I made this key chain during the doll workshop in Muscatine last week. I’ve got to keep my hands busy, and this is my way of doodling, just taking a simple wooden bead, covering it with felt and decorating it with stitches.
I sewed on a flower petal we had on hand for the fairy dolls.
The felt pieces fit around the bead like a beach ball. I used my favorite leaf stitch after the bead was covered. Sorry this isn’t a tutorial, but I’ve sworn off writing directions! This kind of thing could also work as an ornament.
The same questions keep coming up about my work, so I’m adding a page of Frequently Asked Questions. Things like, “Do you use a sewing machine?”or “Will you write another how-to book?” or “May I make and sell dolls from your book, Felt Wee Folk?” I’ve already written about most of the issues on this blog, but I can’t expect everyone to spend hours combing through all 233 posts.
The 50 original fabric relief illustrations fit perfectly in the museum’s modern exhibit space, which is an addition built onto an old mansion. The lighting was so well done that it looked as if there was no glass protecting the artwork. Thank you to Katy, Barb and to the other staff at the museum who made the show look so good! My artwork will be on display until June 19th.
In Saturday’s workshop, we spent all day wrapping pipe cleaners and sewing little felt clothes for our dolls.
Everyone made at least 2 figures, with fairies being the most popular.
In the past, I’ve learned that my students get stressed over painting the faces, so I brought bead heads that I had painted ahead. That way we had more time to sew.
This well dressed little guy is being fitted with shoes. We had a great time working and chatting together. Marcella found out about the workshop on this blog and drove all the way from Wisconsin to make dolls with us! Sorry, but there are no more workshops planned.
At the reception on Sunday, I met Elaine and her 2 daughters, who came the longest distance–from Texas! She saw on this blog that the Iowa location was probably going to be the closest to her, so she planned a trip around coming here. This home schooling, children’s book loving family also toured several Little House on the Prairie sites in the midwest, including ones in Wisconsin and S. Dakota. Impressive!
Houses are my favorites, but I also love to add barns my scenes. This first one is a detail from Picking Peas, which I made in 1986. I used the sewing machine to applique the door and window, but hand embroidered leaves along the ribbon tree branches. See the full fabric relief picture on this post.
detail from "Picking Peas" 1986
These barns are on the title page of the first edition of Mary Had a Little Lamb from 1995. At this point, I sewed everything by hand and no longer used a sewing machine. The “snow” is an old linen table-cloth.
detail from "Mary Had a Little Lamb" 1995
Jump ahead 9 years to this illustration from the 2006 board book, Jack and Jill. I’m using wool felt, so the look is softer and more fuzzy.
detail from “Jack and Jill” 2006
The last two barns are from Pocketful of Posies. The roof is a piece of bark and the door is driftwood.
detail from "Pocketful of Posies" 2010
This barn from the Mary Had a Little Lamb rhyme makes use of hook and eye parts. The lamb is about 1/2″ long.
After working all winter long, I’ve finally finished Rabbitat! It’s large, compared to my book illustrations, measuring 24″ x 30″ , with a depth of 1 1/2″. I’m waiting for professional photographs of the finished piece, so for now I’ll just show pictures I’ve taken during the process. It’s got lots of parts, which I’ll be showing in several posts. This piece was unlike my book illustrations, which have to meet size and subject specifications and are planned out ahead. I let this project evolve by itself and just followed where it led.
To start, here are some drawings from my sketch book. My first ideas include a vine-covered house, which could be a topiary. A bunny showed up, too.
Then, the house became a structure made of driftwood pieces, with a rabbit topiary outside. I didn’t know who’d be living inside yet.
I combed through all of my driftwood and selected pieces which I could see as a roof and side beams and a doorway.
And carved them in spots, so that they fit together and lay down as flat as possible. I don’t know how the little chair appeared in this picture. Some of you may recognize it from another scene–the Driftwood Clan in my book, Felt Wee Folk.
I drilled holes at the joints and glued wire pins into the holes. That way the parts are held together, but the wire joints keeps the structure flexible. I don’t know if this description is clear, but I essentially use wire in place of dowel pins because I don’t want the joints to break while I’m manipulating and working on the house. I’m always adjusting things until the last-minute, so the joints need to be somewhat bendable.
I decorated the house walls with an embroidered chain-stitched vine pattern on felt. The green mossy patches have lots and lots of french knots.
At this point, I’d decided that rabbits live in the house, so I made a father and son to sit on the bench outside.
I told my husband Rob that I was making a habitat for rabbits and he immediately said, “Oh, it’s a Rabbitat!”
