Polly in Cuba

Posted on May 4, 2014 by Salley Mavor

Polly Doll had a wonderful trip to Cuba. She rode a hood ornament, saw Ernest Hemingway’s pool…

…made friends with the “kissing lady”…

…visited a botanical garden…

…hung out in an Havana doorway…

…dined at a Paladar (private restaurant)…

…hiked through a mangrove forest…

…and enjoyed some Cuban rum.

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Noah’s Ark Poster

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Salley Mavor

I am pleased to announce the addition of another 18″ x 24″ poster to my Etsy Shop. The poster is new, but the original NOAH’S ARK piece was made 28 years ago!

I remember working on it during a transitional period, when I created animals that were similar in size and style to my pins (see them here), which I sewed to dyed and appliqued cotton velveteen background fabric. The animal’s legs are formed with tube beads. I also remember finding the orange upholstery fabric that’s around the border while shopping at a large fabric store in Berkeley, CA. I can recall playing around and re-positioning the animals for a long time until they looked right. It was also during a time when I fell in love with hand embroidering little leaves on bushes and trees. You can see some details of the animals and landscape below.

The NOAH’S ARK Poster is available from my Etsy Shop here.

Faux flowers Giveaway winners!

Posted on April 28, 2014 by Salley Mavor

Congratulations to the 3 Giveaway winners; Susan Fiebig, Retro Sandy and Lena Frost! They will each be notified and sent a set of faux flower petals to make skirts and wings for 6 fairies. Thank you to the 100+ contestants who entered!

Many of you wrote such sweet messages about how much you enjoy making these fairies. Some of you also plan to teach your grandchildren how to make them. It warms my heart to hear this. Over the past few years, since I started the blog, I am sometimes so touched by your comments that I get teary. Can it really be that making a simple little doll can make a difference in someones life? Your personal stories and warm messages are very much appreciated, even if I don’t answer every one!

The fairies started as a spontaneous afterthought, when an article about my work was getting ready to go to press for the March 1999 issue of Mary Engelbreit’s Home Companion Magazine. I was asked if I had any items or projects that readers could send away for. I quickly put together a Blossom Fairy Kit and figured out a price. After the magazine came out, I was inundated with orders. The only way people could see what the fairy looked like was to search one of the photos of my studio through a magnifying glass! One thing led to another and before I knew it, Wee Folk Studio became a kit business, with new designs added every year. Eventually, there were 10 doll designs and 10 felt purse kits. At this point, the wee folk were ready to be introduced to a wider audience through my how-to book, Felt Wee Folk: Enchanting Projects. The fairies have been good to me, but after about 8 years, I was ready to give up the kits in order to work on the illustrations for Pocketful of Posies full time.

Reading your comments on my posts made me keenly aware of the need for a revised edition of my how-to book, even though I’d convinced myself that one was enough. It took some time for me to get on board, but in less than year from now, Felt Wee Folk: New Adventures will be published. See posts about it here. I’ll be selling the original book in my Etsy Shop until then. I’m not sure if it will disappear or not when the new one comes out, but C&T is planning on offering the non-doll projects on-line.

Cuba: Colon Cemetery

Posted on April 26, 2014 by Salley Mavor

We visited the Colon Cemetery in Havana.

4000 Facebook Likes Giveaway!

Posted on April 22, 2014 by Salley Mavor

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The Wee Folk Studio Facebook page has just reached 4000 Likes! To show my appreciation, I’m offering a Giveaway. Since many of you have made or want to make fairies from my Felt Wee Folk book, the prize is something you can put to use ~ Faux Flowers for outfitting your wee folk dolls. Assorted packs of flower skirts and wings are also available from my Etsy Shop.

To enter the giveaway, just leave a message on this blog post and 3 winners will be selected at random on April 28th. People from all around the world are welcome to try for the prize.

fairy making supplies

Studio report, spring 2014

Posted on April 20, 2014 by Salley Mavor

I thought I’d take a break from showing my Cuba pictures (more coming) and report on what’s been happening in the studio. Not long ago, I noticed the early evening light streaming in from the windows on the west side. This is the only time of year that it looks this way. The sun’s position was low and shone through the still bare trees. I asked my husband Rob to quickly take a photo, which he did.

You’ll have to imagine what the rest of the room looks like right now, because I’m in the process of working on projects that are secret or just not ready to show yet. I’m making three sets of wedding cake dolls as gifts for friends who are getting married this summer. Of course, I want them to be a surprise, so they’ll be shown after the weddings.

And, I’m excited about making a large sculpture for the Portals and Passageways outdoor exhibit at Highfield Hall in Falmouth, MA this summer (June 29 – Sept 7, 2014). Working on this large piece has been very different for me and we’ve taken photos and videos along the way. I’ll show them after my sculpture is installed in June. Update: See how my sculpture, Hither and Yon was made here.

Lanyon-Quoit-Pink.web-(2)

I’m happy to report that my sister, Anne Mavor is also having an exhibit at Highfield! Ancient Landscapes: The Spirit of Place will feature paintings from her Mounds and Stones series, which was inspired by our late father, James W. Mavor, Jr., an astro-archaeologist who traveled the world documenting the connections between the land and sky at ancient sacred sites.

Soon, I’ll be gathering some of my older pieces, which will be borrowed from their owners for the upcoming exhibit, Salley Mavor: Expressions in Stitches: Then and Now, at Museums on the Green in Falmouth, MA (July 4 – Aug. 16, 2014). Historical needlework that I picked out from the museum’s collection will be shown alongside my contemporary embroidered artwork. I’m really looking forward to working with the curator and figuring out how to display some of the historical items.

More goings on:
Pocketful of Posies Exhibit
~ Cotuit Library, Cotuit, MA until May 27th. My talk is on May 2 @ 6:00 pm.
~ Lexington Public Library, Lexington, Kentucky (July 5 – Aug. 17, 2014).

Cuba: street vendors

Posted on April 17, 2014 by Salley Mavor

Every day, Cuban farmers bring fruit, flowers and vegetables into Havana to sell on the neighborhood streets. The farms are close by and you can see them hauling their produce behind bicycles and horse carts.

Cuba: doorways

Posted on April 14, 2014 by Salley Mavor

Through open doorways, we caught a slight glimpse of the life within Havana’s deteriorating buildings.

Cuba: cars

Posted on April 11, 2014 by Salley Mavor

The streets of Havana are full of American (and other) cars from before the Cuban revolution in 1959. It’s said that most have had their motors replaced with Japanese engines, but the old car bodies have been lovingly maintained. We took a ride in a convertible one evening!