Posies in Plymouth

Posted on June 3, 2013 by Salley Mavor

pages 48/49 from “Pocketful of Posies”

I’m pleased to announce that the next venue to host the Pocketful of Posies Traveling Exhibit is the Plymouth Antiquarian Society’s Hedge House Museum in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Twenty framed embroidered original illustrations from my book, Pocketful of Posies: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes will be on display from now until August 31st, 2013.

When I dropped off the artwork, I was struck by how intimate and charming the gallery space is within the historic 1809 house. The upstairs octagonal room has been recently restored with period wall-paper, which compliments the color palette and decorative nature of my work. Donna Curtin, the museum’s hard-working director was there to greet me. She suggested hanging the felt-covered wire book title banner under the mantel piece. Do you remember the banner from my decorated tree in last year’s Family Trees event at the Concord Museum? At the last minute I packed it in the car with the bubble wrapped frames, thinking there may be a way to hang it up. It’s always satisfying to find another use for something you make for a specific purpose.

“Pocketful of Posies” tree at the Concord Museum, 2012

They did a great job of hanging the artwork, which fits nicely in grouped clusters around the room. We didn’t bring a camera to the opening last Saturday so I don’t have any photos. Sometimes it’s nice to be free of a camera around your neck, but quite often one wishes there was a picture to show. I haven’t gotten in to using the camera on my phone, but that’s the next step.

My show opening was held in conjunction with the well attended celebration of the Rose Briggs Memorial Gardens in back of the Hedge House, so most people who came to see the exhibit were unfamiliar with my artwork. I heard many remarks about how this was not what they expected, but they seemed happily surprised by what they saw. Some thought it would be a display of old (or modern) fabric and others were curious about what fiber art is. Labels and technique descriptions don’t match what I do. It took some time for people to understand that the framed pieces on the wall are original illustrations from a children’s picture book (a gallery copy is available). I’m used to seeing the confused look on people’s faces as I try to explain that I illustrate with fabric and embroidery. In this case, I can point to the originals and the book and explain the connection, but when I’m out in the world and have no visual aids, it can be frustrating. Most times, I just say that I’m an artist and leave it at that. If I drop the children’s book illustrator bomb, I run the inevitable risk of being plied with advice on how to get a book published. Anyway, I’m glad to share my work with people who live in or come to visit the historic town of Plymouth!

June 25th, 7:00 pm I will speak about the development of my work at the Plymouth Antiquarian Society’s Hedge House Museum, Plymouth, MA. Fee: $15; $12 members. Limited seating; reservations required. To download a printable reservation form click here; email pasm@verizon.net or call 508-746-0012 to reserve a place.

Fairy Houses of Beebe Woods exhibit

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Salley Mavor

You may wonder, “Where is this Beebe Woods that keeps popping up in titles on my blog”? It’s a gem of a property (pronounced Bee-bee) in the center of my home town of Falmouth, Massachusetts, right on the edge of Historic Highfield Hall, which was built in 1878 for the Beebe family, who were prominent summer people. My Birds of Beebe Woods piece was made for last year’s exhibit celebrating the forest. Also, Highfield is hosting the Pocketful of Posies traveling exhibit Sept. 4 – Oct. 31, 2013.

This summer, the grounds and gardens of Highfield will be magically transformed into a “fairy” neighborhood, with small-scale habitats hidden throughout the property. Highfield has given me the exciting opportunity to curate The Fairy Houses of Beebe Woods exhibit, which promises to be a popular event during the height of the season.

I got the idea from the Florence Griswold Museum in Lyme, CT, which has hosted several Fairy house events. See my posts about last fall’s exhibit here and here.

I’ve invited 2 dozen local artists to participate in the event and they’ve spent the last few months picking building spots, gathering natural construction materials and thinking about what to make and how to make it. Everyone will bring their own vision and sensibility to their structure, creating a wildly varied display full of architectural whimsy. The outdoor exhibit will be open June 20th – July 21, 2013.

This past winter, I made and photographed 2 models that could be used for advance publicity purposes. Since I didn’t use a glue suitable for outdoors, these won’t be in the exhibit, but I will have another house to show. I’m in the process of constructing a more weather resistant cottage that will be perched in a magnificent copper beech tree. I hope that many of you will have a chance to visit the exhibit this summer and for those of you who live far away, I’ll post pictures.

