Celebrating Tapestry Artist Brita Been

By Karianne H. Sand, January 14, 2017

Editor’s note: One of the problems with seeing notices on the Web for tempting exhibits of work by Norwegian textile artists is that, well, Norway is far away! Early this year an exhibit of the monumental tapestries of Brita Been opened in Skien, Norway. Karianne H. Sand delivered the welcoming remarks and she shared her talk with us, so we can imagine being there in person. These two photo collages were posted in a blog entry about the opening from the Skien Kunstforening, sponsor of the exhibit. Robbie LaFleur

Dear everyone. Dear Brita.

I wish to congratulate both Brita Been and the Skien Art Association–Brita for her 70 years and for her fantastic exhibit. This year the professional organization Norwegian Textile Artists celebrates its 40th year, and it is this organization for which I serve as director. Brita Been, too, is a member, and it is a great honor for me to be allowed to open this year of celebration with a textile celebration in her name.

This exhibit is called Arvestykker [“Heirlooms”], named for one of Brita’s woven series on display. The exhibit also includes the series Skybragd [“Cloud Pattern”] and Repetisjoner [“Repetitions”].

Rugs in the Repetisjoner series. Photo from the Skien Kunstnerforbundet

The series Repetisjoner is the earliest of the series in this exhibit. And, where there is weaving, there surely is repetition. Brita herself says that she creates three to four pieces per year, which speaks to how time consuming the process is. It is time consuming and filled with repetition—the same motion over and over again. Weaving is mathematics and geometry, something the works in this series reflect in their images. Here one sees the repetitions, the mathematics and geometric shapes. Brita’s design language has clear references to the Bauhaus school and functionalism. She constructs surfaces and creates space using color and design alone. Patterns have no beginning and no end, like a machine that roars into motion. But in the midst of all this, Brita sits and weaves with her hands—and with this closeness to her materials, she creates a fantastic energy and pulse in the tapestries.

A detail from the Repetisjoner series, from Britabeen.no

Brita has an impressive curriculum vita, and I shall not even attempt to list the most important places where she has had her work exhibited—yet I feel it revolves around her having had one-woman shows at the Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum [the National Museum of Decorative Arts, Trondheim], Kunstnerforbundet [contemporary art gallery, Oslo], Hå gamle Prestegård [Hå old parsonage farm, Jæren, Western Norway, now an art and historical culture center] and, last but not least, SOFT Gallery [the gallery of Norwegian Textile Artists, Oslo], where I work, and, of course, the Skien Kunstforening [Skien Art Association]. She has also exhibited in several locations around the world.

Chinese-inspired clouds, from Britabeen.no

One of several old Norwegian skybragd weavings in the Norwegian Digital Museum, at: https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023238942/putetrekk

I wish to draw attention to one biennial event in which she has participated no fewer than four times, the International Fiber Art Biennial, which takes place in China. It is from this meeting with the East that the inspiration for the series Skybragd comes. Here, Brita became fascinated with the reliefs carved in marble of variations of the cloud motif, and she then combined this with the old, traditional pattern, skybragd, that was used in earlier Norwegian weaving tradition. In the National Museum’s archives, I found one piece with that title dating from between 1700 and 1760. It appears that this pattern, based on the pomegranate and palmette motifs, is a universal motif that has moved across cultures and through time. Here, Brita weaves together the West and the East. Everything is connected.

The series Arvestykker began when Brita was given a commission to decorate the Bø Hospital retirement home. She wanted the tapestries to give both residents and visitors a sense of belonging and recognition. Therefore, she took as her point of reference Telemark’s strong folk costume culture. It has, of course, been known for a long time that the most beautiful costumes of all come from there. And, if any of you are in West Oslo on the 17^th of May, you will see that everyone there originally comes from Telemark…* But, there is a reason why this costume is so popular, for it is rich and colorful, with beautiful details.

Detail from the an Arvestykker tapestry, from BritaBeen,no

In this series, Brita has taken as her reference the embroidery on the costume’s stockings and shirts and translated them to another strong folk tradition—that is, weaving. The lovely details from the folk costume are now allowed to play the lead role in Brita’s work. The powerful handwork that took hours to embroider now gets to be not just a decoration and pretty detail but the work itself. Brita herself says, “These tapestries are a celebration of women’s creative work, their time and patience.”

The exhibition shows three different series, but at the same time as Brita manages to constantly renew herself, she also remains true to herself. There is no doubt when one encounters a Brita Been tapestry that it is her creation. The same is true for the woman herself—when one meets Brita Been, one knows that it is Brita Been. I still remember the first time I met you ten years ago at the exhibit honoring stipend award-winners held at City Hall. I remember you, dressed entirely in bright pink stripes, your dark page-boy haircut, and, not least of all, your incredibly joyful and energetic radiance. I remember I thought then what I think now—this is an incredibly cool lady.

Warm congratulations, Brita, for the year, the day, and the exhibit.

*The reference to everyone coming from Telemark is because the Telemark-style folk costume is so popular and worn by many Norwegians, regardless of where their families originally lived.

Karianne H. Sand is an art historian and the head of Norske Tekstilkunstnere (Norwegian Textile Artists) and the SOFT Gallery in Oslo, the site of frequent cutting-edge textile exhibits.

Translated by Edi Thorstensson

Read more about the work of Brita Been on her site, britabeen.no, including an article from a 2015 issue of the Swedish Väv Magasin that gives interesting details about her weaving technique as well as her inspiration. Several of her tapestries are found on the Norwegian Absolute Tapestry site, here.

