Posies poster

Posted on November 20, 2013 by Salley Mavor

This poster/flyer announces 2 separate events happening soon at different locations in the Boston area; my exhibit at the New England Quilt Museum in Lowell, MA and my lecture with the Rising Star Quilt Guild in Lexington, MA. Do you want copies of your own? It’s available in a PDF file for you to print out on an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper. Just request it in a comment and I’ll send you the PDF file via e-mail. Don’t worry, your e-mail address does not appear publicly.

I’d love some help spreading the word about these events to interested people, so please feel free to distribute and post the poster.

Posies at New England Quilt Museum

Posted on November 17, 2013 by Salley Mavor

I am happy to announce that the Pocketful of Posies traveling exhibit will be displayed at the New England Quilt Museum in Lowell, MA from Nov. 21st ~ Dec. 28th. I’m planning to take down the show and pack up the artwork in the afternoon on Dec. 28th, so get there early if you want to see everything hung that day. But, don’t wait until the last day– go see it soon and then return with your friends! It’s also a good time of year for families in the Boston area to go during the Thanksgiving and Christmas vacations. As you know, this show is not just for children, but for all who delight in handwork and the imagination.

The original illustrations are being hung in the classroom gallery, which recently had museum lighting installed and it looks really nice. Half of the total collection of 50 pieces will be in Lowell, while the other half are currently being shown at the Cape Cod Museum of Art, in Dennis, MA until Jan. 26th, 2014. Both exhibits have been on the schedule for quite some time, so It’s feels good to finally have them up and running!

Posies delivered to Cape Cod Museum

Posted on November 7, 2013 by Salley Mavor

On Monday, Rob and I drove to the Cape Cod Museum of Art in Dennis, Massachusetts, which is about an hour drive down Cape from Falmouth. We delivered 25 original illustrations from Pocketful of Posies, which will be displayed from now until January 26, 2014. My exhibit is in a gallery space just off of the main room of the museum. It’s an intimate, bright space, painted in a warm golden color, which is perfect for my small pieces. We placed the frames in groups on the floor in front of the walls, to be hung later by the museum staff.

I brought some dolls and objects to put in a nice display case in the corner. I wish that Rob had told me to pull down my shirt in back for the photo, but he doesn’t notice those kind of things.

I’m glad to have the opportunity to show some of my sculptural work in the case, which spans from 1979 to the present. Soon, I’ll be heading back to the museum, so that I can speak to the docents and give them some background information about the exhibit. At that time, it’ll be a good opportunity to take more pictures of the show all hung. And then, after the holidays, I’ll return to give an artist talk to the public on Sat., January 4th at 2:00 pm. I hope that some of you live close enough to see the show!

Talking about my art

Posted on October 1, 2013 by Salley Mavor

I’ll be talking about my art in this room at Highfield Hall in Falmouth, MA, this coming Sunday, Oct. 6th at 1:30 pm. The space will be transformed into a lecture hall with chairs, darkened windows and a screen for my presentation. I look forward to sharing the story of my artistic journey through photos and recollections. 50 original fabric relief illustrations from Pocketful of Posies are hung all over the first floor of the mansion until Oct. 31st. I love having my work shown is such an inviting and beautiful place!

Just for the event on Oct. 6th, two extra pieces will be displayed on easels; Birds of Beebe Woods and Self Portrait: A Personal History of Fashion. The “Birds” piece is home for a short time, between shows, so I thought I’d take it along for an outing. The next day, it’ll be crated and shipped to Sebastopol, California for Innovations in Fiber Arts VI at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts. My Self Portrait is on semi-permanent display at the Woods Hole Public Library, so I’m borrowing it for the Highfield event. We’ll also show a short film my husband Rob and I made about the self portrait. I hope to see locals as well as out-of-towners on Sunday. Be sure to come early to claim a seat and look around at the exhibit!

