A visit to Mimi’s

Posted on November 16, 2011 by Salley Mavor

I’m still catching up on writing about last week activities and will soon get to last weekend’s Conn. Book Fair and also post more pictures from my trip to Turkey.

I visited the talented doll and pin cushion maker Mimi Kirchner in Arlington, Mass. As you may remember from previous posts, Mimi inspired me to start this blog. This is the first time I’ve seen her new studio since she moved in. It was good to see that she has totally taken over the room. Unlike her previous quarters in the attic, she has heat and windows to look out of! Like her attic space, it’s chockfull of materials and inspiring objects. Downstairs, her inventory of Wee World pin cushions in tea cups were lined up on the piano.

And some dolls were piled in a wicker baby buggy. You can read more about Mimi and her work on her blog here.

visit to The Horn Book

Posted on November 13, 2011 by Salley Mavor

Last Tuesday, I visited the Horn Book Magazine’s office in Boston. I went to pick up my original artwork, which will be on the cover of their January/February issue. Designer Lolly Robinson showed it to me on the computer and it looks great! Editor in Chief Roger Sutton and I held up the original for a snapshot before I took it back home.

UPDATE: See photos and read commentary about how I made the illustration for The Horn Book cover in this post.
The original piece is now in a private collection.

The whole staff had lunch together around the big wooden table and we talked about our common love–children’s books. There were many posters and magazine covers hung up around the space. I was happy to see my college friend Beth Krommes’ cover from her Caldecott winning The House in the Night. (top row, center left). Her new book, Swirl by Swirl is amazing!

Lolly took a closeup photo of me sewing a little hand. It’ll appear alongside my Horn Book Award speech, which will be printed in the January/February issue. I don’t have a picture of the thread wrapping process in such small-scale, so its nice to be able to show it here.

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Happenings in the next 2 months

Posted on November 8, 2011 by Salley Mavor

Now that we’ve been home for a few days, I’ve been reviewing the calendar, seeing what I’ve signed up for in the next 2 months. I try to keep an up to date schedule of talks, presentations and book appearances on my events page, but wanted to make sure the word is out here, too. In the next week, I’ll be giving 3 talks, all listed at the end of this post. First, I want to share an article about my work that just came out in the Nov./ Dec. issue of Cape Cod Life Magazine. See the article online: “Life’s Canvas: Wonderous Wee World”.

The article was written by Mary Grauerholz, who seemed to get what I was doing from the start of our interview. During the photo shoot, 20-something Anthony Despezio jumped around my studio, clicking pictures of everything in sight. He paused at an original illustration from my first book, The Way Home, saying “This picture is from my book, I remember this elephant.” Apparently, he had the book as a child and didn’t make the connection until he saw the illustration in my studio. Of course, I had to share this with the story’s author, Judy Richardson. It was so neat to find out that a book we made over 20 years ago stayed with a boy who grew up to be a cool, creative young man. This is the picture that triggered his memory, which is the emotional climax of the story, when Savi’s mother leaves her on the beach alone. To read the series about the making of The Way Home, click here.

The Way Home, page 18

Upcoming schedule of events:

Saturday, November 12th – University of Connecticut Children’s Book Fair, Storrs, Connecticut. Salley will give a slide talk about her work at 10:15 am. Original Illustrations from Pocketful of Posies are displayed on campus at the Dodd Research Center through Dec. 16th. Sat., Nov. 12th only–gallery will be open from 12 noon to 3pm. Normal hours are Mon. thru Fri. 8:30 am to 4:30 pm.

Monday, November 14 at 4:30pm: Falmouth Art Center, Falmouth, MA. Salley Mavor will talk to families about the creation of her books. Pocketful of Posies: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes, will be for sale.

Saturday, November 19th, 1:00-6:00 pm: Salley Mavor will be the keynote speaker at the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (New England) ILLUSTRATOR DAY to be held at the Emma Blood French Auditorium (The French Building) on the New Hampshire Institute of Art campus in Manchester, NH. Information and Registration.

DECEMBER

Saturday, Dec. 3rd – Salley Mavor will have a booth at the RISD Holiday Sale, RI Convention Center, Providence, RI.

Saturday, Dec. 10th – 1:00 – 3:00 pm, Book Signing at the New England Quilt Museum, Lowell, MA.

Turkey (street vendors)

Posted on November 5, 2011 by Salley Mavor

We’re home from Turkey, still jet lagged and dazed by our experience. From now on, when hearing about Turkey on the news, I will picture the amazing sights, remember the taste of the delicious food and think of the friendly and playful people. I’m going through the hundreds of photos from the trip and will be posting them according to subject matter. Everywhere, there were vendors, from the streets of Istanbul to a remote rocky island with no habitation in sight. The first picture shows what looks to be a real live gnome sitting on a plastic chair. He was selling honey and jewelry on a desolate cove where we spent the night in our boat. We followed the sign to the restaurant, but found it closed for the season. The other pictures were taken in Istanbul, which throbs with commerce.

You could buy brooms, pails and mops…

drink freshly squeezed pomegranate juice…

eat roasted chestnuts and corn…

have your shoes shined…

buy fresh fish…

and nibble a pretzel.