Threads of Devotion: Possible Medieval Origins of Nordic Christening Bands

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By Lisa-Anne Bauch

At a recent visit to the American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis, several items in a folk art display caught my eye. They included a birch bark basket, a red coverlet, and a woven band, all dating from the nineteenth or early twentieth century. My friend Jan Mostrom, an expert in Nordic textiles, explained that the items were intended for use in baptism. All three were decorated with protective symbols, intended to shield the vulnerable infant from evil spirits until the sacrament could be performed. (See more photos here.)

A few months later, I happened to enroll in an art history course at the University of St. Thomas. The course, taught by Dr. Michelle Nordtorp-Madson, was entitled “Medieval Sacred Space.” In this fascinating seminar we investigated the idea of sacred versus mundane space, including not just the soaring cathedrals of the Middle Ages, but also its woven tapestries and illuminated manuscripts, its popular roadside shrines and dusty pilgrimage routes, the beehive huts of Scottish monks and the ancient holy wells of Ireland.

Besides regular coursework, each student was required to undertake an independent research topic focused around the following questions: How did people in those times understand and define certain places, times, seasons, objects, and activities as sacred? How did the newer sacred times and places of Christianity overlap with older pagan practices and beliefs? And how did medieval artists express these ideas visually?

I immediately remembered the red woven christening bands I had seen, used to protect babies as they traveled from the mundane world of the home to the sacred space of a local church and its baptismal font. Could this tradition go back to the Middle Ages, with echoes from an even-older pagan age? How did the bands visually represent the beliefs of those who wove them? How are the colors and patterns significant in answering these questions? Since Dr. Nordtorp-Madson specializes in clothing and textile arts, she was as curious as I was to investigate. With her help and encouragement, I began my quest.

Click here to read PDF

Below are a few of the photos I used to illustrate my presentation of the paper, leased from the Norse Folkemuseum. They illustrate bands used in christenings.

https://digitaltmuseum.no/011013439205/valle-aust-agder-1935-reivebarn-dukke-ifort-spedbarnsutstyr

https://digitaltmuseum.no/011013444239/barnedap

https://digitaltmuseum.no/011013438297/gurine-engedal-baerer-barn-i-linde-til-dap-fjotland-kvinesdal-1941

https://digitaltmuseum.no/011013438526/torbjorg-fidjeland-med-barn-i-fatle-i-sirdal-kalt-linde-og-botte-og-rive

Monster Weaving Update

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Marta Kløve Juuhl recently reported that the “monster weaving” at the Osterøy Museum has reached the ceiling. Enjoy these photos, and if you missed the description of the seat-belt-webbing weaving, read it here: “Weaving on the Ceiling: A New Exhibit and Installation at the Osterøy Museum.”

Perhaps this scaffolding, as a support structure for weaving, could be considered a sort of loom?

Marta Kløve Juuhl under the Norwegian star

Perhaps Monika Ravnanger had tired arms after waving above her head?

Perhaps Monika Ravnanger had tired arms after weaving above her head?

This photo showing the wall and ceiling gives a good sense of the huge scale of this project

Exhibit: Historical Scandinavian Textiles (Part One)

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By Robbie LaFleur

At every meeting of the long-standing Scandinavian Weavers Study Group of the Weavers Guild of Minnesota, members and guests bring weavings for show and tell. Usually we discuss our own creations, but often members bring pieces they have purchased or otherwise acquired. These pieces are admired and studied, and in may cases, inspire new adaptations by group members.

Members of the group have seen many fabulous textiles over the years, and now we are sharing the opportunity to see them in person with visitors to the Weavers Guild of Minnesota, and digitally to the readers of the Norwegian Textile Letter.

These treasures from the collections of the study group members are a motley bunch, considering technique, materials, and method of acquisition. What they share is good design and owners who appreciate and treasure them.

The pieces featured in this article, arranged by owner, are on display at the Weavers Guild of Minnesota until the end of December.

Where do the textiles come from?

Several pieces in the show are Swedish weavings gifted to Melba Granlund by her friend from church who knew that Melba would understand them and value them.

Some of our members are veteran scanners of online sales and recognize treasures. Sylvia Mohn bought mid-century Finnish transparencies. Jane Connett knew quite well that a tapestry reproduction of a row of Wise and Foolish Virgins was not an Albanian kelim, as was advertised on Ebay!

While buying Scandinavian dining room chairs, Phyllis Waggoner spotted rag rugs that had been used in shipping containers from Sweden, and bought them for a song.

Judy Larson shared a tapestry from a Swedish weaver who inspired her weaving journey. And finally, Karin Maahs shares family pieces she has known and loved her whole life.

Prepare to be inspired!

Phyllis Waggoner Recognized Rag Rug Treasures

Long Rag rug: plain weave. Warp: cotton seine twine sett at 9 epi. Weft: rags, 2 cm wide of various fibers. Warp ends covered with fabric binding. 12’ 6” long, 21” wide.

This was a serendipitous purchases from the International Design Center, importers of mid-century Modern Scandinavian furniture, about 1998. Well-worn rag rugs were used to wrap the furniture that was shipped from Scandinavia to the US. Phyllis paid about $10 each for four Swedish rag rugs.

The rugs were in a big pile at the corner of the showroom where I was shopping for dining room chairs to go with our teak table. Not surprisingly, the mound caught my attention and I asked the salesman about the rugs and he explained how they came to his showroom.

Smaller Rag rug: twill threading, treadled as Overshot and plain weave. Warp: cotton sett at 8 epi. Weft: 2 cm for plain weave, pattern weft 3 cm. Warp finish, overhand knots.

