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Embellishment! Fiber Entries at the Vesterheim Norwegian American Museum Exhibit

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Embellishment

Vesterheim Norwegian American Museum, Decorah, Iowa
July 6, 2023–January 5, 2024

This special folk art show focuses on the importance of detail in folk art and features 71 pieces by contemporary folk artists from around the country.

The Norwegian Textile Letter regularly features weavings from Vesterheim Norwegian American Museum’s National Exhibition of Folk Art in the Norwegian Tradition. Going forward, the National Exhibition will be held every other summer, and alternate with special themed exhibits like this year’s Embellishment. There were a number of objects in fiber included — wonderfully embellished! Thank you to the staff at Vesterheim for supplying photos and the artists’ statements for us to enjoy a virtual visit. 

 

Laura Berlage. Hayward, Wisconsin.  “Purse of Dreams”

Offering an embroidered bag or purse was a common gift of devotion or courtship. I wanted this purse to have that feeling of specialness and magic. All the elements, from the loom-beaded top with wire warp to the braided handle to the butterfly pin, were in my stash.

I was delighted with embroideries from the 16th and 17th centuries. Inspired by curving, floral designs in crewel and braided goldwork, I couldn’t keep myself from trying it. Little did I know how difficult embroidering on velvet would be! Every element had to first be padded with a felt or corded base, so the embroidery and beadwork could be stitched on top. The process took months. 

I’m a prolific fiber artist and Vesterheim instructor, living and working on my family’s homestead farm in northern Wisconsin. My work delights in the overlap of narrative and visual and bringing ideas into form. Artist website: erindaletapestrystudio.com 

 

Marcia Cook. Decorah, Iowa. “Holiday Vest”

vest

My inspiration for this holiday vest came from a Scandinavian dress. Originally, it was to be all wool except the polyester lining. I soon tired of trying to complete a mirror image. I added silk ribbons, threads, and glass beads and had fun coloring outside the lines. 

I’m a career goldsmith from the Pacific Northwest. I am a maker of my own clothes and started making embellished jackets when I moved from Seattle to Skagway, Alaska, 25 years ago. Travel in Alaska required patience and needlework filled the time. Since moving to Decorah, I’ve become more involved with my Norwegian heritage. I love the swirls and floral patterns in rosemaling. 

 

Janette Gross. Santa Cruz, California. “Chaos to Wisdom” Weaving

Runes have always fascinated me. Rather than carving them in stone, I used soumak (weaving technique) to add texture and embellish my tapestry to tell a story of moving from chaos to wisdom and understanding. I am exploring wedge weave which originated with blankets woven by the Diné Nation (Navajo) in the late 19th century. Wedge weave is woven diagonally which distorts the warp and results in scalloped edges. I add a card-woven edge to further define the scallops and create a neat and even selvedge. I mostly use wool singles, adding an additional twist to better reflect light. 

I naturally dye wool and weave with it but sometimes add silk, cotton, plastic, or whatever is called for in the piece. This is part of my climate change series to encourage others to take care of the planet. I live in Santa Cruz with my husband and dog Finnegan. Social media: janettemgross104

Rune translations:

  1. Chaos/hail/storm
  2. (top) Challenge (bottom) Hopes/ fears/ water
  3. Shield/protection/defense
  4. Trust/faith/support/progress
  5. War/battle/victory/honor/ justice
  6. Vitality/wisdom/understanding

 

Elea Jourdan. Decorah, Iowa. “Northern Lights” Wall Hanging

My wall hanging was inspired by a photo of the northern lights in Norway. I knew the best way for me to express this was with the technique of wet felting. Traditionally, a Scandinavian pile wall hanging would be created by laying down long locks of wool as one is weaving. But my “wet felting” technique starts with a layered strip of merino wool, laid out on a flat table. I proceeded to lay these beautiful locks along the outside of the merino wool and wet it down with warm, soapy water. Then the locks are felted-in with a felting paddle.