Poster -Self Portrait: a personal history of fashion, 2007

doll house play

Posted on August 29, 2013 by Salley Mavor

Yesterday, I witnessed the sight of real children playing with my doll house! Some friends came over to my studio with their grandchildren, who immediately engaged with the dolls and miniatures in and around the house. You may wonder why I find this so remarkable, especially since I constructed and decorated it almost 40 years ago. For most of those years, the house has been packed away or displayed behind glass. My sons weren’t interested in playing with it, so I offered to have it shown in the children’s room at the Falmouth Public Library. It stood there for several years in a case near the check out desk, out of reach of children’s hands. When the library was renovated and didn’t have a space for the house, I took it back and it has since been gathering dust in a corner of my studio.

I loved watching the children manipulate and position the dolls with their small hands.

The house has been out on my center table lately, because I’ve been fixing it up for a photo shoot of some projects that will be in the 2nd edition of Felt Wee Folk (2015 release date). I’m also sprucing it up for display at the Holidays at Highfield event later this year at Highfield Hall in Falmouth. The 10 day event will feature a tree decorated with Pocketful of Posies ornaments that I made for the Family Trees exhibit at the Concord Museum last year (see posts here).

Nov. 29 ~ Dec. 8, 2013, Original embroidered artwork, a tree full of ornaments and a doll house all handmade by Salley Mavor will be on display at The Holidays at Highfield. Highfield Hall, Falmouth, MA. Open daily 12 pm ~ 4 pm

Fairy House Raffle

Posted on July 19, 2013 by Salley Mavor

I want to let everyone know about the opportunity to win this fairy house. In conjunction with the Fairy Houses of Beebe Woods Exhibit (which ends on July 21, 2013), Highfield Hall is holding a raffle for my driftwood and felt covered wire hanging doorway. It’s intended for indoor display because the glue isn’t water proof.

We were lucky enough to snap a picture of this blue fairy as she was peaking out of the door.

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!rway, but she flew away, so she won’t be coming along with the house.

Woods Hole July 4th parade

Posted on July 5, 2013 by Salley Mavor

The Woods Hole 4th of July parade is a reflection of our community, with its mix of tradition and a characteristically unconventional celebration of freedom.

A grandmother and her two grandsons were armed with suds for bubble blowing.

Graduate students from the Marine Biological Laboratory’s grass lab paraded down Water St.Our own burlesque troupe, the Brazen Belles donned swim suits and bathing caps for the occasion.

Assistants from the Children’s School of Science celebrated the school’s centennial by impersonating the the Class of 1913.

And we even had a classic car! It was wonderful to see everyone out and about.

Fairy Houses of Beebe Woods #2

Posted on July 1, 2013 by Salley Mavor

The Fairy Houses of Beebe Woods exhibit continues to draw visitors, rain or shine. One of the structures that has held up well through the thunder storms of the past week is Basia Goszczynska’s extraordinary “Golden Dwelling”. She constructed her cozy house out of saplings, moss and lichen on site, between the roots of a giant beech tree.

Take a look at Basia’s website and be wowed by her work in stop-motion animation.

Here’s a shot of the mossy living space far inside. One person commented that Basia’s house looked to be most comfortable and inviting.

Inspired by the wooden cut-out wings we saw at the Florence Griswold Museum last fall, Highfield’s Annie Dean painted some for our exhibit. I was hoping to find some children to pose in front, but they were all roaming the property, looking for fairy houses.

Sheila Payne was the first person I thought of when making a list of artists for the exhibit, way back in the winter. She has been making little abodes around her own house for decades and puts on the best fairy tea parties. When asked what she would make for this show, she replied, “Oh, just a standard fairy house.” I have known Sheila for 50 years and there is nothing standard about her!

Sheila Payne’s “Pipsissewa Place”.

And another remarkable miniature world made by Wendy Bagley. “Woodland House of Wonder” stretches along a stone wall on the edge of the path into Beebe Woods.

Here’s a photo from the opening reception on June 23rd. From left to right, my husband Rob Goldsborough (who look many of the photos), Wendy and Sheila. They’re wearing bead necklaces with leaf name tags that I made for the artists. The houses will be on display until July 21st at Highfield Hall and Gardens in Falmouth, MA. You can print out your own map from this PDF file. More pictures to come!

