“My earliest memories have to do with making things by hand and expressing myself through art. What I make today and how I do it, is the culmination of a life-long search to find ways of translating what I imagine into something real to share.”
– Salley Mavor
Award winning artist Salley Mavor (b. 1955) has spent four decades developing her signature style and working methods, carving out her own niche within the children’s book world and the fiber art community. Her creative expression ranges from three-dimensional sculptural illustrations for children’s books to satirical political commentary in the form of stop-motion animated videos.
Salley grew up in the seaside village of Woods Hole, Massachusetts in a family who connected with their community through art, music, and dance. In this open and supportive environment, Salley found that there were always art supplies close at hand and time available for creative pursuits.
Drawing with crayons was never enough for Salley. She recollects, “I remember feeling that my pictures were not finished until something real was glued, stapled or sewn to it.” At a young age, she held an open-minded view of what constitutes art, writing in a school essay at age 10, “Art is everything… records, clocks, blackboards, people, snowflakes and everything. That is why I like art.”
As an illustration major at the Rhode Island School of Design in the 1970’s, Salley left traditional mediums behind, preferring to communicate her ideas through sculptural needlework. Salley has illustrated eleven picture books, including Pocketful of Posies, which won the 2011 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award and the 2011 Golden Kite Award. Her popular how-to book, Felt Wee Folk is in its 2nd edition, inspiring creativity in all ages. My Bed: Enchanting Ways to Fall Asleep around the World is her most recent publication. Salley lives and works in her home studio in Falmouth, Massachusetts.