I have been a textile and clay artist for the past 30 years. Textiles have been a continuous part of my creative life. I have been influenced by my own Norwegian heritage. My work is a remembrance of our Nordic traditions and folklore, inspiring me to create my distinctive type of art. 

 

Robert Lake & Mary Jane Lake. Viroqua, Wisconsin. “Celebration of Norwegian Rosemaling through Quilting” 

quilt

Mary Jane is a quilter and is always looking for inspiration. Finding rosemaled fabric for this project was a dream come true. She combined her knowledge of rosemaling and free-motion quilting to create this wall-hanging. Using the rosemaled fabric as the focal point, she added two borders. Next, she pinned the backing, wool batting, and top together into a sandwich and filled the entire piece with free-motion quilting. The dark red piping in the binding added another embellishment to bring the entire quilt together.  

Robert has been a woodworker for 50 years; he fills their home with beautiful handmade furniture and other wooden objects. He discovered chip carving about 30 years ago and hasn’t stopped since. He created the chip-carved basswood hanger to “top” it all off.

The Lakes moved to Wisconsin 55 years ago to pursue a dream of growing their own food while continuing their careers in education.  Mary Jane was a special education teacher for 34 years and Robert was a guidance counselor. They continue to grow and preserve most of their food today.

 

 

Miranda Moen. Austin, Minnesota. “Hamarvotten Mittens.”

This work follows the Hamarvotten (Hamar mitten) pattern designed by Mette-Gun Nordheim. It depicts the signature arches of Domekirkeruinen, the Hamar Cathedral ruins, which survived the Seven Years War attacks in 1567 and are a present-day icon of the city. While in Hamar, Norway, due to pandemic restrictions, I started to learn to knit. Over the following months, I continued knitting almost every night and through which I found camaraderie with others. Every time I look at this pattern it brings back memories of one of the best years of my life.

I am an architectural designer driven to serve rural communities through cultural heritage research, attainable architecture, and creative projects that ignite economic development. In 2020 I founded MO/EN, a regional design and research practice headquartered in Austin, Minnesota. I was awarded a Fulbright U.S. Student Fellowship to Norway in 2022. Artist website: www.moendesignpractice.com

 

Rosemary Roehl. St. Cloud, Minnesota. “The Dog Days of Summer” Weaving

I find figurative boundweave (creating figures while weaving boundweave or krokbragd) fun to weave. I used bows and fuzzy yarn and French knots to add bees, cardinals, apples, and pesky ladybugs. This weaving was inspired by nature. I am a self-taught weaver focusing on traditional Norwegian weaving. I fell in love with Norwegian weavings during my first trip to an ancestor’s home on the Nordfjord in 1978. 

I started competing in the Vesterheim National Norwegian-American Folk Art Exhibition in 1983. I received a Vesterheim Gold Medal in Rosemaling in 1992. I enjoy exploring different ways to use traditional techniques and color. I taught at St. Cloud State University (MN) in the College of Education and retired in 1997. 

 

Juli Seydell Johnson. Iowa City, Iowa. “Reaching to the Sun” Quilt 

This piece began as a very basic quilt. When done, it was pretty, but didn’t feel “finished.” I was inspired to transform the quilt after painting in the Telemark style in a workshop with Nancy Schmidt. My own designed embellishment for this quilt flowed quickly after a weekend of painting and it grew into a vibrant interpretation of flowers growing toward the sun.

I am an artist who primarily works with textiles. My art is often inspired by nature and everyday activities. I like to make bold interpretations of what I see. I use fun colors that brighten a space and make people smile. I started taking rosemaling classes in 2019 to connect to my Norwegian heritage. The colors, shapes, and techniques have added a new and exciting dimension to my textile work. Artist website: buffalograce.com

 

Renee Thoreson. Rochester, Minnesota. “Hardanger Elegance” 

I love the feminine lines and delicate detail of the pattern. I also love blue, and the master level of skill needed to execute the design. When I heard that the theme this year was “Embellishment,” I just had to add a little glam with the crystals and beads! I hope you like it too!