This rug was purchased from a spinning wheel importer who explained that the rugs were used to wrap the spinning wheels during shipment from Sweden. Phyllis paid about $15.

Melba Granlund’s Gifts and Flea Market Find

Dukagång Pillow Cover. Warp: linen. Weft: linen background and wool pattern inlay. 23″ x 22″ wide. Similar dukagång motifs are depicted in Gunvor Johansson’s book, Skanska Allmogevävnader, now available in English as Heirlooms of Skåne: Weaving Techniques.

Swedish Art Weave Wool Runner, combining dukagång, and krabbesnår. Warp: linen. Weft: wool. 22″ x 75″ long.

Swedish Art Weave Runner, combining rölakan and dukagång techniques. Warp: linen. Weft: wool. 23.5″ wide x 48.5″ long.

Runner in M.M.F. (Marta Maas Fetterstrom) Technique. Warp: linen. Weft: linen tow yarn for structural background, wool for the inlay pattern. 23.5″ wide x 78″ long (including fringe). The technique is described in the Manual of Swedish Handweaving by Ulla Cyrus-Zetterstrom, pp. 132-4.

Melba explained the source of her beautiful pieces:

These four pieces were gifted to me from a close friend. She and her husband, a former pastor, had received them (along with other weavings) from a parishioner while serving a congregation in Worcester, Massachusetts. The pieces were apparently woven by someone in the woman’s family in southern Sweden. Because the woman had no family to which they should be given, she gifted them to the pastor and his wife. Knowing of my love for Swedish weaving and that my mother came from Skane, Sweden, close to where these weavings were created, my friend thought I should now assume the role of caretaker of these lovely pieces. Consultation with Laurann Gilbertsen, Chief Curator at the Vesterheim Museum in Decorah, Iowa, revealed that all the pieces dated back to the late 19th or early 20th century.

Black/red/blue woolen table runner. Warp: linen. Weft: wool. 23.5″ wide x 89″ long.

On the final day of the 2013 Vesterheim Textile Tour, we had a free morning in Helsinki, Finland. Having heard of a flea market only a few short blocks from our hotel, some of us decided what better way to spend our last few hours before leaving for the airport. Besides, I still had $50 Euros burning a hole in my pocket. At the first booth, I struck gold at the bottom of a cardboard box, in the form of two wonderful textiles — one woolen paisley shawl and the other a long, black woolen table runner. Another shopper told me that the piece looked like weaving from the Karelia region of Finland, which our group had just visited a few days earlier.

Upon returning home, I showed this piece to Laurann Gilbertsen, Chief Curator at the Vesterheim Mususem in Decorah, Iowa. She confirmed that the piece was woven in the Swedish krabbasnår technique. Apparently, the clue was in the finely spun yarn and the colors used. Although Swedish krabbasnår is the same as the Norwegian Vestfoldmett technique, much heavier, thicker yarn is used in the Norwegian pieces. Upon further research, I located examples of similar motifs in Doris Wiklund’s book, Old Swedish Weavings from North to South (pp.232-5). In the book, the pieces are identified as being purchased in Dalarna from an itinerant peddlar woman.

The Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum has similar pieces in its collection. The American Swedish Institute also has many pieces in this technique, probably because they were popular tourist items sold in Sweden.

See Part Two for more Scandinavian textile treasures.

Exhibit: Historical Scandinavian Textiles (Part Two)

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Karin Maahs has treasures she has known her whole life, and a recent find.

Tapestry cartoon. Hans Georg Berg. Watercolor, 1929. 22″ x 23″ wide.

Best photo available due to glass

Hans Berg, born in 1895 in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway, studied painting under Christian Krohg at the National Art Academy in Oslo. After marrying Inga, he studied in several academies in Paris, Germany, Italy, France, and throughout Europe. He practised in several media: oil painting, fresco, watercolor, drawing, jewelry making, metalwork, and ceramics. At one point Hans worked as a silversmith for David Andersen, a famous jeweler in Norway. In 1950, following WWII, Hans, Inga, and their youngest daughter Ellen emigrated to America and settled in the Minneapolis area. Hans became one of the premier rosemaling artists in Minnesota, and taught painting and rosemaling at Augsburg College.

Tapestry. Inga Berg. warp: linen. weft: handspun and dyed wool. Woven in the early 1930s. 22″ x 23″ wide (excluding fringe)

Inga Berg, born in 1897 in Lier, Norway, married artist Hans Berg in 1921. They studied art on a months-long honeymoon throughout Europe. In 1929 Inga studied weaving theory at Sister Bengston’s weaving school in Oslo, Norway. She was prolific in spinning, dyeing, knitting, weaving and sewing. Often Hans would create a pattern for his adoring wife to weave.

Karin has many memories of the artistic activities of her grandparents.

Hans Berg painted his wife Inga at the loom (not in the exhibit).

As a child growing up in the 60s and 70s, living next door to my grandparents, I spent countless hours watching, listening, and learning about all kinds of art. Many afternoons were spent quietly watching grandma weaving by a big picture window in the warm winter sunlight. I was also mesmerized by watching grandpa paint. With grandma, I often sat on the floor waiting for instruction as to when to push the peddles for the spinning wheel or the very old Singer sewing machine.

Inga made many pillowcases, table runners, and wall coverings large and small to warm and decorate the house. Every flat area in their home was covered with paintings or weavings. It was a true museum filled with inspiration to fill the artistic imagination.

I recall that this particular weaving portrays a Norwegian folk tale, possibly Hans Christian Andersen’s “Folksangens fugl.” Hans Berg designed and painted it in 1929 and Inga wove it shortly after that, using her own handspun and dyed wool.

