Here are a selection of doorways we saw on our recent trip to Ireland. I was surprised by some of the bold paint colors, which were far from the white washed or stone cottage look that I’ve seen in pictures.
An Irish Sojourn: doorways
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The Intimate Woods
My latest piece, Birds of Beebe Woods, is included in The Intimate Woods exhibit at Highfield Hall in Falmouth, Massachusetts. An exciting assortment of artwork will be on display throughout the building and grounds this fall. It’s all part of Beebe Woods: The Trail Leads to Our Door, which celebrates the 40th anniversary of J.K. Lilly’s gift of Beebe Woods to the Town of Falmouth. The opening will be this Friday, September 28th, 5:00 – 7:00.
Highfield Hall’s web site describes the exhibit as follows:
The Intimate Woods: Wed., Sept. 19 – Fri., Nov. 16 Inspired by the flora, fauna and intimate details of the woodlands, this companion exhibit to Beebe Woods: The Trail Leads to Our Door features the work of ten regional fiber artists including Salley Mavor, Helen Koehler, Joyce Shutter and friends. These artists’ creative interpretations of the natural world are enlivened by a wide range of media: from hand-made papers, felting, beadwork and collage to various forms of fine needlework. This exhibition serves as a reminder that our observations of nature are ever expansive and the rare and delicate lady’s slippers barely noticed at our feet can offer as grand an experience as the stately beech trees that have reigned over Beebe Woods for decades.
Here’s a shot of Rob taking a picture of the felt covered wire border from Birds of Beebe Woods before it was all assembled. And other photo of me taking a photo.
An Irish Sojourn
Rob and I just returned from a magical visit to Ireland. We traveled with a group of Celtic music lovers who were brought together by Boston’s WGBH. The Learning Tour — An Irish Sojourn was led by WGBH radio Celtic music host Brian O’Donovan, who took us from county Cork and up the eastern coast to Dublin.
This is just a sampling of what we saw on our trip–there will be many more pictures to show in the weeks ahead. There’ll be more doorways, windows, storefronts, landscapes and moss!
Birds of Beebe Woods: cardinals
Poster – Birds of Beebe Woods
See other posts about making Birds of Beebe Woods here. A poster is available from my Etsy Shop.
Most of the birds in Birds of Beebe Woods are the colorful male variety, but I decided to add a pair of cardinals to the mix. The female is shown in her nest, which is made of florist’s rafia-like straw.
After consulting photographs of cardinals, I did a simple drawing to follow. The basic shape is cut out of matt board and the padding is basted in place. I don’t know what the padding material is made of— a friend gave me a bunch. In this case, I made a felt hood and embroidered feather patterns with variegated thread.
Then, I stitched the beak and surrounded the bead eye with several rows of black blanket stitching.
The tail has a wire armature to help keep its shape.
new “Birds” poster on Etsy
The Birds of Beeebe Woods posters have arrived! My sister, Anne Mavor did the classy graphic design. We picked a chocolate-brown background and gold lettering to set off the warm tones of the piece. The 18 x 24 posters are now available at my Etsy shop. I’ll be traveling in Ireland Sept. 11 – 20, so if you want one before I leave, place an order by Sept. 9th. Otherwise, I’ll fill any orders after I return.
Go here for more information and to see posts about making Birds of Beebe Woods.
Birds of Beebe Woods: bluejay
Update: The Birds of Beebe Woods poster is in my Etsy shop .
Now that the piece is finished, I can spend time reviewing how I made some of the parts. Opportunities to see the original piece are listed at the end of this post. The bluejay (life size) was one of the first birds I made, after the crow, because it’s on the large size and I wanted to make sure it would fit. The birds’ arrangement wasn’t set until the very end and I kept moving the critters around. That’s why I like to create separate elements–it’s very much like a collage that way. I have kind of an idea of how it will be, but I want room to maneuver the pieces. Tweaking is good because it brings surprises!
After looking at photos of bluejays, I picked a pose and cut the body shape out of matt board. Then I cut a piece of white felt and stitched a textured pattern on the breast. I cut a whole in the felt for the bead eye, too.
Oh dear, looking at these photo’s, the sequence of steps is not clear to me. You’d think I’d remember, but every time I make a new character or animal, I try different approaches. When I sew, I’m not analyzing what I’m doing, which makes it hard to explain later.
But, I can tell you this much, the bluejay’s wings are made of layered blue and white felt, all embroidered with a few simple stitches, in this case the fly and blanket stitch.
The tail stripe pattern is mostly blanket stitched.
To see other posts about the making of Birds of Beebe Woods, go to the archives here.