I am a folk artist who loves all things Norwegian. I have been stitching since I was three years old. It started with lacing cards and progressed to embroidering hens on potholders. I did cross stitch until I ordered hardanger embroidery books from Nordic Needle (Fargo, ND) which then became my new folk art passion. I also love to rosemal and grew my skills here at Vesterheim. My late dad introduced me to wood carving, and we enjoyed classes together at Vesterheim. Engaging in folk arts is my dad’s legacy and one I will pass on.

 

Joshua Torkelson. St. Paul, Minnesota. “Selbu Hat” 

This hat is made using patterns and motifs found on historic examples of mittens and sweaters from the Selbu area of Norway. What I love about these patterns is that they can be found on all clothing, ranging from Sunday best to everyday clothes. Functionally, the colorwork adds two layers of yarn when knit, making the garment twice as warm. The folded brim also gives extra warmth around the ears.

I am a woodcarver, knitter, and folk artist. I have been carving since middle school and find inspiration in historic carvings and patterns. I also began knitting in earnest in 2020 and found a passion for colorwork, particularly Norwegian Selbu motifs. In all my work, I am fascinated by repeated patterns and the elaborate decoration of everyday objects. Instagram: @josh_torkelson 

 

Lisa Torvik. St. Paul, Minnesota. “Kalendar” Weaving

The medieval Baldishol tapestry discovered in a church in Norway in the late 19th century is the inspiration for my piece, “Kalendar.” I used the overall dimensions and decorative framework of the original’s design, which consists of two panels, “April” and “May” showing activities of sowing and warfare, respectively. This is believed to be the surviving fragment of a long frieze depicting all the months of the year. I chose the months of my birthday and my husband’s birthday to showcase elements of our lives and interests and incorporated several different techniques of textile construction and embellishment.

Growing up in Decorah, I was exposed to art and culture and a lot of Norwegian influences. My mother encouraged artistic expression and music and introduced me to knitting and weaving. In high school, I participated in a youth exchange with Valdres, Norway, and it deepened my interest in textile arts and weaving. Higher education and work have delayed my return to the loom for the past 10 years or so. Now I enjoy letting my weaving knowledge develop in new directions. 

 

Robbie LaFleur. Minneapolis, Minnesota. “Post Lockdown: Together Again”   

rug

Rag rugs are common textiles in Scandinavian homes. This rug includes bed sheets from three sources: a sheet from my great-uncle’s time, a decades-old sheet of my own, and thrift store sheets. This rug is a companion to a very different wool krokbragd rug woven during COVID-19 lockdown. This rug was woven as part of a group warp at the Weavers Guild of Minnesota. I truly appreciate the time to be “together again” with fellow weavers, friends, and family. 

I have been following a thread of Scandinavian textiles since I studied weaving at Valdres Husflidskole in Fagernes, Norway, in 1977. I received a Vesterheim Gold Medal in Weaving in 2002. I coordinate the Weavers Guild of Minnesota Scandinavian Weavers Study Group and publish the Norwegian Textile Letter (norwegiantextileletter.com). In 2019, I received a fellowship from the American Scandinavian Foundation to study the transparency technique of famed Norwegian tapestry weaver Frida Hansen in Stavanger, Norway. Artist website: robbielafleur.com  

 

The Best of Show Award and Jurors Choice Awards did not include a winner in fiber, but perhaps none could compete with a rosemaled plate including Edvard Munch Skrik heads!

Juror’s Choice: Jerry Johnson, Stoughton, Wisconsin. “My Scream Plate”

Help support wonderful articles on Scandinavian textiles with a donation to the Norwegian Textile Letter. Thank you! Tusen takk! 
August 2023

Celebrating Sprang, a Traditional Twining Technique

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By Robbie LaFleur

I knew little about sprang until recently when I ran across the work of Liilian Saksi. This young Norwegian artist has taken the traditional white lacy technique and used it to create contemporary geometric art works full of color and meaning.