Monksbelt Coverlet. Warp: linen. Weft: linen background and wool pattern weft.

It is not certain that this coverlet is from Scandinavia, but if we were told it was from Sweden or Norway, it would seem quite plausible. Karin found the textile on a recent trip to the East Coast.

I purchased it from Lifeline Thrift in Portsmouth, Virginia. I was told it was acquired from a very old farmstead in Suffolk, Virginia, just up the river from Jamestown. It appears to have handspun linen warp and handspun and dyed wool weft. It is delightful to dream about who may have woven this, more than a century ago, and who may have used it. This is a treasure from colonial times with a Scandinavian flair.

Judith Payne, who is familiar with historical textiles, estimated that the coverlet is 18th century, mid to late. It is woven in a Monks Belt structure called checkerboard. The dye is cochineal, madder or bloodroot.

The coverlet has been cleaned by placing a screen over it and gently vacuuming using an attachment tool.

Judy Larson received her treasure decades ago.

Tapestry of Rattvik, Sweden. By Kerstin Ackerman. Warp: cotton. Weft: fabric strips. 15″ x 12″ wide.

Judy described how she came to own this tapestry.

My grandfather’s cousin’s wife was one of the first Swedish relatives I met in 1976. She was a weaver, who had the studio on the first floor and lived on the second floor of the family homestead in Vikarbyn, Sweden. She showed me her Glimakra loom, with the photograph of the village on Lake Siljan all gridded out. Then she explained that she would go line by line, adding in the colors as needed, and counting the spaces to determine the length. As a college student, I was amazed and intrigued, but never thought I’d ever have a chance to explore the wonders of weaving.

Now, when I go to see Kerstin, which I still do every other year, she has stopped weaving and taken up photography, so we discuss my weavings. She still has a special stash of her weavings that she gives as special presents, like the Rattvik rug that she gave my daughter for a wedding gift. Kerstin’s looms are now part of a village weaving cooperative, but she still has a houseful of beautiful weavings on her floors and walls. Her rugs still inspire me, and I treasure the weavings that I have from her.

Jane Connett knows Norwegian tapestry when she sees it.

Tapestry. Warp: linen. Weft: wool. 20.5″ x 30″ wide.

Jane Connett acquired a beautiful Norwegian tapestry during a time she was feeling a bit laid up a few months ago. “I spent a lot of time on Ebay,” she explained. Although the tapestry was advertised as an “Albanian kelim,” fans of Norwegian tapestry know perfectly well that it is a replica of a portion of a Norwegian Wise and Foolish Virgins tapestry. It was slightly faded on one side, but the colors were clear and strong on the other. The technical quality of the weaving is outstanding. Since the weaving followed Norwegian tradition, all the ends were sewn in so that either side is equally beautiful.

Sylvia Mohn was active on Ebay.

Kastehlmi (Dewdrop). Warp and weft: linen. Woven label: Kasityoliike Sylvi Salonen, Handmade in Finland. Design: Ritta Suomi. 41.5″ x 21.5″ wide (with frame).

I bought this perhaps 10 or 15 years ago on eBay. At the time I was looking for woven wall hangings using peach/rust/brick colors. This weaving was a similar in construction to a transparent weaving I’d gotten earlier, with the weaving lashed onto a frame. What I liked about the design were the curved lines, the lightness and openness, and the asymmetry. I thought this might be from the 1970’s with the orange and brown colors, reflecting the midcentury popularity of imported Scandinavian textiles and graphics.

Puluset. (Doves). Warp and weft: linen. Woven label: Sylvi Salonen*. Design: Tuula Jarvinen. 21.5′ x 21.5″ (with frame).

I bought this weaving at a local thrift store, perhaps 15 years ago. I liked the way the birds were abstracted into a graphic design, with their rounded lines juxtaposed against a linear background, even though the colors seemed a bit dull.

*Anita Jain, a Finnish-American textile artist, added information about the pieces, including the English words for the titles of the transparencies. Sylvi Salonen is the name of a handcraft store in Turku. It was started by Sylvi Salonen in 1927, was later run by her daughter, Riitta Suomi, and is now operated by Riitta’s daughter, Sanna Suomi.

See more treasures in Part One of this article.

50 Years of Folk Art at Vesterheim

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By Laurann Gilbertson

Exhibition: 50 Years of Folk Art

Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum in Decorah, Iowa, is celebrating 50 years of folk art, through classes, the National Exhibitions of Folk Art in the Norwegian Tradition, and tours to Norway. To mark this important anniversary, Vesterheim has created a special exhibition to share at least a few of the stories of 20 folk art tours to Norway, 90 Norwegian teachers, 145 American teachers, hundreds of class topics, and hundreds – if not thousands – of students between 1967 to 2016.

What is Folk Art?

Folk art is simply art of the people. American folk art is often defined as the work of self-taught artists, artists who have not had formal artistic training. It can be “outsider” art, created by artists who have had little contact with the mainstream art world and who may be expressing unconventional ideas or spiritual visions.

Folk art can also be defined as global art, fitting closely to local traditions. At Vesterheim, Norwegian folk art typically refers to useful objects created and decorated using local materials by individuals of a particular, often rural, region of Norway between 1600 and 1900. These objects and techniques usually expressed regional aesthetic and styles and were borne of traditions developed over several hundred years. The craftspeople that made these items typically learned their trades informally or through apprenticeships. The objects they created needed to be functional and beautiful.

What is Tradition?

