Birds of Beebe Woods: warbler

Posted on October 14, 2012 by Salley Mavor

I wanted to include a warbler in the Birds of Beebe Woods piece and found that a handful of varieties live in our area, each with their own distinct markings. I liked the look of the black throated green warbler best and thought its color patterns and striped wings would show up against the brownish gold background fabric.

To start, I found many photographs of warblers in books and on the internet and sketched until I found a pose that fit into the scene of birds. After making paper patterns, I cut out the bird’s shape from acid free matt board and cut pieces of white, green, black and yellow from wool felt. Thinking ahead, I glued cheap acrylic felt to the back of the matt board body, so there would be something to grab the stitches while the front felt piece was later being sewn in place. I also basted thick wool felt padding to the top of the matt board piece.

I embroidered the texture and markings on the warbler’s green head. The bead eye is sewn inside a cut out hole in the yellow felt. Periodically, I would hold the bird up against the background fabric, to make sure there was enough contrast.

I used a combination of blanket stitch, fly stitch and lots of little single stitches.

The wing’s stripes were defined by chain stitched lines.

To finish, I made a little felt tail and added thread wrapped wire legs. Then, the black throated green warbler was ready to join the flock.

To see more posts about the making of Birds of Beebe Woods, see the archives here. An 18″ x 24″ poster (pictured at the beginning of this post) and note cards are available through my Etsy Shop.

warbler1WM

3 shows, 3 prizes

Posted on October 5, 2012 by Salley Mavor

Three of my fabric relief pieces are currently in three different shows in La Conner, WA, Framingham, MA and Falmouth, MA. I’m happy to say that they’ve all been recognized in some way. I tell myself that art isn’t competitive and that prizes don’t matter, but it sure feels good when one’s work is noticed in a special way. Thank you jurors and voters! It just so happens that all three pieces are available as posters in my Etsy Shop.

This is the first time I’ve entered a quilt show because without 3 layers and a hanging sleeve, my work doesn’t usually qualify. But, the La Conner Quilt Festival made me feel welcome. The quilt show structure (and culture) still feels alien, though, with its myriad of categories and prizes. I’m not complaining — it’s wonderful to slip into the “fiber art – not quilted” category.

Self Portrait: a personal history of fashion received 2nd place in the Masters Fiber Art – not quilted category, in the 2012 Quilt Festival, La Conner Quilt and Textile Museum, La Conner, WA. The show is this weekend, Oct. 5 – 7, 2012.

Rabbitat (see film here) was awarded Second Prize for its inclusion in the Danforth Museum of Art’s Annual Juried Exhibition of Children’s Book Illustration Picture This!. The show will be at the Danforth Museum (Framingham, MA) until November 4, 2012.

And I just heard that Birds of Beebe Woods was voted “Most Favorite Artwork” by attendees at the Beebe Woods Exhibit opening last friday night. That’s nice! The show will be at Highfield Hall in Falmouth, MA (Cape Cod) until Nov. 16, 2012.

Birds of Beebe Woods: cardinals

Posted on September 11, 2012 by Salley Mavor

Poster – Birds of Beebe Woods

See other posts about making Birds of Beebe Woods here. A poster is available from my Etsy Shop.

Most of the birds in Birds of Beebe Woods are the colorful male variety, but I decided to add a pair of cardinals to the mix. The female is shown in her nest, which is made of florist’s rafia-like straw.

After consulting photographs of cardinals, I did a simple drawing to follow. The basic shape is cut out of matt board and the padding is basted in place. I don’t know what the padding material is made of— a friend gave me a bunch. In this case, I made a felt hood and embroidered feather patterns with variegated thread.

Then, I stitched the beak and surrounded the bead eye with several rows of black blanket stitching.

The tail has a wire armature to help keep its shape.

new “Birds” poster on Etsy

Posted on September 6, 2012 by Salley Mavor

The Birds of Beeebe Woods posters have arrived! My sister, Anne Mavor did the classy graphic design. We picked a chocolate-brown background and gold lettering to set off the warm tones of the piece. The 18 x 24 posters are now available at my Etsy shop. I’ll be traveling in Ireland Sept. 11 – 20, so if you want one before I leave, place an order by Sept. 9th. Otherwise, I’ll fill any orders after I return.

Go here for more information and to see posts about making Birds of Beebe Woods.

Birds of Beebe Woods: bluejay

Posted on August 31, 2012 by Salley Mavor

Update: The Birds of Beebe Woods poster is in my Etsy shop .

Now that the piece is finished, I can spend time reviewing how I made some of the parts. Opportunities to see the original piece are listed at the end of this post. The bluejay (life size) was one of the first birds I made, after the crow, because it’s on the large size and I wanted to make sure it would fit. The birds’ arrangement wasn’t set until the very end and I kept moving the critters around. That’s why I like to create separate elements–it’s very much like a collage that way. I have kind of an idea of how it will be, but I want room to maneuver the pieces. Tweaking is good because it brings surprises!

After looking at photos of bluejays, I picked a pose and cut the body shape out of matt board. Then I cut a piece of white felt and stitched a textured pattern on the breast. I cut a whole in the felt for the bead eye, too.

Oh dear, looking at these photo’s, the sequence of steps is not clear to me. You’d think I’d remember, but every time I make a new character or animal, I try different approaches. When I sew, I’m not analyzing what I’m doing, which makes it hard to explain later.

But, I can tell you this much, the bluejay’s wings are made of layered blue and white felt, all embroidered with a few simple stitches, in this case the fly and blanket stitch.

