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.

Family Trees: setting up the tree

Posted on November 22, 2012 by Salley Mavor

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.

Sunday’s Open Studio

Posted on November 19, 2012 by Salley Mavor

I had an inkling that yesterday’s Open Studio would be well attended, so I set out to expose as much floor space as possible. Clearing boxes off the floor was the biggest chore. The many piles of stuff that have been accumulating over the past few years were in the way. (It’s been awhile since I’ve invited in the public) Driftwood, mailing tubes and boxes of “interesting” fabric were hauled off and temporarily absorbed into the main house. In the above photo, you can see boxes stored under the table. On Sunday afternoon, there was a steady stream of people climbing up the stairs to my studio. There were lots of locals, along with several people who drove down to the Cape from the Boston area. I was glad to see Cathy, who was unable to attend my workshop last month, due to illness. When she read about the open studio in this blog, she convinced her husband Dave to bring her down from Wayland yesterday!

Many friends showed up, including Betty and Jay, which was a treat. The Pocketful of Posies tree is in the background. Terry, who has helped me with sooo many projects (cake decorating, costumes, and community quilts, to name a few), handled sales of posters, books and cards (same items are in my Etsy shop). Thanks, Terry! I wish I had more pictures to show, but I was so busy talking to people that the camera sat unused through most of the afternoon. It was lovely to see so many folks! It takes an event like this to make me clean up. Now, I’m trying to figure out how to reabsorb the stuff I cleared out of the studio, without ruining the much improved Feng shui.

Family Trees: thread spool garland

Posted on November 16, 2012 by Salley Mavor

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 feature 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.

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Ireland: store fronts

Posted on November 13, 2012 by Salley Mavor

While I’m busy preparing for the OPEN STUDIO on the 18th, let’s return to Ireland for a look at some storefronts, which I found irresistible. I love their unexpected color combinations and the signage. See all of the posts from our trip to Ireland this past September here.

Open Studio Nov. 18th

Posted on November 10, 2012 by Salley Mavor

Everyone is invited to come to my studio in Falmouth, MA (Cape Cod) on Sunday, November 18th, from 1:00 to 4:00 pm. Every few years, I like to open my studio to the public when there’s something special to show, usually when a big project is complete. That way people in my area can get a preview before my work is delivered elsewhere. I’m almost finished making decorations for a tree based on my book Pocketful of Posies, which will be included in Family Trees: A Celebration of Children’s Literature at the Concord Museum, Concord, MA. Several friends have asked if they can see the tree before I bring it to Concord, so I spontaneously decided to invite the world over, too. The picture above was taken a week ago and I’ve made more decorations since then, so by the 18th, the tree will be full of dolls and strung with garlands made of thread spools!

Oh, my, what have I done? This means I have a week to finish the tree and clean up the studio! Not too much fixing up, though–it will still look like a busy work place. Birds of Beebe Woods will be in the studio, too, before it is delivered to the Plymouth Antiquarian Society’s Hedge House Museum for their Fairy Christmas celebration. By the way, the Pocketful of Posies traveling exhibit will be there next summer.

new “Birds of Beebe Woods” cards

Posted on November 8, 2012 by Salley Mavor

New Birds of Beebe Woods note cards just arrived from the printer and I’ve added them to the other cards, posters and books in my Etsy Shop. I picked two detailed images from the larger piece, one of the crow, surrounded by smaller birds and the other features the blue jay and gold finch. I’m pleased with how the cards came out and think they show the embroidered patterns and textures of the birds quite well.

Archives: To see all of the posts about the making of Birds of Beebe Woods, go to the archives here.

fairy house tour (part 2)

Posted on November 6, 2012 by Salley Mavor

The fairy house tour around the grounds of the Florence Griswold Museum continues with photos of some of my favorite structures. Out of 33 very different styles, I found the naturalistic interpretations more believable as fairy dwellings. These tended to blend in with the landscape and mostly used materials found in nature. Please note: This fairy house exhibit is closed, with the next scheduled for 2014.

