The original Birds of Beebe Woods is currently on view at Eight Cousins Bookshop (199 Main St.) in my hometown of Falmouth, MA, on Cape Cod. The embroidered piece will be there until its next scheduled showing at another location in 2027. So if you’re coming to town, please stop in for a visit.
About the artwork: Birds of Beebe Woodswas made in 2012 for a fiber art exhibit celebrating the beloved forest in my home town of Falmouth, Massachusetts. The finished dimensions are 30″ h x 24″ w x 1.5″ d. In my piece, I wanted to feature wildlife as well as convey the natural wooded environment in Beebe Woods. I chose to portray birds, making them realistic enough to be recognized, but patterned and abstracted in a way that made them fun to stitch. I started with a simple sketch and then got to work on the woodsy border, with its felt-covered wire filigree stage curtains. The crow came next and then the other birds common to our area of New England, making a dozen total. Listed clock-wise, they are female cardinal, nuthatch, black-throated green warbler, male cardinal, wren, downy woodpecker, blue-jay, robin, goldfinch, cedar waxwing, American crow and chickadee. I hand stitched the entire piece, using my unique blend of techniques and working methods.
The original framed piece is not for sale, so that it can be displayed in public exhibitions. The next best thing (and affordable, too) is to get the poster in my Etsy shop. Puzzles, notebooks, note cards, and bookmarks are also available.
Archives: To see posts about the making of the birds in the piece, go to these links: crow here, goldfinch, nuthatch and chickadee here, blue jay here, cedar waxwing here, cardinals here, robin here, wren here.
8 card set of Birds of Beebe Woods
Spiral Bound Notebook
Birds of Beebe Woods Puzzle
This puzzle is available exclusively in my Etsy shop .
Birds of Beebe Woods jigsaw puzzle
Birds of Beebe Woods 18″ x 24″ poster
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Detail of Afghanistan illustration from My Bed: Enchanting Ways to Fall Asleep Around the World
I’m thrilled to share the news that the Mingei International Museum in San Diego, California will host a show of the original stitched illustrations for my picture book MY BED. I’m honored to have my work exhibited in such a prestigious location in the heart of the Balboa Park Cultural District.
MY BED: Enchanting Ways to Fall Sleep Around the World Mingei International Museum, San Diego, California Oct. 31 , 2026 – April 18, 2027 Artist Talk ~ Sat., Nov 14, 10:30 am Please register Here.
MY BED BookMY BED Exhibition
MY BED ~ a book and an exhibition The MY BED book and its accompanying exhibition both bring people on an international journey, showing children in varying cultures and home environments around the world. The exhibition, however, offers something extra that the book alone cannot possibly provide. It delivers an immersive experience where viewers can peer into these worlds and take a close look at the detail and sculptural quality of my bas-relief artwork in person.
Southern Vermont Art Center, 2023
Since its debut in 2020 at the Cahoon Museum of American Art in Cotuit, Massachusetts, the MY BED exhibition has traveled to more than a dozen large and small museums around the country, giving thousands of viewers the opportunity to see my original hand-embroidered, three-dimensional tableaus.
In many ways, having my work shown at the Mingei is a dream come true! This gem of a museum has been on my radar for a while, ever since a fan suggested it as a possible venue for my artwork. With its focus on folk art, craft and design, she thought it would be a perfect match. Now that I’ve had a chance to work with their curator and staff, I couldn’t agree more.
I’m looking forward to traveling to the museum in a few weeks to see the show. I’ll also be giving an artist talk on Sat., Nov. 14 at 10:30 am. If you live in the area, I’d love to meet you there. Please register for the talk here.
Will the MY BED exhibition continue to tour? I’d love to keep it going, so that more people can experience the joy that comes with seeing these pieces in person. Even though I’m no longer actively seeking out new locations, I still welcome inquiries from museums and curators interested in hosting an exhibition. For news about current and upcoming shows, please visit the exhibition page.
Packing the framed artwork for MY BED before shipment.
Each time I pack up the pieces for shipment to the next venue, I’m grateful to my husband Rob for making the beautiful cherry wood shadowbox frames that protect my art. In fact, over the past 45 years, he’s made hundreds of these frames! I also appreciate the curators, designers, docents, and everyone else who has helped make these exhibits a success.
BED BOOK PEEK: Below is a small sampling of the dozens of posts chronicaling the process of making MY BED during the years long process. For a complete list with links, visit this page.
A few days ago, I had the pleasure of meeting (via Zoom) with an enthusiastic group of Mingei Museum docents who will be leading tours of my exhibition. After giving an overview of my life’s work that I hoped would provide some useful information they could pass on to visitors, I fielded questions. The kind of subjects they asked about were specific and insightful, like how do you explain bas-relief to a general audience of museum goers? As I struggled to come up with a simple answer, I came away with a renewed admiration for people who volunteer to be docents. Their mission of explaining and interpreting art is no small task! The following slide show includes some of the process photos I shared with the group:
Assembling parts on an illustration for MY BED.
UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS of Salley Mavor’s Art:
Weaving Words: Fiber Arts and Picture Books The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Amherst, MA November 21, 2026 – May 2, 2027 This group exhibit explores the connection between fiber arts and picture books. Among the 30 featured artists is Salley Mavor.
Natural Wonders: The Art of Salley Mavor Cahoon Museum of American Art, Cotuit, MA July 21 – December 19, 2027 This solo exhibit is a celebration of nature, imagination, and the passage of time.
The picture book, MY BED: Enchanting Ways to Fall Asleep Around the World is available worldwide through booksellers (published by HarperCollins ISBN 978-0-544-94906-5). Autographed copies are sold in my shop here.
To keep up with new posts, please subscribe to this blog. Your contact info will not be sold or shared. If you’d like to see more frequent photos tracking the projects in my studio, please follow me on Facebook and/or Instagram.
