This alphabet book by the prince of nonsense verse, Edward Lear (1812-1888), seems timely, considering my broken arm, which is much improved, by the way. This 1944 edition was on a book shelf in my parents’ house. Here’s the title page and some pages from the book, which was illustrated by G. S. Sherwood. Note the unsentimental ending, with the zinc-lined coffin! This was a different age of children’s literature. Read more about Lear here.
Houses appear so frequently in my artwork that I’ve divided them up into categories to show you in this Close-ups series. When you think about it, the shape is just a square with a triangle on top that can be depicted in any color and style to bring mood and stability. And houses are strong symbols of security that I seem to want in my pictures. This collection of winter houses starts with the winter section of a 4 seasons drawing I made at age 7. Then there’s a detail from a fabric relief piece called “Skating”. The next three are from the books, You and Me: Poems of Friendship, The Hollyhock Wall and Pocketful of Posies, which will be published in Sept., 2010.
by Salley at age 7
detail from “Skating” 1986
from “You and Me: Poems of Friendship” 1997
detail from “The Hollyhock Wall” 1999
from “Pocketful of Posies” 2010
Note: See other posts in the Close-ups series archive here.
Here’s an update on my recovery from last week’s fall. My left wrist broke in a complex way, so as to require surgery to repair my poor bones. Luckily, I was referred to an excellent orthopedic surgeon in Boston who specializes in hands. On Wednesday, the doctor operated and it looks like everything went very well. She used a metal plate and some screws to hold the bone fragments in place. So, now airport security will never be the same!
I have my version of the “pain scale faces” that are displayed in hospitals.
This is how I feel without pain killers:
detail from "Pocketful of Posies", to be published in Sept., 2010
This is what I look like with some pain killers:
detail from "Pocketful of Posies", to be published in Sept., 2010
Here’s what it looks like with too many pain killers:
fairy sleeping
I can’t say how long the healing process will be, but I feel like the worst part is over and my body will mend at its own pace. Now that I’m taking fewer pain killers, I’m more alert and noticing things around the house. I watered the house plants before they died and emptied the dish washer, using one hand. Taking a shower with an arm cast is becoming routine and my husband is able to do a bra clasp without saying, “Why are these so tricky?”
We had to throw out last night’s dinner. My husband spent hours making a squash and chicken casserole, which looked so good. He even made homemade croutons to mix in! We found out that our garden grown acorn and butternut squash was so bitter it was inedible. It didn’t look rotten, but must have something very wrong with it.
We don’t have TV service, which normally is not an issue, but at first I wanted to watch something, for the distraction. We’ve been borrowing movies from the library and watching them on an old TV set with a Dvd player that broke the other night. The disk was stuck and wouldn’t come out, so my husband took the whole thing apart and got the disk out, so we could return it. We haven’t the nerve to try another Dvd for fear it will get stuck. For now, I’m listening to books on tape because reading is still difficult since my concussion. Right now I’m enjoying Alexander McCall Smith’s Morality for Beautiful Girls, which is in the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series. I love listening to the narrator’s lilting Botswana accent.
So, that’s it for now. Thank you for your kind and encouraging words. Keep tuned: I’ll be posting new stories that I wrote before the accident.
Maybe it’s because of their warm color and their pointy ears, noses and tails, but I find foxes appealing. This group of foxes starts with a detail from “Laplander”, a tempera painting on brown paper, which I did in art school. Then there’s the tail portion of a wooden toy I made in 1986 and a “faux” tile I painted in my kitchen in the early 90’s. See all of the faux tiles in another post here. Next is a felt purse, which I used to sell as a kit about 10 years ago and then a detail from my 2001 children’s book, In the Heart.
detail from "Laplander", 1976
detail from wooden toy fox, 1986
detail of faux tile, 1993
Fox felt purse kit, 2000
detail from the book, "In the Heart", 2001
Note: See other posts in the Close-ups series archive here.
I saved these 2 books from the ” Big Golden Book” series from our childhood collection. My mother was a fan of Alice and Martin Povenson and we had many of their books. I even met Alice about 20 years ago and told her how influential her and her husband’s work was. The Color Kittens was my first introduction to color theory and Funny Bunny is another early example of their work. In my opinion, they were the best at stylizing animals for children’s books, bringing an elegant sophistication that was lacking in other “cartoony” illustration. You can see more of the Provensen’s work here.
illustration from "The Color Kittens"
"Funny Bunny" illustrated by Alice and Martin Provensen, 1950's
illustration from "Funny Bunny"
end papers from "Funny Bunny"
This series of moons are all details from some of my children’s book illustrations. The close-ups are from The Way Home, You and Me: Poems of Friendship, In the Heart, Wee Willie Winkie and Pocketful of Posies and Hey, Diddle, Diddle!.
from “The Way Home” 1991
from “You and Me: Poems of Friendship” 1997
from “In the Heart” 2001
from “Wee Willie Winkie” 2005
from “Pocketful of Posies: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes” 2010
Note: See other posts in the Close-ups series archive here.
I found what I was looking for, some fabric and some old paper dolls from my childhood. I don’t remember what happened, but…
I must have fallen while getting back on the ladder to go down from my loft storage area.
Paper Dolls from 1950's
So, after an ambulance trip to our local hospital emergency room, where I remember seeing two nurses who worked on the Woods Hole Quilt, I went by ambulance to another hospital in Boston. Well, I’ve broken my left arm, which is better than my right arm, which is the one I use more. For now, I am back home with a cast, waiting to meet a hand specialist in Boston.
So, I’ll be running at low-speed for a while. I know that most of you who follow my blog will say “take a break and don’t worry about it “, but luckily I have some posts all lined up, so they’ll be coming on a regular basis for a month or so. I’ve got a 3 part story about my pins that I used to make about 30 years ago and some more posts from my Close-ups series as well as some surprises. And, of course, I’ll be writing a story about the paper dolls. When posted, you’ll know that I’m more on the mend!
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.
This grouping of mother and child pictures starts with a piece I made while pregnant with my first child, in a naive style that’s also reflective of my inexperience with motherhood. Then there’s a detail from “Family Portrait”, which I made for a Christmas card in 1986, showing my son Ian in my arms. Next is a close-up from “Mother’s Dance”, a more active piece, with many gesturing arms and then a detail from a CD cover entitled “A Little Music on the Prairie”. The series ends with a nursing mother from “The Red Chair”.
detail from "Mother and Child", 1983
detail from "Family Portrait", 1986
detail from CD cover, "A Little Music on the Prairie", 1994
detail from "The Red Chair", 1994
Note: See other posts in the Close-ups series archive here.
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.
SALLEY MAVOR 