I brought the Berry Family outside for an airing. They’re a bit moth-eaten–a downside to working with wool. For the last couple of winters, I’ve gotten into the habit of bringing all of my felt and felt clothed dolls outside when the temperature dips below freezing, hoping to kill any moths.
I made the mother, father (4″ tall) and baby members of the Berry Family in 2005, as a Ltd. edition of 25. They are based on the patterns from my how-to book, Felt Wee Folk. All of my Ltd. edition dolls are currently sold out and I won’t be making any more.
I sent a box of doll making supplies to Iowa today. Instead of worrying about losing my luggage during the flight changes and being without the necessary workshop materials, I decided to mail them instead.
I can easily replace missing clothes, but I wouldn’t be able to buy these materials at short notice, especially my precious plant dyed wool felt. There’s pipe cleaners, embroidery floss, wool fleece and acorn caps, too. Everything you’ll need to make the little dolls from my how-to book, Felt Wee Folk.
I’ll be using these supplies in a doll making workshop on Saturday, May 21st at the Muscatine Art Center in Muscatine, Iowa. Please contact the center if you’d like to come. I’ve already painted some doll heads, so we can spend as much time as possible constructing the figures and sewing their clothes. I’ll take pictures of our creations and show them to you!
Jerry Hall, he is so small, from “Pocketful of Posies” 2010
Living Crafts blog is holding a giveaway for 2 of my books, Felt Wee Folkand Pocketful of Posies. The deadline to leave a comment is April 17th, 2011. Details are at the end of the interview, My Life My Craft: SALLEYMAVORhere.
Also, I’ve recently written a story for C&T Publishing’s blog about the symbiotic relationship between my how-to book and my children’s books here.
For the past 4 months, I’ve been working on Rabbitat, a large (24″ x 30″) fabric relief piece. It started as a simple driftwood house, then I added a rabbit topiary and over time it grew into a lush rabbit habitat. I’m not showing much yet, just peeks now and then, because I want to show it later, when it’s finished. Here are some detailed shots of some rabbit characters.
A team of local filmmakers are gathering material for a short 5 min. film (see film here) about my work and specifically this piece. You can see an earlier post about Rabbitat here.
We want to show a time-lapse of Rabbitat being put together, so filmmaker Daniel Cojanu locked the camera and tripod in place with duct tape. He took a series of photos, one for each bush, tree, rabbit, or felt background piece that I added, until it was all put together.
Here are some parts laid out and ready to be set in place for the time-lapse photo shoot. Now that we’re finished with that, I can sew everything to the stretched upholstery fabric background and Rabbitat will be complete!
We want music in the film, so I asked local musicians Jan, Tom and Lisa to play some traditional Irish and Scottish tunes. We chose bouncy, rabbit-like music for them to play. I’ve known Jan since childhood and she is incredibly talented on the recorder, pennywhistle and concertina.
Elise and Daniel recorded them in my studio and what a treat to hear them play! Making this film has been so much fun and I can’t wait to see what they put together. We’re planning on having the film ready to show this summer at the Woods Hole Public Library. They’ve been kind enough to organize a reception to celebrate my Golden Kite Award for Pocketful of Posies on July 10th, from 5 to 7pm. Original illustrations will be displayed during the event and I’ll give a short talk. I hope that some of you can come. I’ll also figure out a way for everyone to see the film online. Stay tuned!
JUST POSTED! Read my interview at the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Blog here.
The shoes in this series of closeups are made of leather or felt, with a wooden one at the end. Mother and Child (1983) is from my transitional period, when I was moving from sculpture in the round to a bas relief format, which I later named fabric relief sculpture.
Mother and Child, 1983
In Jumping Girl (1985), I strove to bring a sense of movement to the figure. That’s a piece of Chinese embroidery sewn onto the bottom.
Jumping Girl, 1985
This shows off the girl’s shoes from my picture book “In the Heart” (2001). The leather came with the checked pattern stamped onto it and there was barely enough to make all of her shoes in the book.
detail from “In the Heart”, 2001
Jill’s felt shoes are about 3/4″ long.
detail from “Jack and Jill”, 2006
I made this shoe for the rhyme, One, Two, buckle my shoe in Pocketful of Posies. It’s modeled after those cute mary jane style chinese shoes. While I was working on it, I noticed that my watch band had the perfect sized buckle, so I took off my watch, cut off the buckle and added it to the illustration.
detail from “Pocketful of Posies” 2010
This wooden shoe sign is hanging over the cobbler’s shop in the picture for the rhyme, Cobbler, cobbler, mend my shoe, which is also in Pocketful of Posies. I used a jig saw to cut out the shoe and made the cobbler’s work apron from leather.
SALLEY MAVOR 