Jakob and the ring around a roses book

Posted on December 15, 2010 by Salley Mavor

Last week I heard from a mother whose 2-year-old son has latched onto his copy of my new book something fierce. I’ve heard a lot of compliments from grownups, but the account of this little boy and the “ring around a roses book” made me feel tingly inside, like the whole project was worth it. His mother, Kitty Flynn writes, “At 26 months, Jakob can recite most of the rhymes from Pocketful of Posies. Not surprising, since he went on a Pocketful binge for a few weeks. That’s the only book he wanted to look at, the only book he wanted read to him.

detail from “Pocketful of Posies” 2010

“Baa Baa, Black Sheep” was the first one he regaled us with. (there were about 3 days straight when that’s pretty much all he said. Over and over. Really, Really fast).

Next was “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” delivered in his own cadence: “up above the world SO high/ Like a diamond in THE SKY.”

detail from “Pocketful of Posies” 2010

I’ve lost track of how many he knows. We hear them when he wakes, we hear him them when he’s falling asleep. We read the book during meals, he brings it with him for diaper changes (TMI? Sorry).

from “Pocketful of Posies”

I’ve found him a couple of times sitting quietly (you have no idea how bizarre it is to see him sitting quietly) looking intently at the book. He’ll look up and say, “Reading a book. This a good page.” And I have no doubt that the lightning fast recitations are being soaked up by his 13 month old sister, who is just beginning to say words. I want you to know that your collection has made a real and lasting impression on one language-loving little boy and his family. So, if anyone asks, why do we need another nursery rhyme book, just tell them to come talk to me.”

detail from “Pocketful of Posies” 2010

Jakob and his family live in the Boston area, so they are planning on visiting the Pocketful of Posies original art exhibit at the Danforth Museum in Framingham. I wish I could be there to see his reaction!

Book supply update: Pocketful of Posies has been selling so well that the publisher and all book distributors have sold out of the first printing. The new print run isn’t scheduled to arrive from Hong Kong until mid-January, so whatever supplies bookstores and online retailers have in stock is it for now. When I first heard about this, I thought about the Cabbage Patch doll craze in the 80’s and imagined customers fighting in stores for their copy of “Posies”! Luckily, my local bookstore, Eight Cousins, planned ahead and stocked up. There are some autographed copies still available at 508.548.5548.

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Treasures (skating gnomes)

Posted on December 13, 2010 by Salley Mavor

This special group of wooden gnomes came from my husband’s family. I love unpacking them at Christmas time because they look ready to jump out of the box, like northern European versions of Mexican jumping beans.

They seem like they are skating or nervously hopping on one leg. They’re tiny, too, about 1 1/2 inches tall.

book signing at the Danforth

Posted on December 10, 2010 by Salley Mavor

I met some really nice people at the book signing last Sunday at the Danforth Museum. There were 2 women from Utah, here in Boston on a business trip, who made the trek out to Framingham. I met another pair of women who have followed my work for years. One invited the other on a “surprise outing” and they ended up at my show! The children’s librarian from Framingham Public Library brought some wonderful dolls that she made using my how-to book, Felt Wee Folk. One doll looked like a “little maid from school” in the Mikado. In the photo below, I’m signing a copy of Pocketful of Posies for Horn Book editor Martha Parravano (seated), whom I was delighted to meet for the first time.

Margaret Raymo, my editor at Houghton Mifflin came, too! This was the first time we’ve seen each other since “Posies” came out. We’ve been working on this book for 5 years, so it was great to celebrate together. I am grateful to Margaret for doing the opposite of micro-managing and trusting me fully. Margaret always said, “take as long as you need” and didn’t balk when told her I couldn’t finished the illustrations in time to make the original pub date of 2009.

Salley with Houghton Mifflin editor Margaret Raymo

The Danforth had art activities set up for children that day, including this fabric and found object collage workshop.

art day activities at the Danforth

I gave a short gallery talk about the artwork, explaining the process of illustrating a book and telling about how I made the pictures.

Children and their parents did a scavenger hunt for different animals and objects in the illustrations. They looked closely at the artwork and searched around and around the gallery, holding miniature magnifying glasses.

The exhibit will be on display in the children’s gallery at the Danforth Museum in Framingham, MA until January 23rd, 2011. The Pocketful of Posies Traveling Exhibit will tour for 3 years.

Close-ups (couples)

Posted on December 7, 2010 by Salley Mavor

News Flash! My interview with Jules at the Seven Impossible Things blog was posted today. Just a warning though– there are tons, I mean tons of pictures in the article!

This series of couples begins with a detail from Vineyard Family, which I made in 1985. During the 80’s I experimented with flattened dolls on embellished backgrounds and came up with the term fabric relief to describe what I was making. See other details from this scene here and here.

These gingerbread cookies are appliqued and embroidered on a wool felt balsam pillow. This project is in my how-to book, Felt Wee Folk.

And the dish ran away with the spoon in my board book version of Hey, Diddle, Diddle! The dish is formed out of polymer play and cut with a scalloped edged biscuit cutter. The silver spoon is beat up and old, but he strikes the dish’s fancy.

This detail is from my 2007 piece, Self Portrait: a personal history of fashion. My husband, Rob joins me for the year we were married (1981) in the spiral of 52 dolls, which age from birth to 52. I made our full size wedding outfits in 1981, too. See a post about the Self Portrait here.

This detail from Pocketful of Posies: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes shows the last part of the Jack and Jill rhyme when a wounded Jack “went to bed to mend his head with vinegar and brown paper”.

Note: See other posts in the Close-ups series archive here.