Turkey – textile heaven

Posted on November 2, 2011 by Salley Mavor

This is our last day in Turkey and I have to share these images from the bazaars of Istanbul. There are textiles galore, with pushy carpet sellers at every turn.

I bought a few meters of this fabric to make into a shirt. I’ll be showing LOTS more pictures of Turkey when I return home.

Safe in Turkey

Posted on October 26, 2011 by Salley Mavor

Just a quick note to reassure you that we are safe in Turkey, far from the earthquake. A funny thing happened while waiting for our flight to Istanbul in the Paris airport. A blog follower named Nobuco from Columbia (S. America) recognized me when we sat next to each other while waiting for our respective planes. I didn’t think I was noticeable, but she asked, “Are you the blogger who sews?”. One thing I have noticed about women my age outside of the US (or New England), is that there are very few of us who keep our hair naturally gray, so we stand out.

Turkey is an amazing country and I’m taking pictures to share later. We’re eating lots of figs.

And Clementines.

Posies exhibit at UConn

Posted on October 16, 2011 by Salley Mavor

Travel Update: I just want to assure you that we are safe in the Mediterranean, off the coast of southwestern Turkey, far away from the earthquake. We heard about it from friends who have e-mailed. No one has said a word (in english) about it at any ports we’ve stayed at. We’re having a wonderful time, by the way.

Travel Notice: I’m going on a trip to Turkey! So, see you back here in about 3 weeks (with pictures).

Radio Story: Our local NPR station (WCAI) broadcasted a story about my work. Hear it here.

detail from "There was a Crooked Man"

We’ve delivered 39 framed original illustrations from my book Pocketful of Posies to the next stop on the tour. The work will be exhibited through Dec. 16 at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center Gallery at the University of Connecticut – Storrs. On Saturday, Nov. 12th, I will be giving a presentation at 10:15 am and signing books throughout the day, during the Connecticut Children’s Book Fair on campus. The Dodd Center isn’t normally open on weekends, but because I’ll be there on the 12th, the gallery will be open for visitors from 12 noon to 3pm. So, if you can only come during the weekend, this is your chance!

Storrs is about 3 hours from our home on Cape Cod, so we wrapped the artwork in bubble wrap and drove it over in our car. Terri Goldich, the curator and my husband Rob helped load the cart.

The gallery is a beautiful, clean space with wall and floor display cases. We tested the DVD of my Rabbitat film to make sure it played on their TV in the corner. Terri hung the show after we left and it’s now open to the public Monday through Friday 8:30 am – 4:30 pm., through Dec. 16th. Again, the gallery will be open from 12 noon to 3pm on Saturday, Nov. 12th, when I’m at the book fair.

I’ll be away on a trip to Turkey, so there won’t be any new posts for about 3 weeks. But, I’ll bring back plenty of pictures!

Delectable Mountain

Posted on October 13, 2011 by Salley Mavor

I’ve heard about Delectable Mountain for years and finally got to visit this past summer. We’ve gone to Brattleboro, Vermont a lot lately because of my show at the Brattleboro Museum. We’ll be heading there again this Saturday, Oct. 15th for my talk at 3:00 pm. I was glad to find out that both the museum and Delectable Mountain survived the storm (Irene) in August.

Delectable Mountain is not your ordinary fabric store. Everything is beautiful and luscious; silk, brocade, buttons, trims. There are no bolts of cotton to be found.

Old lady’s hats are displayed among the fine fabric, scarves and buttons.

Remnants of silk are bundled together and laid out in boxes.

Larger pieces are stacked in shelves.

Looking at this fabric makes me want to conjure up a special occasion to make a garment for.

While I was there, several husbands waited impatiently while their wives became more and more mesmerized.

The button selection is to die for.

I liked the way they displayed the buttons in small glass dishes and bowls. It all glistened and sparkled.

I bought some of these bone buttons, along with some pieces of cloth that I couldn’t live without. This shop is well worth a visit!

Portland, Maine

Posted on October 11, 2011 by Salley Mavor

Last weekend, Rob and I visited our son Ian at his school, the Maine College of Art (MECA) in Portland, Maine. I got up early and walked around the city, taking pictures.

There is nothing like early morning light with its warm, soft glow.

We walked down one of the piers and ate breakfast at the Porthole Restaurant, which has been here since 1929.

We liked Portland and can see why it’s listed as one of the most livable cities in the country.

I love the moss growing on the roof.

Rabbitat – part 6 (rabbit characters)

Posted on October 7, 2011 by Salley Mavor

Originally, I was going to make human characters living in the drift wood house, but I kept imagining long ears sticking up from their heads, so they changed into a rabbit family. Hence the name Rabbitat (see film here). The mother and father dolls are about 4 inches tall and made with a bendable pipe-cleaner armature. The heads are made from wooden beads covered with wool felt. There’s a seam down the front of the face, under the embroidered nose.

As soon as I added front teeth, they lost their bland cuteness and took on personality, or should I say rabbitality?

Maybe I just identified with them more, having been a buck toothed child.

The faces are embroidered, with glass bead eyes.

The ears have fine wire sewn around the outside edge, so they can be bent expressively.

The baby carriage is made from this wire, which is covered with a bark-like natural material I found at a florist supply business. The wheels are acorn caps with holes drilled in the center.