over-the-top review, “I’m blown away and my husband reacted like he did to the Grand Canyon.” Whether or not you’re able to get to the show, I thank you for your support and encouragement!

THE WEE WORLDS OF SALLEY MAVOR
On view through January 7, 2024 at the
SOUTHERN VERMONT ARTS CENTER, Manchester, VT

On view are are over 75 bas-relief embroideries, including original picture book illustrations spanning my career. In order to hang a representative sampling from earlier books, I borrowed several pieces from private collectors. The show contains BEDTIME STITCHES, the touring exhibition of artwork for my most recent book, MY BED: Enchanting Ways to Fall Asleep around the World. Also on display are recent works that explore cultural diversity, migration, fashion, the natural world, and a range of social narratives, from the everyday to topical subjects.

My approach to exhibiting is similar to how I plan and make a single piece of art. I first envision the overall composition and define the scope of the project. After that it’s all about arranging lots of small elements to create something whole. The idea for this exhibition came about 2 years ago, when Alison Crites, SVAC‘s Manager of Exhibitions, inquired about having a show of my work. That was a good day! After meeting in person at the museum, we formed a great working relationship through Zoom meetings and countless email exchanges. I feel grateful that Alison reached out and offered this opportunity to share my life’s passion with a wider audience. Visitors to my shows point out all the time how seeing the real 3-dimensional pieces is a totally different experience, so I’m glad that more exhibitions are being planned. I will add them to the exhibitions page when the locations and dates are finalized.

A few days before the opening, Rob and I drove to Vermont from our home on Cape Cod to help with the installation. The museum had previously sent a van to pick up the artwork and I spent the first day unpacking boxes and positioning pieces around the gallery.

Over 3 days, a team of volunteers and professionals hung artwork, applied vinyl signage and adjusted the lighting for the show.

The Wall of Women, which debuted at the Brick Store Museum last year, is back again. It features enlarged photographs of women from my collective portrait, Cover Up (also on display). Their faces are blown up about 12 times the size of the 1″ wooden bead doll heads in the piece. I like playing with scale, taking something tiny and making it huge.

New to this show, is the Wall of Wee Folk, which includes 150 little dolls I’ve made over the past 20 years. Many of the figures are prototypes for my how-to book, Felt Wee Folk.

I set up my recently refurbished dollhouse, which I built 48 years ago. You can view the series of posts about the dollhouse renovation process here.

In the center of the gallery is a sitting area with sample copies of all of my books for visitors to look at.

On display is BEDTIME STITCHES, the entire collection of original artwork for my picture book, MY BED. This portion of the show has been touring the country since the book was published in 2020. Coming up, it will be in Greenville, SC, Albany, NY and Seward, NE. Find out details on the Exhibitions Page.

Interspersed around the gallery are several works from my personal collection, including Birds of Beebe Woods, Displaced, Rabbitat, Whiskers, Face Time, Cover Up, 2 fairy houses and political cartoons from the Wee Folk Players.

This is the first time that all four pieces in my recently completed seasonal landscape series are being shown together. Over the past few years, I’ve shared photos, commentary and videos that give a behind the scenes peek at how I created these bas-relief embroideries. You can catch up in the archives here: Frosty Morning, Mossy Glen, Summertime, Harvest Time. The scenes are also available as cards, puzzles and prints in my Etsy Shop.

I enjoyed chatting with both new and long-time fans at the opening reception. Some brought old copies of my books to sign and some were eager to share photos of what they are working on. It reminded me that there is a warm and vibrant community of people out there who are linked not only by a needle and thread, but the desire to be a part of the wee world!

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