Fresno, here we come!

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Salley Mavor

detail from “Wee Willie Winkie” board book

Yes, the Pocketful of Posies traveling exhibit is coming to Fresno, California and so am I! 25 original embroidered illustrations from my picture book Pocketful of Posies, 10 pieces from my series of baby board books and George’s Chair will all be on display March 18 – May 24, 2013 at the Arne Nixon Center for the Study of Children’s Literature, Henry Madden Library at Fresno State.

All are invited to the opening reception on Friday, March 22 at 6:00 pm. Rob and I will be traveling to California for the event and I will be giving a talk at 7:00 pm. In addition, I’ll be at Petunia’s Place, also in Fresno, for a book signing on Saturday, March 23rd from 11:00 – 1:00. We’re really looking forward to coming to California and hope to meet some of you on Friday or Saturday.

detail from “Pocketful of Posies” 2010

My artwork is included in the dual exhibition, “Golden Threads: Journey through the Picture Book,” in Fresno State’s Madden Library. Featured will be “Golden Legacy: 65 Years of Golden Books,” sixty pieces of original artwork from Little Golden Books, and “Pocketful of Posies: The Worlds of Salley Mavor” (co-hosted by the Fresno FiberArts Guild). I’m happy that the show will be up for more than 2 months, giving people plenty of time to come and see it.

Posies at Cedarhurst

Posted on March 5, 2013 by Salley Mavor

The Pocketful of Posies Traveling Exhibit is currently on display until May 5, 2013 at the Cedarhurst Center for the Arts in Mount Vernon, Illinois. The collection of 50 original embroidered illustrations from the book are divided into two groups of 25. One group is at Cedarhurst in Illinois and the other group is at this moment being trucked across the entire width of America to Fresno, CA.

I’ve heard from some people who are planning to see the Cedarhurst exhibit and go see my piece, Birds of Beebe Woods in the Fantastic Fibers show in Paducah, KY, which is an hour an a half away. If you’re in the mid-west, these are the places to see my originals.

The other 25 illustrations will be shown at the Arne Nixon Center for the Study of Children’s Literature, Henry Madden Library, California State University, Fresno from March 18 – May 27, 2013. All are invited to the opening reception on Friday, March 22 at 6:00 pm. Rob and I will be traveling to California for the event and I will be giving a talk at 7:00 pm. I’ll be at Petunia’s Place, also in Fresno, Saturday, March 23rd from 11:00 – 1:00. I hope to meet some of you!

Jennifer Sarver, the curator at Cedarhurst, just send these photos of the gallery. Since I wasn’t able to go to the opening, I love seeing pictures of people pointing and scrutinizing the artwork. Look at the group of three young artsy looking types in the first photo. I imagine that they’re looking at a copy of my book, but they could very well be looking at a cell phone!

Posies is traveling to Illinois!

Posted on February 6, 2013 by Salley Mavor

from “Pocketful of Posies”

“Pussy cat, pussy cat, where have you been? I’ve been to Mount Vernon to see the Queen.” The Pocketful of Posies Traveling Exhibit will be on display from Feb. 23 – May 5, 2013 at the Cedarhurst Center for the Arts in Mount Vernon, Illinois. The collection of 50 original embroidered illustrations from the book are divided into two groups of 25. One group is currently being shown until Feb. 22, 2013 at the Foothills Arts Council, Elkin, North Carolina.

from “Pocketful of Posies” 2010

We took the six boxes to the UPS Store in the truck and they are right now traveling west, half way across the country to Illinois. I hope that some of you have a chance to see the show in either North Carolina or Illinois. Next stop: Fresno, California!

Posies goes to the Foothills

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Salley Mavor

…the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, that is. The Crooked Man and 24 other nursery rhyme illustrations are traveling to Elkin, North Carolina for the next leg of the Pocketful of Posies traveling exhibit.

I’m happy to announce that the show will at the Foothills Arts Council from January 11 to February 23, 2013. I hope that many people from the area will see the exhibit, as this is as far south as the show will travel. To find other locations around the country and the schedule for the rest of the year, visit the Pocketful of Posies Traveling Show page.