Tradition is a repeated pattern of behaviors, beliefs, or objects passed down from one generation to the next. We follow traditions because they mean something to us. Traditions change through time and evolve with the availability of resources, forces of nature, personal taste, political or religious ideas, and foreign influences. All traditions change. But how far can they change?

Can an object made today be called traditional folk art? The artists of the eighteenth century didn’t have commercially-spun yarn, chemical dyes, circular knitting needles. Can an object made using these things be called traditional folk art?

Vesterheim often uses the phrase “in the tradition” to describe objects made today that are based on or inspired by historical examples. As long as there is a strong visual connection, it seems acceptable to change to the material OR technique OR medium. Too many changes, however, and the piece is no longer recognizable as having been part of the Norwegian tradition.

Folk Art and Vesterheim

Vesterheim began in 1877 as the Luther College Museum and folk art was part of the collection from the very beginning. Norwegian immigrant materials, including folk art brought from Norway, became the official focus of the collection by 1895.

In 1964, Luther College hired Marion Nelson, an art historian, to catalog the collection. He soon became director of an independent, world-class Vesterheim museum. Nelson was passionate about folk art and saw the collection’s potential to educate artists interested in Norwegian folk art. Nelson launched the Folk Art School and National Exhibition of Folk Art in the Norwegian Tradition in 1967.

Weaving was added to the National Exhibition, an annual judged exhibition of folk art in the Norwegian tradition, in 1981. A jacket woven by Marie Nodland of St. Paul, Minnesota, won a blue ribbon that year. The diamond twill reverses to rya (pile weave) and there are handknit collar and cuffs.

While Nelson was interested in folk art as an academic, he did not create folk art himself. His wife, Lila Nelson, was an accomplished weaver and textile artist who would go on to teach many textile classes at Vesterheim in her capacity as textile curator.

The opportunity to study and practice of folk art is also offered through tours to Norway. The first tours, starting in 1970, provided a folk art focus while traveling. Since 1978, tours often included hands-on workshops with local artists as instructors.

Students learned Telemarksvev in the weaving class during Vesterheim’s first hands-on Folk Art Tour to Norway in 1978. The teacher, Elsa Bjerck, is standing in back, second from the right. Lila Nelson, the museum’s Textile Curator, is second from the left.

Fiber Arts at Vesterheim

A wide range of fiber classes have been offered at Vesterheim, from embroidery, knitting, nålbinding (knotless netting), spinning, loom weaving, bandweaving, sheepskin printing, and basketry.

Oline Bredeli of Molde, Norway, taught weaving and working with teger, birch or spruce root, in 1982 and 1990. Canadian artist Karen Casselman’s specialty is historical plant dyes. She taught dyeing at Vesterheim in 1997, 2002, and 2005. For this placemat, she used korkje, a Norwegian dye made from fermented lichens.

Fiber arts have been at the core of Vesterheim’s Folk Art School since 1967 when Carola Schmidt taught the first class in hardangersøm, a cutwork and embroidery technique from the Hardanger region of Norway.

Grace Rikansrud, a nationally recognized expert on Norwegian needlework from Decorah, began her two decade teaching career in 1970. Rug hooking was also added in 1970, along with the first weaving course taught by Lila Nelson, Vesterheim’s registrar and textile curator. Nelson gave students an overview of Norwegian weaving by focusing on traditional coverlet techniques, which continues to be a focus of weaving classes today.

Vesterheim hosted a rug hooking camp for many years and rug hooking was part of the National Exhibition from 1970 to 2005. Now independent, the Decorah Rug School continues to meet each summer for classes. Marianna Sausaman (West Lafayette, Ind.), Esther Miller (Decorah, Iowa), Anne Duder (Decorah, Iowa), and Dorothy Huse (Chippewa Falls, Wisc.) have directed the rug school.

The first weaving class with a Norwegian instructor was in 1978. Elsa Eikås Bjerck, from Jølster in Sunnfjord, taught tapestry and bandweaving at Vesterheim. An important weaver in her own right, Bjerck is known for traditional and contemporary textiles, monumental works for public buildings, and church textiles.

Elsa Eikås Bjerck was the first Norwegian instructor to teach weaving at Vesterheim. In 1978 she also taught weaving on a Vesterheim folk art tour to Norway. This piece replicates an early bed pillow from Jølster in Sogn, Norway, in plant-dyed wool on linen. The mittens were done in nålbinding, an ancient looping technique.

What has always set Vesterheim’s Folk Art School apart from other visual art and fine handcraft programs is the focus on historical objects – the collection – that can inform and inspire. Most classes at Vesterheim include a guided visit in the museum galleries or look at the depth and breadth of the collection in the museum’s storage facilities.

The Future of Folk Art

What does the future look like for Norwegian folk art in America? Are traditions going to live another 50 years?

Some say that the future of folk art looks bleak. With each generation we are further and further from the original practice of folk art. What meaning can folk art hold for the sixth, seventh, or eighth generations?

Others say that the future looks bright. No matter how Norwegian you are (and even if you are not Norwegian at all) you can find enjoyment, fulfilment, and meaning in learning and practicing skills that are rooted in the past. The beauty and pleasure of creating is not dependent on a time period, an ethnicity, or a language.

“50 Years of Folk Art” is on view at Vesterheim Museum in Decorah, Iowa, through April 23, 2017. The exhibition was made possible by the Iowa Arts Council, a division of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, and the National Endowment for the Arts; Veronna and John Capone; Ron Hovda; and additional support.