I had also seen references to Carol James, an American who learned about sprang and then used it as a springboard to design complex patterns and amazing pieces of clothing. She has written books and produced videos teaching the technique.

It is inspiring to read about these two artists, who each in their own styles took a traditional technique and made it their own. Read: “Liilian Saksi: An Artist in Språgning,” and “Twist of Fate: Carol James’ Journey in Sprang.”

A Short Introduction to Traditional Sprang with Some Examples

Sprang is appreciated in Norway as a traditional braiding technique. Most people think of white lacy borders on curtains or towels when sprang is mentioned, like this piece owned by the Sverresborg Trøndelag Folkemuseum.

Lace border in sprang technique. Sverresbord Trøndelag Folkemuseum. (full record)

The sprang technique is included on the Rødliste [Red list] of endangered traditional handcraft techniques by the national handcraft association, Husflid. The Husflid local group in Vågå studied sprang. Their document on the technique includes photos of contemporary items made with sprang, like gloves, a lampshade, and a dress for a small girl. There are two demonstration videos (in Norwegian). Their introduction to sprang reads in part [translation mine]:

In sprang, a braiding technique, yarn is stretched between two sticks or on a frame. The threads, which are left parallel, are wound around each other and can form different patterns. The technique has been widespread over large parts of the world and the oldest finds are from Egypt from approximately 2000 BCE.

In the Nordic countries it has been known since the Bronze Age. The oldest finds in Norway are dated 300–400 CE and are made of wool.

Among the textile implements in the Oseberg find from the first half of the 8th century is a frame that is assumed to have been used for sprang. In Norway, the technique has been widely used to make decorative objects, such as tablecloths, decorative towels and curtains.

Here is a frame with sprang underway.

Photo from the Sverresborg Trøndelag Museum of a sprang frame. (full record)

This description of the sprang frame comes from the Sverresborg Trøndelag Museum [translation mine].

A simple and square sprang frame made of untreated wood. There are 21 holes on each vertical side. In these, the warp threads are attached at the top and bottom. With the help of the holes, you can choose the length of the work. The warp threads are attached to a wooden plug which is fixed in the holes. The yarn for the sprang work is lashed around the warp threads above and below. It is braided/twined from the top. The work is identical above and below. Dividing sticks (4 flat wooden strips) have been inserted in the work. The sprang frame has simple feet with a cross plank in between. Sprang, sometimes called bregding, is an old and special needlework technique.

Sprang Artifacts in Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum

Here are four examples of historical sprang, from the collection of the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum.

1975.033.003 and 1977.065.002.  Both pieces were made by Camilla Heiberg Stoylen of Bergen, Norway. 1977.065.002 was made in about 1915 and used as trim for a curtain. 1975.033.003 was probably made at about the same time.
Camilla (or Kamilla, 1869-1957) grew up in an old merchant family. She attended boarding school in Växjo, Sweden, where she learned sewing, weaving, and other textile techniques.  The sprang pieces were brought to the U.S. by Camilla’s son, either in 1921 when he immigrated or on a later visit home. It was donated to the museum by Sigvald Stoylen.

Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum piece 1977.065.002.

Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum piece 1975.033.003.

1985.129.017.  Ingeborg Husan Sjetne (1877-1963) of Hedmark, Norway, made this piece of edging and entered it in a 1952 textile exhibition organized by her local chapter of Bondekvinnelaget (Rural Women’s Association). It was donated by Marie Skramstad DeForest.

LC0819.  This piece was originally part of De Sandvigske Samlinger Museum Collection (now called Maihaugen) in Lillehammer, Norway. It was sent as part of a large group of gifts from Norwegian museums to the Luther College Museum (now Vesterheim) to celebrate the centennial of Norwegian immigration in 1925.