Family Trees: more ornaments

Posted on December 3, 2012 by Salley Mavor

Before we leave on our trip, I want to show more pictures of my Pocketful of Posies tree. The basic instructions for making dolls similar to these are in my how-to book Felt Wee Folk. To see these ornaments in person, visit the Family Trees event at the Concord Museum, which will continue until January 1st, 2013. Time is limited, so I’m just going to post pictures. Can you guess which nursery rhymes are depicted in the individual ornaments?

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Fairy Christmas in Plymouth

Posted on November 30, 2012 by Salley Mavor

from “Pocketful of Posies” 2010

Yesterday, I dropped off artwork at the Hedge House Museum in Plymouth, MA, for their Fairy Christmas celebration. Two originals from Pocketful of Posies and Birds of Beebe Woods will be on display during the 2 weekend event (Dec. 1,2,7,8,9, noon to 7pm). I kicked myself because I forgot my camera! First of all, the museum has a spectacular location, with a view of Plymouth Harbor and the 1809 house is full of antique charm. Plymouth Antiquarian Society Director Donna Curtin has gone all out for this affair, with fairy houses, precious woodland scenes and fairy decorations all over the historic mansion. There’s even a special Crystal Throne Room set up for the Fairy Queen to receive visitors. I heartily recommend this event to anyone who is open to enchantment, young or old. It’s all done in a genuine, beautiful way, so leave plenty of time to take in all of the detail.

detail from “Pocketful of Posies” 2010

Birds of Beebe Woods, fabric relief, 2012

Family Trees: thread spool garland

Posted on November 16, 2012 by Salley Mavor

I’ve just about finished decorating the Pocketful of Posies tree for Family Trees: A Celebration of Children’s Literature at the Concord Museum. Early Monday morning, I’m driving everything up to Concord, the day after my Open Studio, which you can find out about here. I have to remove my decorations and take the tree apart on Sunday night and reassemble it again in the museum. There will be over 30 trees set up around the museum, all representing different children’s books. All of the trees, except for mine and another illustrator’s, are being decorated by museum volunteers, who have been preparing for months. So the museum will be swarming with industrious volunteers. They’ve promised lunch for us all!

My tree is dotted with little vignettes that feature nursery rhyme doll characters. I added a garland strung with old wooden thread spools and beads. I used some J&P Coats and Star brand cotton thread that my grandmother had about 50 years ago. To supplement my supply, I bought some empty wooden spools and wound them with yarn.

Hung in loops on the tree, the spool garland breaks up the space, almost like doodles in a notebook.

a banner day

Posted on November 1, 2012 by Salley Mavor

Last Saturday, a group of lovely women gathered at Highfield Hall in Falmouth for my felt banner workshop. Lynn and Christy treated the workshop as a destination event. They drove down from Vermont a day ahead and spent the afternoon riding their bicycles on our prized Shining Sea bike path. The next morning, they were eager and ready to go before we officially started at 9:30.

I brought wool felt and other supplies like thread, wire and an alphabet guide. The class was made up of stitchers and quilters who felt very comfortable with a needle and thread. Everyone came with an idea of what kind of banner they wanted to make, so they got right to work. There were holiday signs, a baby banner, a Chinese proverb, a sewing room sign, and one woman made personalized tooth pillows for her nieces. The first challenge was selecting felt and thread colors. Then, I showed them how to form and wrap the wire letters. This is a technique I’ve been developing for some time, but I’ve never explained or demonstrated how to do it.

The wrapping technique can be quite tedious and fussy, but this group picked it up quickly. They didn’t seem frustrated and became engrossed in the process, asking questions along the way.

Lynn wanted to make a wire plant instead of words, so I showed her how to form and wrap branches.

Christy started a cheerful purple Christmas banner, which will include felt holly and other embellishments. The hours passed quickly and by closing time at 4:30, everyone’s project was progressing well, but nothing was completed. I know that Christy is working on hers at home, because she wrote to ask some questions yesterday.

Will I teach any more classes? I’m striving for the right balance between time out in the world and time creating in my studio. With so many projects planned, I hesitate to commit to teaching workshops, especially if it involves travel. I find it difficult to do my artwork if I’m constantly coming and going, preparing and recovering. Teaching at a venue close to home makes the idea sound more manageable, but I still guard my studio time like a mother bear!