Fairy Houses of Beebe Woods #1

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Salley Mavor

We had the most glorious day for the opening of The Fairy Houses of Beebe Woods exhibit at Highfield on Sunday. All 23 habitats were installed and ready for the hundreds of visitors who showed up for the event. This past week, one of the artists, Jenny Junker brought her children along while she constructed “Chippikomuk” at her site (below). Her daughter Ursula made her own “Pine Cone Cottage” (above).

To help celebrate, I had Jo Ann from Cape Cod Henna decorate my hand. The design has gotten darker since the weekend and people think it’s a real tattoo, which makes me feel quite daring! It’s supposed to last for a few weeks, so I’m going to have fun with it. I also wore a brocade vest I made a few years ago. People really enjoyed following the fairy house tour map which brought them to parts of the property that they may not have seen before. I made a colored pencil drawing of Highfield with the house locations. A graphic designer added my curator’s note, the list of fairy house names and their makers to the finished printed map, which is available in the building. The houses are situated in a wide scope, throughout the gardens and walkways of the property. The exhibit will be open until July 21, 2013, M – F 10am – 4pm, Sat. and Sun. 10am – 2pm. “Hidden House”, made by artist Julie Child invites close inspection. Barbara Whitehead and Bruce Safley constructed “Texas Redbud Cottage” this past winter in Texas. They brought it with them on their yearly drive north to their summer place in Woods Hole. It looks so good standing high above the boxwood hedge in the sunken garden. Pippa Ryan brought her delightful creation outside during the opening. “Pippa’s House” was her high school senior project last year. Her house and another one are protected from the weather inside the building. Glen Carliss’s remarkable house, “Stonehedge” is being called a lighthouse by children who see it. Word about the exhibit is spreading fast and I can imagine many cell phone photos are being shared far and wide. For those who live too far away to visit, I will post more pictures of the other houses soon.

Fairy House Exhibit: installations underway!

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Salley Mavor

With opening day looming for the Fairy Houses of Beebe Woods exhibit, (Thursday, June 20th at Highfield Hall and Gardens) several of the 23 participating artists have been seen working on their creations around the property. This past weekend, I met up with a few of them. Children’s book creator Amy Wilson Sanger is building “Fire Flye Hollow”, a wondrous shelter of moss, bark, driftwood and orange beach stones around a sapling on a hillside behind Highfield Hall. My house, “Lichen Lookout” is going up in a copper beech tree, so I needed a ladder.

To provide a base for the house, I put some beach stones in a fishing net, making a kind of beanbag chair that could be plopped in a hole in the crook of the tree. I then attached the base to the fishing net with wire, thereby keeping it from toppling out of the tree.

Julie Child brought her lovely “Hidden House”, which includes lots of domestic details to admire up close.

Helen Koehler has been working all winter, knitting and felting her amazing creation, “Enchanted Tree – Fairy Condominiums”

Alfie Glover was there, too, installing his whimsical ladder piece, “Birds and Fairies Collaborate”. He has written a story to go with it about how fairies make ladders which help birds learn to fly.

I arrived just in time to see Glen Carliss returning from a scavenging trip in the woods nearby. His fairy house is situated on a low tree stump in a choice corner spot. Glen and his assistant, Susan Cannavo were busy landscaping around the beautifully constructed “Stonehedge”.

I’ve felt from the beginning that this was going to be a fun show! And now that it’s progressed from an idea into something real, I am seeing that it has grown into a happening, with a wonderful cooperate energy and spirit! I hope that many of you have a chance to see the exhibit, which will be on display from June 20 to July 21. The Artists Reception will be held on Sunday, June 23rd from 1:00 to 3:00 pm at Highfield Hall and Gardens in Falmouth Massachusetts. Being an outdoor show, the houses will be subject to weather conditions and curious humans, so don’t wait too long to see it!