Wee Folk photo shoot

Posted on September 27, 2013 by Salley Mavor

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.

Polly’s trip to Ireland

Posted on September 23, 2013 by Salley Mavor

Polly had many adventures in Ireland. She saw lots of stone ruins, castles, waterfalls and moss. She joined her companions for meals and drinks of Guinness and visited Yeats’ grave and statue. She encountered thistle, heather and wool knit sweaters and even met another Polly!

Ireland

Scotland

Ireland 2013 (store fronts)

Posted on September 22, 2013 by Salley Mavor

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.

Close-ups (beds)

Posted on September 14, 2013 by Salley Mavor

The first image in this series of bed pictures is an illustration for a poem called Tumbling, which is included in my 1997 poetry anthology, You and Me:Poems of Friendship. Then there’s a page from my 2001 picture book In the Heart, which was written by Ann Turner. Copies of In the Heart are available in my Etsy Shop.

My book, Pocketful of Posies: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes has many different scenes with beds. After his fall, Jack took to bed and wrapped his head with vinegar and brown paper. And Hush-a-bye-baby rocks in a walnut shell.

Here are more unconventional sleeping places in my Wee Willie Winkie board book.

And here’s “my son John, went to sleep with his trousers on” from Pocketful of Posies: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes. I offer autographed copies in my Etsy Shop.

“Go to bed first, a golden purse” from Pocketful of Posies.

And here’s Elsie Marley, who won’t get up to feed the swine, which is also from Pocketful of Posies.

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Polly’s going on a trip

Posted on September 11, 2013 by Salley Mavor

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.

POSIES comes home

Posted on September 6, 2013 by Salley Mavor

After 3 years of traveling around the country, I am pleased to announce that the original illustrations from my book, Pocketful of Posies, are coming home! They have returned to my home town of Falmouth, MA for an exhibit at the beautiful Highfield Hall, where the tour began in 2010. Don’t the banners look great hanging out front? The artwork has traveled thousands of miles, having been driven hither and yon and shipped across the country a couple of times. To see a list of all of the past and future venues, visit the Pocketful of Posies Traveling Exhibit Page.

The show at Highfield Hall (Sept. 4 ~ Oct. 31, 2013) will be the last time that the complete set of illustrations from the book will be shown together. Well, almost all of them will be there. The Old woman who lived in a shoe had the opportunity to live in Azerbaijan, so she’s spending more than a year in the American ambassador’s residence. Read the post about it here. The old woman will rejoin the group when she returns from abroad!

After the show in Falmouth, the collection will be divided in half and shown at two venues this fall and winter; the New England Quilt Museum in Lowell, MA and the Cape Cod Museum of Art in Dennis, MA. Visit the Traveling Exhibit Page to see the show dates.

After holding off for most of the 3 year tour, I am glad to once again be offering several originals for sale. Some pieces were sold way back in 2010 and the buyers have been patiently waiting all this time. The framed fabric reliefs range in price from $2,500 to $6,000. The exhibiting collection needs to stay all together for a little while longer, until the beginning of 2014. Then the buyers will be able to take possession of their pieces. Please contact Jen (jnemec@highfieldhall.org) for a price list of available work and information about purchasing a piece. Highfield Hall will handle sales during the exhibit.

Out of the 51 total illustrations, I’m reserving about 20, making some Pocketful of Posies originals available to show. In the past, I’ve sold just about everything and it’s only in recent years that I’ve decided to hold onto some pieces, with the intention of exhibiting them. I hear all the time that seeing the real thing is a different experience from looking at the pages of my books. With this in mind, it is important to me that my work be shown in public places and be accessible to as many people as possible.

doll house play

Posted on August 29, 2013 by Salley Mavor

Yesterday, I witnessed the sight of real children playing with my doll house! Some friends came over to my studio with their grandchildren, who immediately engaged with the dolls and miniatures in and around the house. You may wonder why I find this so remarkable, especially since I constructed and decorated it almost 40 years ago. For most of those years, the house has been packed away or displayed behind glass. My sons weren’t interested in playing with it, so I offered to have it shown in the children’s room at the Falmouth Public Library. It stood there for several years in a case near the check out desk, out of reach of children’s hands. When the library was renovated and didn’t have a space for the house, I took it back and it has since been gathering dust in a corner of my studio.

