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.

Posies delivered to Cape Cod Museum

Posted on November 7, 2013 by Salley Mavor

On Monday, Rob and I drove to the Cape Cod Museum of Art in Dennis, Massachusetts, which is about an hour drive down Cape from Falmouth. We delivered 25 original illustrations from Pocketful of Posies, which will be displayed from now until January 26, 2014. My exhibit is in a gallery space just off of the main room of the museum. It’s an intimate, bright space, painted in a warm golden color, which is perfect for my small pieces. We placed the frames in groups on the floor in front of the walls, to be hung later by the museum staff.

I brought some dolls and objects to put in a nice display case in the corner. I wish that Rob had told me to pull down my shirt in back for the photo, but he doesn’t notice those kind of things.

I’m glad to have the opportunity to show some of my sculptural work in the case, which spans from 1979 to the present. Soon, I’ll be heading back to the museum, so that I can speak to the docents and give them some background information about the exhibit. At that time, it’ll be a good opportunity to take more pictures of the show all hung. And then, after the holidays, I’ll return to give an artist talk to the public on Sat., January 4th at 2:00 pm. I hope that some of you live close enough to see the show!

Studio peek-a-boo

Posted on November 3, 2013 by Salley Mavor

I just wanted to show that I am indeed working in my studio these days, a lot. Every day, if I can manage it. I’m so tempted to show what I’m making in detail, because it’s exciting and fun, but that will have to wait until 2015, when my updated version of Felt Wee Folk will be published. With design pirating in the news (see Mimi Kirchner’s post about the Cody Foster situation here), I have to be more protective of my ideas, so I’m showing pictures with the dolls at a good arms length. The book’s deadline is only a few months away and I have so much to do before then! There are more new projects to make, rewriting and adding more directions, constructing scenes for photographing finished dolls, as well as getting good photos. Phew! I’m getting nervous, just typing these words.

I recently put together a set to display a group of new dolls for the book. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at what’s involved. As you can see, the domed hill top is an upside down wooden bowl, which is raised up with blocks of wood and covered with pieces of green felt. I brought the whole scene outside to have it’s photo taken. We had a short window of time to do the photography. The day before had been so windy that chairs were knocked over on our patio. Yesterday’s calm, cloud filled sky gave us even light, so I rushed to set everything up. It took about an hour to cover the hillside with moss and position the dolls.

I propped up a foam core board with felt attached for the background sky. Rob took photos of the scene.

Here are some more photos taken at a respectable distance. I’m reusing the precious moss in several scenes. As long as I keep working at this pace, I’ll get the book done in time.

Close-ups (birds)

Posted on October 28, 2013 by Salley Mavor

I’ve been using bird imagery to my artwork for a long time. The most recent is last year’s Birds of Beebe Woods piece, which has its own page here.

Let’s go way back. I embroidered the piece shown above in art school in 1974, when I was teaching myself different stitches. The little red bird below is from my first picture book, The Way Home (1991).

In the sequel, Come to My Party (1993), the bird is given a name: Harold.

This swimming duck felt pin is one of many projects in my 2003 how-to book, Felt Wee Folk.

This goose climbs up and runs down the hill in my board book, Jack & Jill (2006).

The last three close-ups are from Pocketful of Posies (2010). Check the tour schedule for the exhibit of original fabric relief illustrations here.

Ireland 2013 (windows)

Posted on October 25, 2013 by Salley Mavor

Ireland 2013 (castles, graves, ruins, etc.)

Posted on October 19, 2013 by Salley Mavor

Ireland is full of ancient structures and buildings. So, along with all of the green, there are a lot of gray stones to take pictures of.

Safe in Sebastopol

Posted on October 15, 2013 by Salley Mavor

I just received confirmation that the Birds of Beebe Woods has made the trip across the country safely! So far, this piece has been exhibited in Massachusetts, Kentucky, Texas and now Sebastopol, in northern California. The “birds” have traveled snug and protected in a custom crate that Rob made. Besides being a wonderful husband who builds crates (see below), he makes the wooden shadow box frames, photographs my artwork (including the closeup below) and sets up the equipment for my presentations. I am so lucky to have had Rob’s consistent support all these years. We recently figured out that we have been together for 35 years!

October 24 – November 30, “Birds of Beebe Woods” will be exhibited in Innovations in Fiber Arts VI, Sebastopol Center for the Arts, Sebastopol, California. A flyer for the event is at the end of this post.

It should be a very interesting show, but it’s too far for me to travel for the opening. I will continue to enter the piece into juried exhibits, with the goal of having it seen in as many different locations as possible.

blow up image of 2″ x 3.5″ detail from “Birds of Beebe Woods

Ireland 2013 (landscapes)

Posted on October 13, 2013 by Salley Mavor

It’s true, Ireland is the emerald isle. Lush green moss, ivy, ferns and grass are everywhere!

photo shoot in the studio

Posted on October 10, 2013 by Salley Mavor

A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of meeting photographer Dan Cutrona. He was sent over to my studio by Cape Cod Magazine, which will have an article about my work in March 2014. I’m not sure which issue, but I’ll announce it this blog and Facebook. Dan knows how to put you at ease and we had a great time trying out different ways of showing me at work. I dressed a little nicer than usual and even wore jewelry and lip gloss. Rob took these pictures while Dan was setting up the lights and clicking away on his camera.For the occasion, I borrowed my Self Portrait from its semi-permanent home at the Woods Hole Public Library and hung it on the wall above my work table. Other than that, I didn’t rearrange or clean up my studio, since I wanted it to be showed in its naturally cluttered state. When the magazine issue comes out, I’ll announce it (hopefully with a link) on this blog.

Ireland 2013 (street scenes)

Posted on October 7, 2013 by Salley Mavor

We had lunch in a different town every day, but the pub lunch was basically the same– delicious pureed vegetable soup and brown bread! Here are some of the towns we visited in Ireland. I can’t remember all of their names, but they’re located in the central western area. It was so refreshing to travel around without seeing a single strip mall or bill board.