This is a reminder for those of you in the Portland, Oregon area, who plan on coming to my illustrated talk, Once Upon a Thread. I’ll be at Gossamer on Sunday, April 1st at 3:00 pm. I recommend getting there early, as space is limited. I plan to be there by 2:00 pm to mingle and chat. It will be wonderful to meet my blog friends!
Congratulations to Melissa Sweet for winning the 2012 SCBWI Golden Kite award for picture book! Balloons Over Broadway is the wonderfully told and illustrated story of puppeteer Tony Sarg, the creative force behind Macy’s Thanksgiving parade. I had never heard of Mr. Sarg and haven’t seen the parade in New York, even on TV. The idea of watching TV during a family holiday was unthinkable while I was growing up. But, Melissa’s book has given me a new appreciation for the parade and the artistry behind it.
I love how Melissa combines watercolor paintings with collage and 3 dimensional objects. It’s encouraging to see sculptural illustration recognized this way. Melissa and I met years ago at a conference and I was struck by her unbounded creativity and willingness to experiment with all kinds of materials in her artwork. We’ve been in contact more recently, when I asked if I could use these images in my slide talk about the joys and challenges of 3 dimensional illustration. It turns out that we have the same publisher (Houghton Mifflin) and that both of our books were photographed by Rick Kyle of 5000K.
Reading and looking at the pictures in Balloons Over Broadway is a delightful experience. I’m so excited for you, Melissa!
"Little Miss Muffett" illustration from Pocketful of Posies
An illustration from Pocketful of Posies was part of an exhibit recently held at the Cotuit Center for the Arts. Every winter, the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod organizes an exhibit of work made by Cape Cod artists, with the purpose of exposing school children to art. There’s a different theme each year, and the latest was “Wild Things”. This exhibit ended a couple of weeks ago. Back in 2007, I made my Self Portrait for a show they put together of the same name. I try to participate every year, if I have something that fits the theme.
Local photographer Mark Chester took this B & W shot of a school group being shown the original fabric relief illustration for “Little Miss Muffett”. She held up my book, open to the printed picture and told the children how my work was used as an illustration. The tour leader is the Cotuit Center’s educational coordinator, Lenore Lyons. Mark had a photo in the show from his delightful new book of paired photographs, Twosomes. Thanks for sending over the photo, Mark! I’ll probably include Miss Muffett in the Mashpee Public Library display during the month of May and this July and August at the Mahopac Public Library, Mahopac, New York .
I’m happy to announce that the Pocketful of Posies Traveling Exhibit is going coast to coast! 25 original fabric relief illustrations from Pocketful of Posies, plus some illustrations from my other books will be displayed at the Arne Nixon Center for the Study of Children’s Literature, Henry Madden Library, California State University, Fresno, CA, from March 18 – May 27, 2013.
This arrangement came about because a librarian at the Arne Nixon Center saw my illustration on the cover of the current issue of Horn Book Magazine. (See how I made the cover artwork here.) She found out about the touring exhibit and inquired about sending the artwork to Fresno. Luckily, half of the pieces in the show are available during the time slot she was interested in, so they’ll be shipped to California in a little over a year. The other half will be shown at Cedarhurst in Mt. Vernon, Illinios about the same time, from Feb. 23rd to May 5th, 2013.
Plans are in the works for the show to travel to some other locations, which I’ll announce when arrangements are confirmed. I’m so glad that people in different areas of the country will be able to see my work “up close and personal”. Inquiries from non-commercial, secure venues with museum lighting and a shipping budget are welcome. (weefolk@cape.com)
I’ll be going out west to Portland, Oregon this spring to visit my sister Anne. She helped me set up an event at a wonderful fiber arts shop called Gossamer.
The owner, Rose used to sell my fairy kits when she ran the store at the Portland Waldorf School, so she is familiar with my work. Now, she is happy to have her own shop, which sells fiber arts materials and Waldorf supplies. On Sunday, April 1st at 3:00 pm, I’ll be there to give an illustrated talk, show the Rabbitat film, sign copies of Pocketful of Posies and meet people, including some blog followers from Portland. I’m thinking of bringing some original fabric reliefs to show, too.
Closer to home, my next presentation will be Wed., Feb. 8th at 12:30 pm at the Falmouth Congregational Church, on the village green, Falmouth, MA. The public is welcome to come hear me talk about my work and see some original fabric relief pieces.
Self Portrait detail
My show, Salley Mavor: Sewn Stories will be at the Brattleboro Museum in Vermont for just 2 more weeks. It’s a wonderful little museum in a great town! Many people have seen the exhibit since it opened last July , but I know there are others who have been thinking about going, so now is the time. The show will be there through Sunday, February 5th, 2012.