Treasures: 1920’s flapper doll

Posted on December 5, 2010 by Salley Mavor

Among the treasures my mother left me are some well-worn porcelain “flapper dolls”. She was born in 1925, so she must have played with them in the late 1920’s.

my mother, Mary Hartwell (Mavor), age 4

I can imagine my mother’s little girl hands grasping this doll, moving its arms up and down, and dressing and redressing its solid body until the paint wore off.

1920's flapper doll, 3" tall

Even these broken doll parts were saved for me to find 75 years after their useful toy life was over. They are in reserve, ready to contribute to some future piece of art. I cannot tell when or if a leg or arm section will ever be the “right” object to add and have to be careful not to let sentimentality guide my decisions.

porcelain doll parts

For now, it’s enough to have and enjoy my mother’s childhood treasures.

“Posies” makes Horn Book Fanfare!

Posted on December 4, 2010 by Salley Mavor

OK, it’s time for celebration! I just got word that my new book, Pocketful of Posies: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes has been put on the highly respected Horn Book Magazine’s Fanfare list of best children’s books of 2010. Martha Parravano, The Horn Book’s executive editor, said in an interview with 7 Impossible Things Before Breakfast that my book “features scene after stunning scene created in embroidery – which sounds quite static, and yet the pictures are not only gorgeous but also full of life and movement and story.” I love this description because my main focus was to bring as much life and movement into this book as possible, given the limitations of the technique.

Posies has also been given a Platinum Best Book Award by the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio. Their web site says, “The Oppenheim Toy Portfolio is the only independent consumer review of children’s media.” Apparently the Oppenheims talk about children’s toys and books on programs like the Today Show, but living in a cocoon without TV for most of my adult life, I hadn’t heard of them. There is something special and symbolic about a seal. Maybe this isn’t a big deal, but I thought it was nice that such a mainstream group would even notice my book. Yeah!

Jumping Joan (detail from "Pocketful of Posies")

Shoo fly don't bother me from "Pocketful of Posies"

Reminder: Original illustration from Pocketful of Posies are on display in the children’s gallery at the Danforth Museum in Framingham, Mass. until Jan. 23rd, 2011. I will be giving a short talk about my work at 2:00pm at the museum on Sunday, Dec. 5th and signing copies of my book from 1:30-3:30.

detail from "Pocketful of Posies"

Inspiration: Molas

Posted on December 2, 2010 by Salley Mavor

detail of fish mola

Molas are made by the Kuna women from the San Blas Islands off the coast of Panama. The geometric designs originated with body painting, then later the patterns were woven in cotton. About 150 years ago, the designs started being sewn using cloth bought from the European settlers of Panama.

Rabbit and Rooster with Umbrella Mola

detail of rooster with umbrella Mola

The Kuna women hand-sew mola panels for their blouses, using the technique of reverse appliqué. Here are some molas from my mother’s collection, which are more pictorial than some. The rooster holding an umbrella under his wing is quite an image! I like the way each picture is built up with lines of color, using layer upon layer of contrasting cloth, to make such dynamic works of art.

: Detail of Rabbit Mola

Fish Mola

Detail of Fish Mola

Pocketful of borders: Little Boy Blue

Posted on November 30, 2010 by Salley Mavor

Little Boy Blue, come blow your horn; the sheep’s in the meadow, the cow’s in the corn.

Here is the original fabric relief illustration for the rhyme, Little Boy Blue, from my book, Pocketful of Posies. The embroidered piece is first mounted on a foam core board for the photographer. Afterward, I stitch a felt border, remount, and frame each piece, making it ready to hang.

illustration of “Little Boy Blue”

I tried out some different shades of upholstery fabric for the background and selected this warm brown with a vine pattern. Then I cut the border sections out of wool felt.

I used variegated pima cotton to edge the pieces with blanket stitch. Later, I added chain stitched curly cues with variegated embroidery floss.

Sheep are so fun to make, with their curly fleece. Yes, these are all french knots, but they are spaced out a bit, compared to the dense knots in the lambs from my Mary Had a Little Lamb book. (see lambs here)

The haystack is padded with wool stuffing and the texture is stitched with tapestry wool, with real pieces of straw sewn in, too.

Little Boy Blue’s hat is made from thread wrapped wire and his horn is a cactus thorn.

This original illustration was one of 50 pieces of artwork from the book in the touring exhibit, Pocketful of Posies from 2010 to 2015.

Note: See other posts from the Pocketful of Borders series here.

Shirley’s Thanksgiving Centerpiece

Posted on November 29, 2010 by Salley Mavor

Shirley from Madison, Mississippi sent me these pictures of her wee folk tableau. She said, “At the urging of one of my daughters I’m sending you some photos from our Thanksgiving table decoration. Thanks for the inspiration to make such fun little people.”

I like they way she captured the spirit of Thanksgiving by giving this woman a rolling-pin. The dolls look comfortable in their natural environment, surrounded by moss, flowers and branches. Great job, Shirley, and thank you for sharing a part of your Thanksgiving celebration!

She learned how to make these dolls from my how-to book, Felt Wee Folk: Enchanting Projects. It’s rewarding to see how people use the patterns and directions from the book as a spring board to creating their own characters and scenes.

Fairy Houses by Jaylee

Posted on November 27, 2010 by Salley Mavor

There were some wonderful new vendors at the Waldorf School of Cape Cod’s Holiday Faire last weekend. I just had to take pictures of these Fairy Houses by Jaylee. Friends, Jane and Rosalie have joined forces to make these internally lit lamps and night lights. They’d be cute in a child’s room, but I think all ages would enjoy an indoor fairy house like this.