2015 UPDATE:
Since many people have asked if the original is for sale– not now, as I will be holding onto it for a few years, so that it can be displayed in public exhibitions. The next showing is May 15 – Sept. 15, 2015 at Highfield Hall and Gardens in Falmouth, Massachusetts. I am also curating the outdoor exhibit of 32 fanciful fairy houses, Fairy Houses of Highfield Hall, which will be on display June 28 – August 31, 2015.
And later in the year, the “birds” will be in Winconsin. Oct 21. 2015 – January 10, 2016 ~ Insects to Elephants at the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts and Fiber Arts in Cedarburg, Wisconsin.
Felt Banner Workshop
I’m happy to announce that I’ll be teaching a workshop in my home town of Falmouth, Massachusetts later this fall. We’ll make wool felt banners with wrapped wire lettering, the same as I’ve shown several times on this blog (see archives here). Students can make their own personalized keepsake to celebrate a wedding or baby’s birth. It doesn’t have to be a wedding or baby banner. You can also make a welcome sign or write out a short phrase or proverb such as Home Sweet Home or Be Here Now. Update: the workshop is full, but there is a waiting list.
Birds of Beebe Woods
I’m usually too busy to teach classes, but couldn’t resist the opportunity to add a hands-on element to the Intimate Woods exhibit (Sept. 18 – Nov. 15, 2012), which will include my piece, Birds of Beebe Woods. (see posts about the piece here)
An 18″ x 24″ poster of Birds of Beebe Woods is available from my Etsy Shop.
Of course it doesn’t hurt that Highfield Hall is less than a mile from my house and we’ll have a large well-lit space to spread out and work. What could be more fun than spending all day stitching and wrapping thread in the company of other like-minded folk? More info about the workshop is on the bottom of this post.
(Workshop is full) FELT BANNER WORKSHOP – Sat., Oct. 27th , 2012 – 9:30am to 4:30pm Highfield Hall , Falmouth, MA. To find out more and to register, go to this link and scroll down to Felt Banner Workshop. The skill level is intermediate. I’ll provide materials including wool felt, wire, thread, beads and buttons, but students should bring a sewing kit and any special beads, charms and other embellishments from their personal stash. The class size is limited to 10, so sign up soon if you’re interested. For those of you will travel a distance, there are plenty of Inns and Bed and Breakfasts nearby (even within walking distance). Buses from New York or Boston drop off within a short walking distance, too.
Birds of Beebe Woods finished!
Yeah! After 4 1/2 months of constant stitching, Birds of Beebe Woods is finished! I know that many of you have been checking in all summer to see its progress. We propped the stretcher on a window sill outside, securing it with duct tape on the top sides. The piece feels heavier than anything I’ve made before. All of that wire adds up in poundage. Over the next few days, my husband Rob will take photographs of it in different lighting conditions outside. For soft shadows, a bright, hazy day, will be perfect. when we get a good photo, I’ll have a poster made to sell in my Etsy shop.
Now that it’s finished, I can bring Birds of Beebe Woods to Mahopac, NY next week, when I give a talk at 7pm at the Mahopac Public Library. This stop on the Pocketful of Posies touring exhibit ends the same day, Wed., August 29th. I hope to see some of you there! To see the full schedule of the tour look here.
Then, the birds piece will be hung with other Beebe Woods inspired artwork at Highfield Hall in Falmouth, MA from Sept. 18 – Nov. 15, 2012, as part if the The Intimate Woods fiber art exhibit. I’m also giving an all day workshop at Highfield Hall in Falmouth on Sat., Oct. 27th. We’ll make felt banners with wrapped wire lettering. Find out more here.
Ashley’s beach faces
Ashley Wolff sent these pictures of other beach faces she’s made at different latitudes along the California coast. Pretty wonderful!
Ashley Wolff @ Kettle Cove
RISD classmate and the talented and prolific children’s book illustrator Ashley Wolff came to visit last week. It was a beautiful day, so we decided to take the boat over to Kettle Cove on Naushon Island. After we rowed our dingy ashore, Ashley strolled the beach with her border collie Tula. We made a funny face with the stuff Ashley collected. There’s always art to be made!
My husband Rob and Tula sat in the shade of the umbrella and Ashley painted …
this scene of our lobster boat Mary Lou and the Tabor Boy, which comes from across Buzzards Bay in Marion. A whole pack of Tabor Academy students swam ashore from the ship.
Ashley did this wonderful watercolor in her sketchbook in about 15 minutes. We had a great day! Read the post about her visit last year here.
SALLEY MAVOR 