This piece originally came to the U.S. from the Maihaugen Museum in Lillehammer, Norway.

Maihaugen still owns many examples of sprang; here are 17 pieces  still in the Maihaugen collection, as shown through the Norwegian Digital Museum.

These Vesterheim pieces are the ones that sparked Carol James’ book Sprang Patterns and Charts Inspired by Samples in the Collection of Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum. (Read more about the book in “Twist of Fate: Carol James’ Journey in Sprang.”

I still don’t know much about sprang, really, but I understand the concept more after trying Carol James’ short introductory video. I recommend it! I felt clumsy while manipulating just a few strands of yarn, and had to go back and begin again a few times, but isn’t that true of any new handcraft technique?

I have a ways to go before I can create a shirt or an art work with sprang, but it is fun to admire historical sprang and the work of contemporary artists. I hope you enjoy getting to know their work.

robbielafleur.com
Instagram: @robbie_lafleur
Help support wonderful articles on Scandinavian textiles with a donation to the Norwegian Textile Letter. Thank you! Tusen takk! 

 

 

 

Book Review: Continuum by Solveig Aalberg

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By Molly Elkind

I’ve been weaving tapestry for over 10 years and teaching approaches to tapestry design for at least five years.  I’m always on the lookout for other tapestry weavers doing interesting contemporary work, to inform my own work and to share with other weavers.  I came across this blog post on the Textile Forum blog, about a body of work by Norwegian fiber artist, Solveig Aalberg, that I am excited to share. 

Aalberg has made a series of 100 small pieces that she calls “miniatures” which together form the series Continuum.  Each one measures about 20 x 24 cm, or roughly 7.75 x 9.5 inches.  Each features horizontal stripes in some form.  They are woven in tabby or double weave in a variety of fibers.  As she wove the series, Aalberg designed a book that reproduces every single piece, Continuum:  Woven Miniatures.  The book devotes a full page, or in some cases two pages, to each tapestry, and for each, the fibers and colors used are listed with a numerical notation that indicates the number of times each color is repeated.

Solveig Aalberg, Continuum #020, 2018.  Linen, cotton, polyester.

As I began to look through the book, I realized that far from becoming repetitious the project allowed for almost infinite variation within Aalberg’s parameters.  The idea that boundaries and limits actually free us up for greater creativity has been coming up in my tapestry feedback group discussions lately, and Aalberg’s project is a perfect example of how that can work.

Aalberg says in an interview included at the end of the book that her work is “all about reading the world around me by organizing structures and repetitions.  Tapestry’s strict framework of horizontal and vertical lines provides a basis for working on my visual idiom.  It might seem restrictive, but it is a challenge that triggers me.” (p. 260).  She goes on to say that systems and mathematics allow for rhythmic repetitions would not be possible otherwise:  “. . . structures build up contrasts and juxtapositions that you couldn’t envision beforehand without using these systems.” (p. 265).

While Aalberg’s work starts with weaving on the loom, she further develops each piece by adding stitching, sometimes subtle straight stitches that meld with the weft, other times wild loops and dangling threads that create a riot of texture on the back.  These pieces are pictured front and back on double-page spreads.  In all the pieces, a delight and curiosity about color is the driving force.

Solveig Aalberg, Continuum #036 back, 2020. Linen, cotton, polyester and reflex.

Solveig Aalberg, Continuum #036 front, 2020.  
Linen, cotton, polyester and reflex.

Aalberg has worked on a very large scale many times, but for this project she chose a format that invites the viewer to “experience the work up close” in an “intimate and personal” way (p. 264).  Many of us are attracted to small format work not only because it is portable and more quickly accomplished than large work, but precisely because it speaks one-on-one to the viewer.