The show includes several originals from Pocketful of Posies as well as illustrations from some of my other books. My Self Portrait: A Personal History of Fashion and Rabbitat are on display, too. After the show ends, the self-portrait will be returning to its semi-permanent home at the Woods Hole Public Library.
I don’t usually toot my own horn so loudly, but I want to share a few sentences from this review of the show, which came out in Art New England:
“In astonishing detail, Mavor’s work above all conveys an artist who is entirely present. Beyond merely illustrating a story or poem, she brings us into it. Engaging with these works is like searching for stars in the night sky–at first we don’t recognize the extent of the delicate endless stitching, but as we keep our eyes focused, more and more appear. Surely her thread is gossamer, her fingers unimaginably nimble.”
I am overwhelmed by the response to the Horn Book poster giveaway! Thank you to everyone (107) who entered. I am very touched by so many lengthy, thoughtful and generous comments on the giveaway post, well beyond the usual minimal missives.
Drum roll, please. The winner is Marianne Monaghan! I’ll notify her by e-mail and find out where to send the poster. Anyone who’d like to buy posters ($7 within the US, $10 outside the US) from the Horn Book can call (Eastern Standard Time) or email any of the following:
800-325-9558 ext 7942, 614-873-7942, info@hbook.com
I gave a poster to Woods Hole Library Director Margaret McCormick, to hang up in our library.
I just had to show you this picture of one-year-old Helen dressed as a lamb, which was in the most recent Woods Hole Library newsletter. Her mother, Kellie Porter was working at the desk in the library when I brought in the poster. Kellie and I were both surprised to see the similarity between her daughter/lamb and my little girl/lamb swinging from the tree in the poster. I made the artwork for the magazine this past summer and Kellie hadn’t seen the Horn Book cover until I showed her the poster, so the resemblance was unexpected. By the way, Helen’s costume is not homemade, but I think it could easily be copied. I wish I had thought to add a collar and bell!
The Shortest Day by Susan Cooper
And so the Shortest Day came and the year died
And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world
Came people singing, dancing,
To drive the dark away.
Salley, age 8
They lighted candles in the winter trees;
They hung their homes with evergreen;
They burned beseeching fires all night long
To keep the year alive.
detail from “One Misty, Moisty Morning” in “Pocketful of Posies” 2010
And when the new year’s sunshine blazed awake
They shouted, reveling.
Through all the frosty ages you can hear them
Echoing behind us – listen!
detail from “Little Jack Horner” in “Pocketful of Posies” 2010
All the long echoes, sing the same delight,
This Shortest Day,
As promise wakens in the sleeping land:
They carol, feast, give thanks,
And dearly love their friends,
And hope for peace.
detail of balsam pillow in “Felt Wee Folk” 2003
And now so do we, here, now,
This year and every year.
detail from “Little Jack Horner” in “Pocketful of Posies” 2010
Autographed copies of Pocketful of Posies are available from my Esty Shop.
This Saturday, Dec. 10th, I’ll be signing books from 1:00 to 3:00pm at the New England Quilt Museum in Lowell, Massachusetts. This will be the last event of the year, professionally, that is. Some original illustrations from Pocketful of Posies will be displayed during my visit. The old woman who lived in a shoe will be there, as well as Peter the pumpkin eater.
I’ll also bring the orignal illustration I made for the Horn Book Magazine. To see a preview of the Jan/Feb magazine cover, go here. I hope to meet some of you at the Quilt Museum this Saturday!
We had a good day on Saturday at the RISD Holiday Sale. It’s been five years since I had a booth there, so it felt good to once again be among the 200 odd alumni who set up their wares. Since I don’t make kits or dolls to sell anymore, I brought books to sell. My husband, Rob was relieved that my setup was simpler than in the past. I used to make him haul twisty trees on heavy stands, but not this year. I hung up a large blowup of the cover of Pocketful of Posies, which my editor and the sales staff at Houghton Mifflin passed on to me. We were busy, which meant that I couldn’t take off and peruse the other isles. There’s always an eclectic selection of stuff at the RISD sales. Alumni from almost every department are represented; jewelry, furniture design, ceramics, printmaking, illustration, glass, textiles, industrial design, etc. Several people who follow this blog came by, including RISD illustration alumnus Ingrid Lavoie, who had her own booth with cut paper items. We talked about how a large percentage of illustration majors never work in publishing, but end up using a variety of art forms, and that their work usually has a storytelling element.
In my booth, I displayed some original illustrations from Pocketful of Posies, including There was an old woman who lived in a shoe.
Kate Menard came by to have her book signed. She told me that she’s bringing her parents to see my exhibit at UConn later this week. The show will be up through Dec. 16th.
SALLEY MAVOR 