The tail stripe pattern is mostly blanket stitched.

To see other posts about the making of Birds of Beebe Woods, go to the archives here.

2015 UPDATE:
Since many people have asked if the original is for sale– not now, as I will be holding onto it for a few years, so that it can be displayed in public exhibitions. The next showing is May 15 – Sept. 15, 2015 at Highfield Hall and Gardens in Falmouth, Massachusetts. I am also curating the outdoor exhibit of 32 fanciful fairy houses, Fairy Houses of Highfield Hall, which will be on display June 28 – August 31, 2015.

And later in the year, the “birds” will be in Winconsin. Oct 21. 2015 – January 10, 2016 ~ Insects to Elephants at the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts and Fiber Arts in Cedarburg, Wisconsin.

Birds of Beebe Woods finished!

Posted on August 20, 2012 by Salley Mavor

Yeah! After 4 1/2 months of constant stitching, Birds of Beebe Woods is finished! I know that many of you have been checking in all summer to see its progress. We propped the stretcher on a window sill outside, securing it with duct tape on the top sides. The piece feels heavier than anything I’ve made before. All of that wire adds up in poundage. Over the next few days, my husband Rob will take photographs of it in different lighting conditions outside. For soft shadows, a bright, hazy day, will be perfect. when we get a good photo, I’ll have a poster made to sell in my Etsy shop.

Now that it’s finished, I can bring Birds of Beebe Woods to Mahopac, NY next week, when I give a talk at 7pm at the Mahopac Public Library. This stop on the Pocketful of Posies touring exhibit ends the same day, Wed., August 29th. I hope to see some of you there! To see the full schedule of the tour look here.

Then, the birds piece will be hung with other Beebe Woods inspired artwork at Highfield Hall in Falmouth, MA from Sept. 18 – Nov. 15, 2012, as part if the The Intimate Woods fiber art exhibit. I’m also giving an all day workshop at Highfield Hall in Falmouth on Sat., Oct. 27^th. We’ll make felt banners with wrapped wire lettering. Find out more here.

Birds of Beebe Woods: goldfinch, nuthatch & chickadee

Posted on August 5, 2012 by Salley Mavor

I made my week’s goal of sewing 3 new birds to add to Birds of Beebe Woods! I was so determined to get them done, that I didn’t pause to take photos along the way. They are all approximately life-size. Here’s the show-off male goldfinch.

I love the way the little nuthatch hangs on facing downwards.

Poster – Birds of Beebe Woods

And our own Massachusetts state bird, the darling chickadee. It’s time to work on the background now. I’ll be checking in as the piece progresses.

Update: Posters and cards of Birds of Beebe Woods are available in my Etsy Shop.

Birds of Beebe Woods (crow)

Posted on July 9, 2012 by Salley Mavor

I’ve emerged from my months-long blissful state of stitching Birds of Beebe Woods, just long enough to show some process pictures of the crow, whom I’ve named Argyle.

He’s about 13″ from head to tail, with about 2 weeks worth of hand embroidery on his wool felt body.

From time to time, I’ll be posting photos of the other birds in the scene. See the introductory post about Birds of Beebe Woods here. This is a brief report–the birds are calling out, “September deadline, September deadline!”

Update: Posters, puzzles and cards of Birds of Beebe Woods are available in my Etsy Shop.

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Autographed books on Etsy

Posted on June 29, 2012 by Salley Mavor

Autographed books are now in my Etsy shop. Over the years, I’ve heard from people who’d like autographed copies or people from other parts of the world who have trouble finding my books. So now, autographed copies of Pocketful of Posies and Felt Wee Folk are listed in my shop. I would love to offer all of my out-of-print books (see BOOKS Page), but in most cases they sold out before I was able to buy extra copies from the publisher. For In the Heart, HarperCollins did send a letter with an option to buy remainder books, so those are available for a good price on Etsy.

Here are a group of details from In the Heart. The children’s clothes are made from cotton socks and I made the baskets by coiling wire and wrapping with embroidery floss. I used lots of found objects in this book and constructed furniture and windows out of wood. The hearts in the window are cut out of some of my kid’s Waldorf School watercolor paintings. And yes, that is a chess pawn on the window sill.

Of course, price wise, I can’t compete with Amazon, but I can offer autographed books and free extras, such as posters. Pocketful of Posies comes with a free 18″x 18″ poster (folded flat) of the jacket cover and Felt Wee Folk comes with a free 18″ x 24″ Fairies poster (folded flat). As well, I will be happy to personally inscribe your books- just write a request when you place an order with Etsy.

Birds of Beebe Woods

Posted on June 23, 2012 by Salley Mavor

For the past 2 months, I’ve been working on a large (24″ x 30″) fabric relief piece. I haven’t picked a title yet, but the picture depicts birds in our town owned forest, Beebe Woods.

The deadline to finish is in early September and since my work takes forever, I’ll be stitching right through the summer. The piece will hang in a group fiber show, The Intimate Woods at Highfield Hall in Falmouth, MA, Sept. 18 – Nov. 16, 2012. This will be the same venue for my Pocketful of Posies touring show, when it returns home next year, Sept. 4 – Oct. 31, 2013.

Poster – Birds of Beebe Woods

I’ve been taking photos of the different steps and have so far made a crow, robin, and cedar waxwing, with many more birds to come. The stage curtain looking border is made of felt covered wire. Later, when I have time, I’ll show more pictures. Right now, I’m happily in La La Land, immersed in the sewing process, listening to narrated books.

Update: Posters and cards of Birds of Beebe Woods are available in my Etsy Shop.