This is a reminder for those of you in the Portland, Oregon area, who plan on coming to my illustrated talk, Once Upon a Thread. I’ll be at Gossamer on Sunday, April 1st at 3:00 pm. I recommend getting there early, as space is limited. I plan to be there by 2:00 pm to mingle and chat. It will be wonderful to meet my blog friends!
I’m still combing through pictures from last fall’s trip to Turkey and put together this collection of shots with people in them. From shop keepers, to waiters, to our boat crew, we came away with a very positive impression of the people we met and found their playfulness and humor disarming.
Here’s another bunch of photos from my trip to Turkey last fall. I took my camera when we walked around Istanbul and Bodrum. Shop doors were always open, overflowing with stuff to buy. Somehow, junk food looks more heathy and appealing in Turkish packaging.
I caught glimpses of people working inside their businesses, like this taylor.
And saw many places to sit and eat outside. Yes, those are carpets on the tables. Our hotel was on this street.
The markets were busy and inviting.
Cats were everywhere.
This bakery was just around the corner from our hotel.
There were numerous places to buy souvenirs.
The side walks were extensions of businesses, so covered with tables and racks, that people walked in the street.
I’ll be going out west to Portland, Oregon this spring to visit my sister Anne. She helped me set up an event at a wonderful fiber arts shop called Gossamer.
The owner, Rose used to sell my fairy kits when she ran the store at the Portland Waldorf School, so she is familiar with my work. Now, she is happy to have her own shop, which sells fiber arts materials and Waldorf supplies. On Sunday, April 1st at 3:00 pm, I’ll be there to give an illustrated talk, show the Rabbitat film, sign copies of Pocketful of Posies and meet people, including some blog followers from Portland. I’m thinking of bringing some original fabric reliefs to show, too.
Closer to home, my next presentation will be Wed., Feb. 8th at 12:30 pm at the Falmouth Congregational Church, on the village green, Falmouth, MA. The public is welcome to come hear me talk about my work and see some original fabric relief pieces.
I’m still going through the 1000+ photos from our trip to Turkey last fall and have decided to post this group from Bodrum, which is located on the south-western coast. We had this hill-top view from our hotel, where we stayed before we met up with our chartered boat and started cruising around the area.
In the morning, we walked downhill into the town, past these white washed houses.
And walked over to see Bodrum Castle, which was built by Crusader Knights in 1402.
We saw suits of chain mail armor on display.
Inside the castle was a museum with ancient stone sculptures lying around the courtyard.
This statues looked better with a head (my husband Rob’s).
We saw amphoras stacked together, as if they were in the hull of a ship.
Then we walked along the pier, wondering which boat would take us out to sea. On top of this bright pink car, the sign says TAKSI. We learned that there is no X in their alphabet.
Fishmongers were set up on the docks.
The next day, we headed out on our cruise, which I wrote about here.
Last fall, our trip started with a week on a chartered 40′ boat. After loading up with supplies, we embarked from the town of Bodrum on the southern coast of Turkey.
We thought our “gulet’ would be a sailing ship, but the mast and boom held no sails or rigging. It seems that these traditional style boats are rarely seen under sail and are used primarily as motor boats.
There were 4 passengers and 3 crew, including a cook who introduced us to some wonderful Turkish food.
We had beautiful weather, without a drop of rain.
Our captain took us to some secluded harbors.
It was late in the season, so we didn’t see many other boats except for a few fishing vessels.
Some spots had trails which took us to inland homesteads, like this farm.
This cove is called “Cleopatra’s beach”. Who knows if she ever came here, but it’s on a little island with ancient relics all over the place.
There’s an impressive amphitheatre…
with huge trees growing out of the stone seating.
And what is left of the town’s buildings.
The Mediterranean looked beautiful!
The hills in the background are on the mainland.
One time an ice cream boat came by!
A week on the water was a wonderful, relaxing way to be start our visit to Turkey.
We headed back to Bodrum (I’ll show more in a future post) and flew to Istanbul the next day.
As promised in the earlier post of Turkish Doorways, here is a selection of window pictures, which I took on my recent trip to Turkey. My traveling mates learned to be patient while I stopped to click photos around almost every corner. What is it about windows and doors that makes me stop and look? They frame shapes, patterns and textures that reflect the style and culture of a place, as well as bring a mood of mystery as to what’s on the other side.
I’ve got this thing for doorways, so about half of my pictures from our recent trip to Turkey are of houses and doors. The window pictures are still to come. This tour includes everything, from palaces to run down neighborhoods to ancient ruins.
This Saturday, Dec. 10th, I’ll be signing books from 1:00 to 3:00pm at the New England Quilt Museum in Lowell, Massachusetts. This will be the last event of the year, professionally, that is. Some original illustrations from Pocketful of Posies will be displayed during my visit. The old woman who lived in a shoe will be there, as well as Peter the pumpkin eater.
I’ll also bring the orignal illustration I made for the Horn Book Magazine. To see a preview of the Jan/Feb magazine cover, go here. I hope to meet some of you at the Quilt Museum this Saturday!
We had a good day on Saturday at the RISD Holiday Sale. It’s been five years since I had a booth there, so it felt good to once again be among the 200 odd alumni who set up their wares. Since I don’t make kits or dolls to sell anymore, I brought books to sell. My husband, Rob was relieved that my setup was simpler than in the past. I used to make him haul twisty trees on heavy stands, but not this year. I hung up a large blowup of the cover of Pocketful of Posies, which my editor and the sales staff at Houghton Mifflin passed on to me. We were busy, which meant that I couldn’t take off and peruse the other isles. There’s always an eclectic selection of stuff at the RISD sales. Alumni from almost every department are represented; jewelry, furniture design, ceramics, printmaking, illustration, glass, textiles, industrial design, etc. Several people who follow this blog came by, including RISD illustration alumnus Ingrid Lavoie, who had her own booth with cut paper items. We talked about how a large percentage of illustration majors never work in publishing, but end up using a variety of art forms, and that their work usually has a storytelling element.
In my booth, I displayed some original illustrations from Pocketful of Posies, including There was an old woman who lived in a shoe.
Kate Menard came by to have her book signed. She told me that she’s bringing her parents to see my exhibit at UConn later this week. The show will be up through Dec. 16th.
SALLEY MAVOR 