I loved watching the children manipulate and position the dolls with their small hands.

The house has been out on my center table lately, because I’ve been fixing it up for a photo shoot of some projects that will be in the 2nd edition of Felt Wee Folk (2015 release date). I’m also sprucing it up for display at the Holidays at Highfield event later this year at Highfield Hall in Falmouth. The 10 day event will feature a tree decorated with Pocketful of Posies ornaments that I made for the Family Trees exhibit at the Concord Museum last year (see posts here).

Nov. 29 ~ Dec. 8, 2013, Original embroidered artwork, a tree full of ornaments and a doll house all handmade by Salley Mavor will be on display at The Holidays at Highfield. Highfield Hall, Falmouth, MA. Open daily 12 pm ~ 4 pm

Boat trip to Cuttyhunk Is.

Posted on August 26, 2013 by Salley Mavor

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.

fairy girls in the studio

Posted on August 23, 2013 by Salley Mavor

Last week, I had a delightful visit with Bronwyn Malicoat and a carload of girls, who drove to my studio in Falmouth, from Provincetown, which is at least a 1 1/2 hour ride from the other end of Cape Cod. It’s common knowledge that people from our different poles rarely visit each other (especially in the summer), because there is no direct route and the traffic can be a pain. But, I’m really glad that they came, bursting out of the car with their little fairies in hand. The girls are enrolled in Bronwyn’s summer craft program, which includes a good dose of fairy projects.

When they arrived, Rob and I were just finishing a photo shoot out on our patio.

Here, the girls are looking at the scene, which includes some of my doll projects. They’ll be in the 2nd edition of my how-to book, Felt Wee Folk. Sorry, but I can’t show any details until the book is published in 2015.

They were so proud of their fairies that they made earlier in the week.

They played with them the whole time they were outside.

They ate what was left of the blueberry crop and took photos of their fairies in the blueberry bushes.

Then, they looked around my studio and took more pictures.

It was a treat to spend time with Bronwyn and her students. Being the mother of sons, I have not been around young girls very much and being in their company brought back childhood memories of playing with my sister and friends. We would spend hours making things and setting up scenes to play with. Come to think of it, I still do that now!

Giveaway winner in stitches

Posted on August 21, 2013 by Salley Mavor

Thank you to all of you who wrote about your favorite stitch this past week for the 2000 Likes on Facebook Giveaway. I loved hearing your descriptions of how certain stitches bring back sweet memories of learning from grandmothers. In this modern age, it is wonderful to hear from so many people who make a place in their lives for handwork. One entrant described herself as “a stitch dictionary junkie” and another wrote, “My favorites are the first and last stitches. Happy to begin and to finish.” Some stitches were identified as a signature of sorts, with one woman declaring, “I’m a blanket stitch with variegated thread kind of girl.”

Although I didn’t intend for this to be an embroidery stitch popularity contest, I couldn’t help keeping a tally of the various choices. In the end, it was dead heat between the blanket (or button hole) stitch and the french knot, which were both way out in the lead. Other favorites were the chain stitch, bullion, feather, daisy, stem, seed, satin and even the beaded Palestrina stitch, which I had to learn for the sampler pictured above. Mary Corbet has some easy to follow tutorials on her web site, Needle N’Thread. The different stitches are shown in numbers according to their popularity on the comments. I was not surprised by how the simple ones prevailed in the final count. No matter how many fancy stitches I try, I find that I can achieve almost everything I want with the basic blanket, chain and french knot stitches.

The 3 winners of the Giveaway are Teresa, Petra and Pam W. I will notify them by e-mail and send each a copy of my 1995 book Mary Had a Little Lamb. To see a list of all my books go here. Thank you to all who participated!

My how-to book, Felt Wee Folk, has pictures, directions and patterns for making a wide range of bendable figures with a variety of hairstyles, outfits, and armatures.

To keep up with new posts, subscribe to this blog (top right column on the home page). Your contact info will not be sold or shared. If you’d like to see more frequent photos tracking the projects in my studio, please follow me on Facebook and/or Instagram.