SALLEY MAVOR

WEE FOLK STUDIO

Closeups (castles)

Posted on February 8, 2011 by Salley Mavor

The first image is a detail from an embroidered illustration I made for a class in 1974. The assignment was to make an album cover for a made-up band. Mine pictured a kind of folk/rock/ renaissance musical group with a landscape and castle in the background. I think this was the first totally stitched scene I made. I found a stitching how-to book at the library and followed the directions. Before this all of my embroidery was embellishment on blue jeans and other clothing.

A couple of decades later, I made this sand castle for the book, You and Me. The beach sand is made from raw silk that I dyed with a spray bottle. And yes, those are real beach stones glued to the fabric.

detail from “You and Me” 1997

Here’s George reading a fantasy story with my favorite castle design on the cover. I got out my old stack of Color Aid paper to make the book.

This castle is from a royal scene I made for a doll magazine in 2000. The fleur-de-lis on the castle door is a nail head. The project was in The Cloth Doll, Volume 14, number 2.

The next 2 closeups are from my newest picture book, Pocketful of Posies.

In this one from Old King Cole, I use a combination of clay beads and wool felt to make the stone wall. And the fiddle is made from felt.

2 new displays

Posted on February 3, 2011 by Salley Mavor

I’ve just set up 2 new displays of original illustrations from Pocketful of Posies. Sixteen pieces are hung on this blue wavy wall at the Cape Cod Children’s Museum in Mashpee.

display at Cape Cod Children's Museum

I’ll be there to meet people and sign books on Thursday, February 24 at 11:00 am.

display at Cape Cod Children's Museum

The Sandwich Library has a nice display case that holds 9 pieces. The artwork is OK under the lights because the frames have UV protected glass. Both displays will be up through March, so if you’re in the area, do stop by! In April, the show will be traveling to Iowa. See the schedule here.

Sandwich Library

snow delay

Posted on February 1, 2011 by Salley Mavor

This morning, I was all set to drive the artwork over to the Cape Cod Children’s Museum in Mashpee for the next installment of the Pocketful of Posies Traveling Exhibit. But, we’re having another snow storm, so I’m delaying the delivery until Thursday, when the storm should have passed through. I’ll probably deliver artwork to the Sandwich Library on Thursday as well. They have a nice display case where I’ll set up some originals from the book. If your library has a decent sized locked display case and you are within a 3 hr. drive of Cape Cod, please let me know.

loading the elevator at the Danforth

On Sunday, my husband Rob and I picked up all of the illustrations from the Danforth Museum, where the show has been for the past 3 months. The museum’s director, Katherine French and her staff were wonderful to work with we’re talking about my return to the museum with another show in a few years. Not book illustrations this time, but stand alone fabric relief artwork. Katherine wrote this lovely review of the show:

“The Danforth Museum of Art has been pleased to host an exhibition of original art created for Salley Mavor’s Pocketful of Posies. Even the most jaded parent, reluctantly pulled into the gallery by an eager child, finds themselves engaged by fiber art at the highest level. Created with traditional craft materials, the artist creates small sculptures that are completely charming, yet intricate and complex. The stories she tells are simple, but demonstrate a sophisticated understanding of composition and sculptural form. They are, quite simply, extraordinary. ”

Thanks, Danforth Museum! Here we are, all packed for the journey home. My Subaru Outback is just big enough to fit all of the frames.

Impromtu book signing on friday

Posted on January 18, 2011 by Salley Mavor

Book signing CANCELLED due to snow.

I’ll be up in the Boston area this friday, so the Danforth Museum asked if I’d like to come in for an hour to meet people and sign books. Everyone is invited to come to the museum in Framingham from 12 noon to 1:00 pm. My original illustrations from Pocketful of Posies are being exhibited an extra week, until Saturday, January 29th, so there’s more time to get to the show. I’d love to see some blog followers on friday!

detail from "Pocketful of Posies" 2010

Also, Pocketful of Posies was named an American Library Association Notable Children’s Book of 2010. The ALA committee writes,”Familiar and lesser known nursery rhymes, illustrated with superb needlework and appliqué, create a charming dollhouse of a book.” Thank you to all of the wonderful librarians around the country who have taken notice of my book!

Martin Luther King day

Posted on January 17, 2011 by Salley Mavor

In honor of Martin Luther King, I’ve gathered some images from my children’s picture books.

from “In the Heart” 2001

from “You and Me: Poems of Friendship” 1997

detail from “In the Heart”, 2001

from “You and Me: Poems of Friendship” 1997

from “Pocketful of Posies” 2010

from “In the Heart” 2001

from “Hey, Diddle, Diddle!” 2005

This post was inspired by the pictures of Mimi Kirchner’s beautiful dolls on her blog.

Also, the Pocketful of Posies exhibit at the Danforth Museum will be extended another week, until Sat., January 29th.

visit to Studio Goodwin Sturges

Posted on January 14, 2011 by Salley Mavor

I recently visited Studio Goodwin Sturges in their new location in Providence, RI. Judy Sue Goodwin-Sturges and I have known each other since I took her illustration classes at RISD in the mid 70’s. We’ve worked together on books since she started her studio in the 90’s. In addition to teaching, she represents a wonderful group of artists, some of whom are former students, and matches them up with publishers. Here she is in her studio office.

The studio moved from Boston to this window lit space in the back of her house. It’s located a few streets from where my mother grew up in Providence.

I saw a felt banner I made years ago displayed with some of the studio’s books. I didn’t know that they were involved with Puff the Magic Dragon and Judy Collins’ Over the Rainbow books. There’s a nice note from Peter Yarrow.

The Studio is a wonderful, supportive agency that has developed hundreds of children’s books.