John Skare, Bricelyn, Minnesota, in the exhibition. Handwoven rya wall hanging, 1987. “Mona took this photo of the kids and me by my rya weaving that the Vesterheim purchased in 1987. I remember Marion Nelson relating this piece to the ryas that were placed in the bottom of the long boats. Perhaps my heritage was creeping into my artworks without my knowledge. I hadn’t seen this piece since 1987. A reunion for me with one of my creations. A bit emotional. I like this piece. It was created with handspun wool yarns and wool blankets scraps from the Faribault Woolen Mill. Wool carpet mill ends where used for the weft. The weft ends have been wrapped. I know this artwork’s DNA quite well. An old friend with a good home, the Vesterheim.”

Laurann Gilbertson is the Chief Curator of the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum and a tireless promoter of Scandinavian textiles.

November, 2016

Weaving on the Ceiling: A New Exhibit and Installation at the Osterøy Museum

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By Marta Kløve Juuhl (translated by Robbie LaFleur)

Spring 2016: Much Planning was Underway

The idea came during a lunchroom discussion with the exhibit architect, who had done something similar in the past.

I wanted to have something that would begin on the ceiling and come down over the end wall.

The background was that the permanent exhibits at the museum were being renovated. I wanted to have more focus on traditional knowledge tied to objects in the museum; it should reflect the traditional skills and knowledge of the people of the Osterøy community. The people on Osterøy are enthusiastic and full of initiative, and there are many large and small businesses.

The monster-weaving part of the project was a collaboration among Solveig Jordan, the head of our division; Dennis Guhl, our carpentry specialist; Nikolai Rypdal Tallaksen, our archivist; Monika Sunnanå Ravnanger, my weaving student; and me, with responsibility for the textile department.

Dennis has many contacts among local businesses. They made the steel supports and a frame to surround the weaving, according to Dennis’s instructions.

It took a long time to find the straps that would act as the warp on the ceiling, and we ended up ordering from a company in the Oslo area. They had the red color we wanted, and also green and yellow. The straps are five centimeters wide and came in 50 meter rolls. They are straps for life vests for boats and seat belt strapping. When we ordered 25 kilometers of strapping, the supplier was quite curious about what we were going to do with it.

I started the setup after Dennis attached the steel supports to the end wall and three places on the ceiling. As it showed in the photo in the newspaper, we used scaffolding to get high enough to lift each strap over the supports. A sewing machine sat on a rolling table in the room, and I moved it each time I needed to join the straps.

It was one thing to put the straps in place, but they also needed to be pulled tight. Nikolai and I stood on scaffolding on either end to lift the straps around the steel supports, and Dennis ran back and forth on the floor and tightened.

After all the red warp straps were tightened, 66 in all, it was time for weaving. I started down on the ground, but quickly came high enough to need the scaffolding.

The pattern we used was taken directly from an åkle (coverlet) that hung in the exhibit in the room. Between each strap we wove two shots of plain weave with fishing line, which was thin and strong and transparent and held the straps in place. Each square in the pattern is 10 by 10 cm. It took Monika and I about two days to weave/work in the pattern. There is, of course, no shed in this weaving, which is why I added “work in.” Our hands were quite sore after a while.

The red color on the ceiling has a dominant effect in the exhibition hall; the monster-weave installation brings together the old and the new in the exhibit. It illustrates the old themes, such as weaving and metalwork, in a new context.

For this installation there was a determination to work on the project together. Everyone was in on the discussion, and then it was Dennis and I who figured out how we could execute the ideas.

To make it work required a lot of mathematics and stretching out of the pattern. It’s difficult to describe how much mental effort it took; it followed me for many weeks. There were constantly small adjustments to air with the others. And it was just because we had so many contributors, that the project had such a great result.

The plan is that we will weave several motifs on the ceiling, which will last until sometime this winter.

Note: See additional photos in an article by Snorre Bang Utaker from Bygdanytt, “Eit vevemonster har inntatt Osterøy museum,” (A Monster-weaving has Taken Over Østeroy Museum). And if you would rather read the article in the original Norwegian, see below!

Veven i taket: Ny utstilling og installasjon på Osterøy museum, våren 2016

Mykje planlegging.

Ideen kom i ein diskusjon på lunsjrommet saman med utstillingsarkitekt som hadde gjort noko liknande før.

Me ville gjerne ha noko i taket som kunne enda nedover på endeveggen.

Bakgrunnen var at heile den faste utstillingen vår skulle fornyast. Me ville ha meir fokus på tradisjonskunnskap knytt til samlingane på museet; det skal gjenspeila Osterøysamfunnet og dei praktiske kunnskapane og ferdigheitene folk har hatt. Her på Osterøy er det eit stort privat initiativ, mange gründerar og småbedrifter.

For å knyta dette direkte til monsterveven er det og eit samarbeid mellom Solveig, dagleg leiar, Dennis handverkaren vår, Nikolai, arkivaren vår, Monika, vevlærlingen min og meg som tekstilansvarleg.

Dennis har god kontakt med dei lokale bedriftene her. Dei laga stålstenger og ramme rundt sjølve det vovne partiet etter Dennis sine mål.

Me brukte lang tid på å finna stropper som skulle fungera som renningstrådar i taket, og enda opp med å bestilla frå eit firma i Oslo-området. Dei hadde fyrst og fremst raudfargen, men og den gule og den grøne. Stroppene er 5 cm breie, dei kom i rullar på 50 meter. Det er eigentleg stropper til redningsvestar i båt og sikkerheitsselar i bil. Då me bestilte 25 kilometer av dette, var leverandøren veldig nysgjerrig på kva me skulle bruka det til. Me starta monteringa etter at Dennis hadde festa stålstengene til endeveggene og på tre plassar oppe i taket. Som det viser på biletet i avisa brukte me gardintrapp for å koma så høgt at me kunne lyfta kvar stropp over stålstengene.