Other Fairy House News
(added May 30, 2015)
The Fairy Houses of Highfield Hall outdoor exhibit will be held from June 28th to August 31, 2015 at Highfield Hall in Falmouth, MA. In addition to curating the exhibit, Salley Mavor has made a fairy family of 5, which is being raffled (3 tickets for $5.00). Tickets may be purchased online or at Highfield Hall, where the fairy family is on display. The raffle drawing will be August 30, 2015. The prize will be sent to the winner anywhere in the world! Good luck!

A house with a teapot doorway.

This tree had several entrances.

These cottages perched on the roots look like guest houses for sprites.

A cozy picnic spot.

A wee painter’s shack.

Dew Drop Villas and a muscle shell windmill conclude the tour.

fairy house tour (part 1)

Posted on November 4, 2012 by Salley Mavor

Last week, I drove with my husband and a friend to Old Lyme, Connecticut, to see the eagerly anticipated Wee Faerie Village on the grounds of the Florence Griswold Museum. It was the last opportunity to see the display, because this year’s exhibit closed yesterday. I’m told that they coordinate the building of a new village every other year, so the next event should be in the fall of 2014.

Even with cloudy skies and cool temperatures, we enjoyed strolling around the property, following the numbered mushroom signs. Over thirty fairy dwellings were created by artists from the area, including my favorite, Nevergreen Caverns, made by the museum’s education director, David D.J. Rau.

Three hollow logs are stacked on a larger stump, with each space furnished with fairy comforts.

I found the burned wood markings charming…

as well as the mushroom roofed balconies.

It was well worth the visit! I will show more pictures of other houses in my next post.

a banner day

Posted on November 1, 2012 by Salley Mavor

Last Saturday, a group of lovely women gathered at Highfield Hall in Falmouth for my felt banner workshop. Lynn and Christy treated the workshop as a destination event. They drove down from Vermont a day ahead and spent the afternoon riding their bicycles on our prized Shining Sea bike path. The next morning, they were eager and ready to go before we officially started at 9:30.

I brought wool felt and other supplies like thread, wire and an alphabet guide. The class was made up of stitchers and quilters who felt very comfortable with a needle and thread. Everyone came with an idea of what kind of banner they wanted to make, so they got right to work. There were holiday signs, a baby banner, a Chinese proverb, a sewing room sign, and one woman made personalized tooth pillows for her nieces. The first challenge was selecting felt and thread colors. Then, I showed them how to form and wrap the wire letters. This is a technique I’ve been developing for some time, but I’ve never explained or demonstrated how to do it.

The wrapping technique can be quite tedious and fussy, but this group picked it up quickly. They didn’t seem frustrated and became engrossed in the process, asking questions along the way.

Lynn wanted to make a wire plant instead of words, so I showed her how to form and wrap branches.

Christy started a cheerful purple Christmas banner, which will include felt holly and other embellishments. The hours passed quickly and by closing time at 4:30, everyone’s project was progressing well, but nothing was completed. I know that Christy is working on hers at home, because she wrote to ask some questions yesterday.

Will I teach any more classes? I’m striving for the right balance between time out in the world and time creating in my studio. With so many projects planned, I hesitate to commit to teaching workshops, especially if it involves travel. I find it difficult to do my artwork if I’m constantly coming and going, preparing and recovering. Teaching at a venue close to home makes the idea sound more manageable, but I still guard my studio time like a mother bear!

Stormy Stitching

Posted on October 30, 2012 by Salley Mavor

We’re back on the grid! Going without power for the past two days didn’t stop me from stitching, though. The only electricity I usually need is for a lamp, so I adapted to the circumstances. I felt like a Jane Austen character, sitting and stitching near the light of the window during the day and sewing by lamp light in the evening. Sandy’s high winds blew down a lot of trees in town and some roads along Vineyard Sound were flooded, but we weren’t hit as bad as some places to our south and west. Our neighbor with a generator offered to put our frozen food in their freezer, so we saved some sentimental items from thawing, like soup from our garden veggies and striped bass that our son caught.