Salley Mavor and a give-away!

Blogging has the potential to be quite powerful and something amazing happened this week. A doorway opened. In my last post, I shared with you my love for Salley Mavor's book Felt Wee Folk. First, a little background is in order for you to fully appreciate my gushing... oh and do read through, as there is a surprise at the end!

My admiration for Salley's soft 3 dimensional illustrations began when my son was a toddler and we stumbled upon her rendition of Mary Had A Little Lamb. Having grown up in a nursery school with constant exposure to wonderful books, I've had a lifetime love affair with children's literature. Salley's Mavor's exquisite tiny details moved me more than any other book before. I remember bringing it home and staying up late into the night pouring over every little tiny stitch and wishing I could jump into the page. I was hungry for more and discovered that she had created quite a few books. They were each gorgeous, but the text of  In the Heart (Ann Turner) combined with Salley's evocative felt sculptures took my breath away. When her how-to book (Felt Wee Folk) was released, I felt like I had struck gold. This was long before my days online, and it remained one of my only crafting books for many years. When I shared it with you on Monday, I didn't do my usual Googling for background. It simply didn't occur to me, since I associated Salley Mavor with a different time in my life, the pre-blogging era.  However, a bit of "virtual" magic occurred yesterday. Maybe some of you noticed. Salley Mavor commented. Not such a big deal? Oh my, how it rocked my world! Yes, of course Salley is just another talented artist in this inspirational on-line community... but not only did I not know she was HERE... she's has been a house hold hero of mythic proportions for years! So, please let me introduce (and do forgive me if you already know this)... Salley's blog: Wee Folk Studio.  I have been a bit lost there for the last 24 hours... I did feed my family and do the laundry... but all with a glazed look in my eyes. Her blog is filled with wonderful insight into her creative process and I ate it all up. It's my new must read!

 Her latest book is quite the masterpiece: A Pocketful Of Posies combines her original fabric relief illustrations with a treasury of familiar nursery rhymes.

Every image in this post comes from somewhere in between the pages of this lovely children's book, soon to be a classic.

She has outdone herself with page after page (72 full color ones!) of her 3 dimensional interpretation of old favorite verses. These photos, courtesy of Salley Mavor, are peeks into the process and evolution. Some of them are complete, and others are bit and pieces in the making. It's all there at your finger tips to admire, and I highly recommend viewing this selection of  posts on its creation right here. But first for the surprise... did the post title give it away?:)

I've now had some very nice correspondence with Salley, and she's just as kind as her work is lovely. She is offering an autographed copy of Pocket Full of Posies to one lucky reader! What a wonderful addition to any library!  Please leave a comment in this post before Saturday at 5pm EST and the random winner will be announced on Sunday morning. Good luck! Comments are now closed. Thanks!
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Pocketful Of Posies: A Traveling Exhibit