Symaskinen stod på eit trillebord i salen, så flytte me den etter kvart som me måtte skøyta stroppene.

Ein ting var å få stroppene på plass, men dei måtte og strammast etter kvart. Då stod Nikolai og eg på stillas i kvar vår ende av den 25 meter lange salen for å lyfta stroppene rundt stålstengene, og Dennis sprang att og fram nede på golvet og stramma.

Etter at alle dei raude renningsstroppene var festa, 66 i alt, var det tid for veving, etter kvart også på stillas. Eg starta nede på golvet, men kom fort opp så høgt at eg trengde stillaset.

Mønsteret som er brukt er plukka direkte frå åkle som heng på utstilling i salen. Mellom kvar stroppe er det to innslag i lerret med fiskesnøre, det er tynt og sterkt og gjennomsiktig, og held stroppene på plass. Kvar rute i mønsteret er 10 x 10 cm. Det gjekk eit par dagar for Monika og meg å veva/fletta inn heile mønsteret. Det er sjølvsagt ikkje noko skille i denne veven. Difor skriv eg veva/fletta. Me vart faktisk ganske såre på hendene etter kvart.

Den raude renningen i taket er eit nokså dominerande innslag i utstillingssalen vår, den er som ein installasjon som bind saman det gamle og det nye i utstillingen. Den belyser gamle tema, så som veving og metallarbeid sett inn i ein ny samanheng. I tillegg kjem viljen til å gjera dette saman. Alle var med i diskusjonen, og så var det Dennis og eg som måtte tenkja ut korleis me kunne gjennomføra ideen.

Det ligg mykje matematikk bak og utrekning av mønster for å dette til å stemma, og det er vanskeleg å skriva om tankearbeidet som var nødvendig. Det fylgde meg i mange veker, det var stadig små justeringar å lufta med dei andre. Nettopp det at me var såpass mange om arbeidet gjer sitt til at det vart så vellukka.

Planen vår er at me skal veva inn fleire motiv i taket. Det vert til vinteren ein gong.

Marta Kløve Juuhl

Danskbrogd Weaving from the Krokbragd Study Group

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5-harness danskbrogd by Lila Nelson (detail)

Each year the Scandinavian Weavers Study Group in Minneapolis, Minnesota, chooses a weave structure or theme. In 1996-1997 the theme was krokbragd. Each participant compiled a notebook with drafts and photos of the projects undertaken. Many of the pieces included danskbragd, especially those woven by Lila Nelson.

In the days before easy digital sharing, compiling this documentation and the notebooks was a true labor of love. The only ones who saw the inspirational contents were members of the group, or people who viewed the notebook at the Weavers Guild of Minnesota or at Vesterheim. Now the inspiration is further shared.

The reproductions scanned here are not the full contents of the notebook; they include drafts and photos of weavings that included danskbragd. To avoid making one overly large file, the pieces are found in these two files: Danskbrogd weaving 1 (large, 14MB), and Danskbrogd Weaving 2 (8MB).

There was overlap between the Danskbrogd Study Group, which was national in membership, and the Minnesota-based Scandinavian Weavers Study Group. In particular, Lila Nelson was the superstar of both groups and you will see many of the same pieces represented in each group’s materials.

Enjoy.

The Norwegian Breakfast Club Danskbrogd Study Group: 1995-1997

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Betty Johannesen

In the fall of November, 1995, Jan Mostrom coordinated a study group to work on danksbrogd. It was a long-distance group; the first four members were from Rhode Island, Oregon, Alberta, Canada, and Minnesota. The group focused on learning and sharing. As Jan wrote, “If we were all experts on the technique, there would be no need for the group.” Two people in the group were experts: Lila Nelson and Betty Johannesen.

To get the group going, Jan sent out information on weaving danskbrogd from a class taught by Betty Johannesen at the Midwest Weavers Conference in June, 1995, reprinted with permission here. Overall, the class was on weaving krokbragd, but there is a section with instructions for adding danskbrogd.

The notebook that resulted from this study group is filled with valuable instructional material, inspirational photos, preparatory graphs, and hints from member’s experiences. The scanned pages linked below include photos and documents from the group members, but omit much of the administrative correspondence and personal information that was shared during the process. Still, there are a total of 96 pages in the combined files. A full copy of the notebook is available to view at the library of the Vesteheim Norwegian-American Museum in Decorah, Iowa.

If you want to weave danskbrogd, the detailed information in this notebook will be of great help. If you just want to be inspired by the work of the study group, look at the files of weaving by the individual members.

Tips for weaving danskbrogd on two shafts, here.

Article by Lila Nelson in the September, 1995, issue of the Norwegian Textile Letter, “An Introduction to the Dansk Brogd Tradition.”

Lila Nelson’s hints for successful danskbrogd weaving, here.

A 1983 article on danskbrogd, “Vest-Agder har landets rikeste teppe-tradition,” with a translation by Lila Nelson.

Weaving: Syvilla Bolson.

Weaving: Betty Johannesen. Betty includes useful photos of the front and back of her danskbrogd piece.

Weaving: Lila Nelson. One. Two. Three.

Lila Nelson wrote around Valentines Day of 1998, sharing a photo of her Mondrian-inspired danskbrogd, and a description of how it was woven. Here

Weaving: Sharon Marquardt

Weaving: Jan Mostrom. One. Jan even included her preliminary sketches for danskbrogd designs. Two. Jan describes her observations about coverlets she saw in Norway. Three.

