Peter and the Wolf CD

Posted on January 6, 2010 by Salley Mavor

A good story told in combination with orchestral music is a special treat. I had the pleasure of working with my friends at Maestro Classics on one of their recent CD projects. They hope that families will be educated as well as entertained with their series of award-winning story and music CDs for children. The producers of the recordings, Bonnie and Stephen Simon, have a house in Woods Hole and we have known each other for quite a few years. I remember Bonnie talking about her idea of making recordings of the Stories in Music™ performances that her husband Stephen had conducted in Washington, D.C. at the Kennedy Center. Well, they did it, and their company, Maestro Classics, now has eight CDs available, with more planned for the future. I was very excited to be asked to illustrate the CD box for Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf.

The Russian story was a perfect match for my folk art style and it was a joy to bring Peter and the animals to life. In addition to designing the cover illustration with Peter and the cat in the tree, with the bird taunting the wolf, I made a scene to be used inside the case. Here’s a sketch I made of Peter with his grandfather in their fenced in yard, which later was developed into a sewn scene. My layouts are usually simply drawn, with figures and other important features positioned in the space.

Sketch of Peter and his grandfather

Later, when I’m sewing, the color and details will start to emerge. The fence posts are made from some bone beads which have been sitting patiently for years, waiting to be useful.

inside illustration from "Peter and the Wolf" CD

I also made individual characters from the story, including the hunters to be used as illustrations in a little activity booklet of games and information that comes with the CD. Lately, I’ve been using painted bead heads for some animals like cats and birds. It’s almost like a child’s costume, with a painted face and hood with ears. But, the wolf needed to have a long pointed head. It was important that he be scary and imposing, not too cute, so I gave him teeth, intense eyes, and a shaggy mane. You can see and listen to Maestro Classic’s CDs here.

Felt Wee Folk Challenge Alert!

Posted on January 5, 2010 by Salley Mavor

Word just in that Patty from My life under the bus has announced a Felt Smack Down 2010 “Challenge Alert”. The premise of the challenge is to make something based on my Felt Wee Folk book . Please visit her blog to find out details and to let her know if you are interested in participating, since she’s limiting the number of submissions. Patty has asked me to judge the projects, which really sounds like fun. This is giving me the idea of offering some kind of contest myself in the future.

Felt Wee Folk: Enchanting Projects

Self-Portrait on CTpub’s blog

Posted on January 4, 2010 by Salley Mavor

Announcement! Today, C&T Publishing’s blog is posting an article I wrote about my self-portrait. You can see it here. There are other photos of Self-Portrait: my personal history of fashion on my first blog post here.

detail from my Self-Portrait, 2007

Milkweed Pods

Posted on December 27, 2009 by Salley Mavor

The pods are light and almost have the texture of handmade paper. They open up in the fall, bursting with the most delicate, downy seeds and their boat-like shape and small size make a fitting bed for a little person.

This sleeping girl nestled in her milkweed bed is in my board book, Wee Willie Winkie.

For more ideas on wee doll bedding, visit my post about walnut shells here.

Three Kings

Posted on December 19, 2009 by Salley Mavor

In the early 80’s, I designed projects for magazines. I remember that the projects themselves were fun to figure out and make, but writing the directions was a big chore. You have to break the process down step by step and explain every detail. Sometimes it’s hard to tell how you did something in a clear understandable way. I work intuitively, so writing coherent directions was work!

Here’s a ticket stub to a production of the opera, Amahl and the Night Visitors, which was performed in Falmouth by a local theater group in 1981. I designed the posters, program, tickets and costumes. The image of the three kings got me thinking about doing a nativity scene of cloth dolls. The thing about dolls is that they usually have legs, which makes it difficult for them to stand on their own. So, I gave these characters long robes and even put sand in the bottom to make them stay grounded. The kings were made from lush fabrics like brocade and velveteen, with metallic braid, and they carried bead and button gifts. Mary and Joseph’s clothing was more homespun, with woven wools and roughly textured cloth.

Creche scene from Better Homes and Gardens, 1981

patterns from Better Homes and Gardens, 1981

Favorites (Christmas)

Posted on December 16, 2009 by Salley Mavor

From time to time, I’ll be posting a group of photographs of my favorite things. These Christmas decorations are from my husband’s family in Pennsylvania. My mother-in-law would set up scenes on the mantle piece and window sills around the house. I love the way one of the Santas has a kid leather beard, instead of the traditional cotton.