One box filled room was full of books that Judy Sue moved from Boston. We combed through dozens of boxes until we found my books. She’s trying to down size, so she gave me most of what she had.

One of my early dolls was propped up on the center table at the studio. Her shoes and vest are made of leather.

It’s the same doll that I’m making in the photo below, which was taken by my roommate at RISD in 1976.

salley at RISD 1976

I also saw the framed pin display I made for Judy Sue sometime in the 80’s. This way she could see her collection. The custom-made cow may show my first use of bead udders.

: pin display, 1980’s

Visiting the new studio, with so many visible memories, makes me appreciate how much support I’ve received from Judy Sue to do what I love to do! I’ve written about how she encouraged me during my student years at RISD in earlier posts here. I love this picture of her with some of her former students, including Ashley Wolff and Holly Berry. Thanks Judy-Sue!

Judy-Sue (back), Salley, Ashley Wolff and Holly Berry, 1980's

Closeups (bags)

Posted on January 8, 2011 by Salley Mavor

Purse, handbag, satchel, luggage or sack— they are basically containers to carry loose things around. As a sculptural object, there are just a few requirements, including storage space, durability and ease of use. I don’t understand the craze over designer bags. From what I’ve seen, most aren’t very interesting and are kind of ugly. Clearly, the fashion world is a mystery!

This first purse is being clutched by a wrench hand in my found object piece, Walking the Dog, which can be seen here.

detail from “Walking the Dog” 2005

This little piggie going to market is from Pocketful of Posies. The string bag is made with a needle crochet technique that I figured out on my own. I’m not patient enough to follow directions to learn the proper way to crochet with a hook, so I just fool around with a needle and thread.

Here’s an old man clothed all in leather, from the illustration for the folk song “One Misty Moisty Morning”. This and all of the next closeups are from Pocketful of Posies. The photos are blown up to about twice their actual size.

detail from “Pocketful of Posies” 2010

detail from ‘Pocketful of Posies” 2010

detail from “Pocketful of Posies” 2010

Pocketful of Borders: back cover

Posted on January 5, 2011 by Salley Mavor

I always make book covers toward the end of a project. In the case of Pocketful of Posies, I’d already spent a couple of years on the book before I was ready to tackle the all important jacket design. See the front cover in an earlier post here. Whereas the front requires a title and by line, all the back really needs is space for a bar code.

sketch for "Pocketful of Posies" back cover

I decided to make a child inhabited landscape and neighborhood without a clear up or down. This way, I could set the scene for the book, going from general to more specific inside. Day and night would be separated diagonally.

Since the illustration already had a border of leaves, I just had to make a pattern (in red paper) and cut the felt into the wavy shape.

Then, I blanket stitched around the entire outside edge with pima cotton. I also signed and dated the bottom corners with chained stitched embroidery floss. This original illustration is part of the Pocketful of Posies Traveling Exhibit at the Danforth Museum in Framingham, MA, which will be on display through January 23rd.

back cover from "Pocketful of Posies" 2010

Note: See other posts from the Pocketful of Borders series here.

patiently waiting for books

Posted on December 28, 2010 by Salley Mavor

“George’s Chair” fabric relief mid 1990’s

OK, here’s the situation— basically, my books, both Pocketful of Posies and Felt Wee Folk, are sold out. The publishers are out of stock, distributors have none and Amazon is out. They are both being re-printed, with shipments scheduled to arrive from mid to late January. This situation has only come up in the past week or two, so I think that most people were able to buy copies for Christmas. This is a new experience for me. After 20 years in the book business, I’m used to the opposite problem–getting a letter from the publisher saying my book is declared OOP (out of print) because there have not been enough sales to justify reprinting. So, I’m not complaining about reprints, it’s just that the timing is all off!

According to C&T Publishing, Michaels bought a large quantity of Felt Wee Folk, so they might have some. With their discount coupon, that can be a good deal! After 7 years and 50,000 copies sold, it’s nice to hear about people who are just discovering it. I know that I’m way overdue for another how-to book, but just can’t bring myself to take on such a big project right now. For one thing, I’m having too much fun with this blog!

If you’re trying to get a copy of Pocketful of Posies, some might still be in book stores scattered around the country. As I’ve mentioned before, my local book store, Eight Cousins stocked up ahead of time and has some signed copies available (508.548.5548).

If you already have my books, I hope that you can curl up in a comfy chair this cold January and enjoy them!

AMAZON UPDATE 1/9/11: Pocketful of Posies is now in stock, Felt Wee Folk is still unavailable. Update 11/13: Autographed copies are available in my Etsy Shop.

Close-ups (foliage)

Posted on December 26, 2010 by Salley Mavor

This series of close-ups shows the progression of my stitching technique and style over 20 years of illustrating children’s books. The first picture shows a detail of the banana trail that Savi the elephant follows through the jungle in The Way Home (1991). Read the story about making The Way Home here.

from "The Way Home" 1991

I made a stencil and painted grass on the velveteen background in The Way Home‘s sequel, Come to my Party (1993).

from "Come to My Party" 1993

Jump ahead a dozen years and I’m embroidering blades of grass and sewing glass beads to a wool felt background in the board book, Hey! Diddle, Diddle.

detail from "Hey! Diddle, Diddle" 2005

And still obsessing over french knots in Jack and Jill.

detail from "Jack and Jill" 2006

This one shows a small section of the illustration from the song One misty moisty morning in my most recent book, POCKETFUL OF POSIES . If you are having difficulty finding a copy of the book, it’s because the first printing has sold out. My local bookstore, Eight Cousins, stocked up, so they might still have some (508.548.5548). The situation will soon be remedied, as the second printing will arrive from Hong Kong in mid-January.