Close-ups (couples)

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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.

vineyardfamily85WM

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

balsampillowsdetailWM

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.

dishspoonWM

 

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.

robsalleyWM

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”.

PFOPpg44_45WM

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

Treasures: 1920’s flapper doll

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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!

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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

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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

Detail of Fish Mola

Pocketful of borders: Little Boy Blue

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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.

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Shirley’s Thanksgiving Centerpiece

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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

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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.

The fairy furniture is a fun way to use old wooden spools.

It looks like the creators frequent floral supply businesses for moss, dried mushrooms and artificial flowers.

Iris Fairy

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I’ve finished another limited edition of 25 fairies, just in time for the holidays. Iris has auburn braids and a purple petal skirt and wings.

Iris Fairy

Update: All of the Iris fairy dolls have sold. Sorry, but I no longer make dolls to sell.

Iris Fairy

I’ve found that I can usually find enough matching flower petals and wings to make a group (or swarm) of 25 fairies.

a swarm of fairies?

It’s a manageable number to make at one time and then I feel free to move on to other projects.

fairy legs

Instructions and patterns for making fairies like this are in my how-to book,  Felt Wee Folk: New Adventures.

embroidered fairy tunics

Here are the petal petticoats, all stacked and ready to dress the fairies.

petal fairy petticoats

Now they’re waiting for their turn in the braiding salon.

before going to the braiding salon

Pocket Lady & giveaway winners

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The Pocket Lady came by when I was signing copies of Pocketful of Posies at the Waldorf School of Cape Cod’s Holiday Faire on Saturday. My neighbor, Joy, was playing the role and letting children pick out small presents from a pocket for the price of a ticket. I made the pocket lady costume about 20 years ago, when I was a parent in the school. It’s adapted from a nightgown pattern and made out of red velveteen, with upholstery fabric pockets and lots of bells. I’m glad to see it continue to be used every year!

Pocket Lady

And now for the giveaway winners! Three people have been picked at random from the 80 who left comments. Congratulations to Domestic Diva, Marabilys (from France) and Emma (from Australia), who will each receive a hardcover copy of In the Heart. The book is out-of-print, but my local bookstore, Eight Cousins Books sells autographed copies (508 548 5548).

In the Heart, 2001