Weaving: Rosemary Roehl

Weaving: Sally Scott, One. Two. Three. Four.

Weaving: Norma Smayda

Mary Temple wrote a draft for weaving krokbragd and danskbrogd, here.

At the time that American weavers were experimenting with danskbrogd, contemporary Norwegian weavers were inspired by the old coverlets, too. Betty Johanessen visited the museum in Kristiansand in the summer of 1997 and took this photo of three beautiful banded danskbrogd hangings. If anyone knows the weavers, let me know!

Weaving Danskbrogd

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By Jan Mostrom

Typical danskbrogd designs

Traditional danskbrogd coverlets shown in an exhibition at Vest Agder historical museum in Kristiansand were of two types. Pick up was used on plain weft face weave and on three harness point twill boundweave, i.e. krokbragd. While light colored design spots on a dark background were woven in both techniques, larger motifs seem to be favored in the plain weave coverlets. X and O patterns were often part of the designs and were perhaps protective symbols. On krokbragd threadings, smaller design motifs on a solid background would alternate with bands of multicolored krokbragd .

When weaving danskbrogd on plain weave, all of the design work is done by pick up. When you are picking your design, you will push down the bottom layer threads of an open shed that are to be covered by the design spot. Then put your pick up stick on its side to open a new shed within the bottom layer. Throw your pattern thread through this new shed. Remove your stick and now push down all the threads in the bottom layer that are not covered by the design thread. Insert your background thread in this new shed. Check to be sure you have covered every thread of the bottom layer with a shot of either design color or background color. Now you are ready to change to your next tabby shed and if you have no design spots in that shed, insert your background color.

You will need to repeat until the spots are at least square or elongated a bit. When you have squared your design spots and are ready to begin weaving the next row of design spots, be sure there is a shot of background on top of the earlier spots to separate them so that they do not touch the new design spots at the corners. You may need to weave a complete repeat of sheds 1 and 2 in background to make this happen or it may happen naturally depending on which tabby shot the spots in the designs land. Most of the old coverlets have the spots separated but the coverlet in Vesterheim’s collection has all of the spots touching at the corners which gives the designs a honeycomb look. The important thing is to decide if they should all touch or all have background separating the corners of the spots and be consistent. If some touch and some do not touch the designs will look like there have been mistakes.

Danskbrogd drafts

When weaving danskbrogd on krokbragd threading, you treadle your shafts in order 1, 2, 3 and constantly repeat just as you would when weaving plain krokbragd. Design spots are planned on every other thread of a point on shed 1 or 3 or on every other pair of threads on shed 2. Traditionally, light design spots float on a darker solid background. To weave, treadle shed 1. If there is a design on this shed, pick down the threads that need a design spot and throw your design color in this shed. Before moving to treadle 2, you must now pick down the uncovered threads in shed 1 and cover them with background. Now you may move to the next shed. If the design spots are on the second shed, you will likely be picking down every other pair of threads to create your spots. Be sure to cover all of the threads in a shed before you move to the next krokbragd shed. You will need to repeat the design pattern until it is at least square. Usually the design spots are separated with background so that the spots will not touch at the corners. When you are ready to lay in the next row of design spots, look at the design spot of the prior row of pattern and see if there is a shot of background over the spot. If there is no background shot, you will have to continue in the krokbragd 1, 2, 3 treadling with background color until the spot has a background shot above it when you return to the design shed. Now you can add the design spot color. For instance if your design spot is on shed 1 in the first design row and in shed 2 for the second design row, you will need to weave background on shed 2, 3, and 1 before you put in the design color on shed 2.

Danskbrogd combined with krokbragd; sample, front and back, by Jan Mostrom.

Modern weavers Mary Temple and Lila Nelson developed a way to thread danskbrogd designs without using a pick up stick by using a five shaft point twill or a six harness threading. Lila Nelson used a five shaft point twill; Mary Temple devised a six harness threading. Both are shown in the diagram above.

The five harness point twill allows you to treadle many designs that you might choose to pick up in a danskbrogd design. It effectively divides the shed you would raise on treadle 1 in krokbragd by raising every other thread of that shed on treadle 1 and 5 and divides the second krokbragd shed raising every other pair of threads on treadles 2 and 4. The third krokbragd shed is not divided in this threading and is woven on treadle 3. In krokbragd you always treadle sheds 1, 2, 3. With this threading you will treadle 1, 5, 2, 4, 3. When you have no design to split a shed, treadle shafts 1 and 5 together or 2 and 4 together. When you have design spots, you are able to treadle them separately but you need to treadle both 1 and 5 or 2 and 4 before you move to the next krokbragd shed just as you would if you were using a pick up stick. It helps to think of 1 and 6 as two parts of the first shed and 2 and 4 as two parts of the second krokbragd shed.

The six harness threading allows division on all three of the krokbragd sheds. You must remember to treadle in order, 1, 6, 2, 5, 3, 4 but remember if there are no design spots on a krokbragd shed, you can treadle 1 and 6 or 2 and 5 or 3 and 4 together to make a krokbragd pass. You only need to treadle them separately if there is a design that splits the shed.
Contemporary weavers can explore beyond the traditional spot patterns and solid backgrounds, as well as looking at different materials and setts. Lila Nelson and other researchers and experimenters in danskbrogd can provide us with much inspiration. Many of Lila’s beautiful danskbrogd weavings are in the Vesterheim collection.

Danskbrogd sample, front and back, woven by Jan Mostrom