Wee Folk photo shoot

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We woke up this morning to a hazy, cloudy day, which made me very happy. You see, I’ve been constructing a scene with dolls for my new book, the 2nd edition of Felt Wee Folk (2015 pub. date) and we were hoping to do a photo shoot outside with natural light. The conditions were perfect! The sun was just behind the clouds, shining a defused light that created soft shadows on the dolls’ little faces. We also used a reflector (that large white disk) to shine more light to the subject. It’s my job to hold the reflector at the right angle, but Rob held it while I took this picture. When I showed him this photo, he said, “Oh my, I look like a certified nerd.” I said, “Yeah, that’s my guy!”.

I had to resist the temptation to post closeups of the dolls, but it’s too early to show projects from the book, which isn’t scheduled to come out until 2015. It is not in my nature to hide what I’m up to, but I have to protect my ideas, until the time is right. I know that whatever goes out in cyberspace will be shared, often without regard for the source of origin. So, I’m giving a little peak, quite literally into the camera’s view screen. Hint: Mary Had a Little Lamb.

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Ireland 2013 (store fronts)

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Rob and I just returned from our trip to Ireland and we’ve been spending the weekend going through our hundreds of photographs. It was a great to return to Ireland (see last year’s photos here) and experience another area of the country. We traveled around the western coastal counties of Mayo, Galway, Sligo and Clare. The weather was characteristically cool and rainy with a chance of sun shine. We saw many beautiful and charming sights which I’ll be sharing over the next few weeks.

I’m organizing different categories of pictures to show, including Polly Doll’s adventures, which will come later. Let’s start with some of my favorite subjects: boldly painted store fronts.

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Polly’s going on a trip

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Polly Doll is packed and ready to go on a trip to Ireland. She’s filled her carpet bag and basket with all of her necessities and is waiting to board the Peter Pan bus to Logan Airport. Polly missed the bus last year and she is so determined to go along this time that she will not move from her spot in front of the house. No sleeping, no bathroom breaks. And she insists on holding her carry-on luggage while she waits.

She’s hoping to show pictures of her travels on Facebook while she’s away, so check there from time to time to see where she’s been.

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Boat trip to Cuttyhunk Is.

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Rob and I have been making an effort to go out in our boat as much as possible in these last days of summer. On a beautiful calm day last week, we motored down the chain of Elizabeth Islands to Cuttyhunk at the very end. We like to visit at least once a year and take in the island’s beauty, charm and character, which I tried to capture in these photographs. To see all of the posts about Cuttyhunk, go to the archives here.

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Oak Bluffs cottages and The Moth

oak bluffs 2013 Aoak bluffs 2013 ILast Saturday, a friend and I took a boat over to Oak Bluffs. We had tickets to go to The Moth on Martha’s Vineyard, which I describe at the end of this post. Before the evening show, we walked around the Martha’s Vineyard Camp Meeting neighborhood and I took some photos of the perfectly charming little cottages. See a post about last year’s visit here.oak bluffs 2013 Doak bluffs 2013 Eoak bluffs 2013 Foak bluffs 2013 Coak bluffs 2013 K oak bluffs 2013 B The purpose of our visit to Oak Bluffs was to attend an evening of storytelling presented by The Moth radio program. If your local NPR station airs The Moth, you know how inspiring and moving the stories can be. Last summer, Martha’s Vineyard writer,  Cynthia Riggs told a most compelling story that has by now been heard all over the world. It is worth hearing her tale, so click the link on her name. She returned this year and gave an update of her adventure to a cheering crowd of 1700. Here’s the inside of the Tabernacle while we were waiting for the storytelling performances to begin. It was quite an evening!themoth  

my garden

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Yesterday, I picked the last of the blueberries and the first golden cherry tomatoes from our garden. We have a wire mesh cage to keep the birds away from the blueberry bushes. Still, chipmunks manage to get find a way in and fill their cheeks to capacity. Unlike the birds, they leave plenty of berries for us!

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The lilies are just about gone, but the trumpet vine is flowering.

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My husband Rob took the closeup photos of wildlife and flowers found in our garden this spring and summer. You can see more of his great pictures on Flickr here.

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Fairy Houses of Beebe Woods #3

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“Home of the Tooth Fairy” by Sue Beardsley

People are still flocking to see The Fairy Houses of Beebe Woods exhibit, which will be in and around the grounds of Highfield Hall until July 21st. Stop by the building to get a tour map during their open hours (M – F, 10 – 4, S – S 10 – 2) or print out your own from this pdf file.

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(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!

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detail from “Home of the Tooth Fairy” by Sue Beardsley

My husband, Rob took these “house portraits” of the dwellings in the morning or evening light, depending on their orientation. As you can see, each artist has interpreted the Fairy House theme in a vastly different way. More photographs of other houses can be seen on posts #1 and #2.

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“Beech House” by Bobbi Bailin

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detail from “Beech House” by Bobbi Bailin

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“Casa de Hadas” by Anne Halpin

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“Low Living High Flying” by Molly Bang

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“Fire Flye Hollow” by Amy Wilson Sanger

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“The Ministry of Metamorphosis & Faerie Hatchery” by Angela Tanner

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“Sea Shanty” by Rebecca Edwards

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“Solvagen” by Jane Parhiala

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“Wild Cherry Village” by Skee Houghton

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“Sentinel” by Andrea Moore

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“Chippikomuk” by Jenny Junker

Woods Hole July 4th parade

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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.

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

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july4FGraduate students from the Marine Biological Laboratory’s grass lab paraded down Water St.july4JOur own burlesque troupe, the Brazen Belles donned swim suits and bathing caps for the occasion.july4I

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july4HAssistants from the Children’s School of Science celebrated the school’s centennial by impersonating the the Class of 1913.july4G

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

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