There are seven metal reindeer left in the set, some with bells and some so lame that they need help standing.

These glass ornaments are so delicate and are still stored in what looks to be their original box.

This wooden angel candle holder is about 3″ tall. I love her little head wreath.

And there’s a flock of sweet sheep and lambs, with their wooden legs worn and exposed.

Walnut Shells

Posted on November 23, 2009 by Salley Mavor

There’s nothing like the sight of a sleeping baby. I’m constantly on the lookout for natural objects that can be used as beds for my dolls. A baby can curl up in a cradle made from half a walnut-shell.

This walnut is bigger than most that you can buy in a bag at the super market. I usually pick out the larger ones during Thanksgiving season, when the stores sell them in loose bins. I am a curious sight, digging through the box, determined to find the biggest ones. To make the nuts more easy to split open, bake them in a low oven at about 200 degrees for a few hours. They start to crack along the center seam and you can then break them open with a knife. You can also cut the shells open with a fine saw. In the above illustration from my up-coming book, Pocketful of Posies (Sept. 2010), I sawed half a walnut-shell in half again lengthwise, so that the side could be seen in relief.

This blue suited baby is lying on real reindeer moss in a walnut-shell. He is part of an illustration from my board book, Wee Willie Winkie, on the page that says, “Are the children in their beds?” This image is available as a note card in my Etsy Shop. I edged the felt leaf with wire to give it a curvy, raised lip that fits the shape of the walnut. You can glue the shell in place or drill holes and sew it like a button.

detail from “You and Me Poems of Friendship” 1997

New Ltd. Edition Fairies

Posted on November 17, 2009 by Salley Mavor

Wild haired Dahlia dolls before braiding

After a long hiatus, some new Fairies have arrived in my studio! I’ve enjoyed making this group of dolls after a break of a few years while I finished the illustrations for my new children’s book, Pocketful of Posies: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes, which will be published in Sept. 2010. I’ll be showing more about the book in the future, but for now see Mimi Kirchner’s blog for a sneak peek. Here are some photos of fairy making in progress.

fairy making parts ready to be assembled

a gang of Myrtle & Moss fairies

Dahlia, ltd. edition of 25

Myrtle & Moss, ltd. edition of 16

Joining the Blogging world! Selfportrait

Posted on November 16, 2009 by Salley Mavor

detail from Self Portrait : A Personal History of Fashion 2007

This blog is an opportunity to share my creative life with you, whether you’ve seen my illustrations in children’s books, have made projects from my how-to book, Felt Wee Folk, or are a lover of embroidery and textile art. I will share pictures of my studio and work in progress, along with images and artists that I find inspirational. After years of quietly working in my own private space, I feel compelled to communicate with like-minded people, who have a passion for stitching. I plan to present current work as well as dip into the past, showing early works made during my 40 year career. It may take a while for me to become comfortable sharing my ideas and reflections in writing, as I am more content to make and show than explain in words. So, rest assured that I will be posting lots of images!

Self Portrait: a personal history of fashion, 2007

I made this piece for a self-portrait invitational show in 2007. It shows a spiral of dolls, one for each year, starting with my birth date in the center. Each figure is dressed in an outfit I would have worn that year, taken from memories, family photos or imagination. The dolls are a variation of the wee folk and fairies in my how-to book, Felt Wee Folk.

Self-Portrait detail

I made many of my original dresses and recreated them here with smaller scale fabric and embroidered wool felt. My husband, Rob, appears the year we were married and my sons, Peter and Ian, are included through the years when they were little and physically connected to me. The tatting around the outside of the circle was made by my late grandmother, Louise Salley Hartwell. The wool felt spiral is mounted on upholstery fabric, which I embellished with multicolored french knots.

When the piece is not included in one of my exhibitions, it is on semi-permanent display at the Woods Hole Public Library, Woods Hole, MA. My husband Rob and I made the following film set to music I remember hearing through the years.

Self-Portrait detail

Posters and cards are available in my Etsy Shop here.

Poster – Self Portrait

To keep up with new posts, subscribe to this blog (top right column on the home page). Your contact info will not be shared. If you’d like to see more frequent photos tracking the projects in my studio, please follow me on Facebook and/or Instagram.