Pieces from the Continuum series have been exhibited in various shows in Europe, and several have been sold.  Aalberg hopes that the works will be widely disseminated and that they can “thereby make a little statement about how everyday life is influenced by how we do the same thing again and again, but with either minor or major changes.  In that way, each miniature can be read as a metaphor for the days we live” (p. 267).

Solveig Aalberg, selections from Continuum at Haugesund Kunstforening og Billedgalleri, 2020.

Regarding her commitment to a long-term project over several years, Aalberg admits, “It does cost something to bring this about–that is also part of the process.  Showing tenacity, holding on to your idea, not letting go.  If I had abandoned Continuum, it would be like going back on a promise.  It would feel like a betrayal” (p. 267). This struck me–how often do we as artists lose heart, have crises of confidence, or simply bow to the ongoing pressures of life and abandon our big ideas?

Regarding the book itself, in addition to the interview with the artist, an essay by writer Ole Robert Sunde is included, whose work Aalberg feels draws on similar themes.  All text, including captions for the tapestries, appears in Norwegian and English.  Several installation shots of the work show how it is mounted approximately 4.5″ from the wall, so that it casts a shadow and attains a sculptural presence.  It is a beautifully photographed and produced hardcover book.  You can order it here for 380 Norwegian kroner, about $38 plus shipping.  For me this book is a wonderful counterpoint to Sheila Hicks’s Weaving as Metaphor, which contains images of dozens of her experimental minimes.  Both artists work in small format, but their approaches and results are very different.  Food for thought.

This review first appeared on Molly’s blog, https://mollyelkindtalkingtextiles.blogspot.com on October 12, 2022. 

https://mollyelkindtalkingtextiles.blogspot.com
Instagram: @mollyelkind
Molly Elkind earned an M.A. in Studio Art from the Hite Art Institute at the University of Louisville in 2002. Exhibition highlights include two solo shows in Atlanta (2009 and 2018)  and numerous juried and invitational shows nationwide.  Molly has been published in a number of fiber art-related publications, and her work is in several private collections.  Besides making art, Molly is passionate about teaching it, with a particular focus on design principles and processes.  She is based in Santa Fe, New Mexico and teaches both online and nationwide for guilds and conferences.  

Editor and author’s note: These images are screen shots from Aalberg’s book. The book images are of much higher quality. 

March 2023

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Norwegian Double-Cloth: Warp-Weighted Loom Experiments in a Complicated Technique

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By Katherine Larson and Marta Kløve Juuhl

Editor’s note: This article appeared in Archaeological Textiles Review No. 64 (ATR), published in 2022 by the Centre for Textile Research, University of Copenhagen. A wealth of detail on how this technique may have been woven will be of interest to warp-weighted loom enthusiasts, but anyone interested in solving puzzles may also enjoy this article. Links to the article and its foundational study appear below, but first here is a summary from one of the authors, providing you with the background and highlights of studying double-cloth on the warp-weighted loom.

The coverlet-width warp woven for the 2022 double-cloth study. From ATR No. 64

Go Big or Go Home – The Importance of Textile Width

By Katherine Larson

Double-cloth, also called double-weave (dobbeltvev in Norwegian), has a history in Scandinavia. The somewhat complicated weave structure meant that this was not an every-woman technique, but for a knowledgeable few it did provide an effective means for creating free-form patterning on a simple loom: Set up two warps of contrasting color, exchange the warps in selected places, and now you were weaving a bridal procession instead of plain old stripes and plaids. What a break-through moment for the weaver who first figured this out! Some manipulation with pattern boards would be required to hold the contrasting warp layer apart for a weaving shed, but if you were clever enough to conceive of double-cloth in the first place, that part would be easy. 

This 17th century Norwegian reversible double-cloth textile, a fragment of a once longer piece, depicts riders on horseback, possibly representing a bridal procession. OK-10878, National Museum, Oslo.

Double-cloth has been known in parts of Scandinavia since at least the Viking Age. The occurrence of Persian double-cloth fabrics within the same time frame suggests that our clever weaver of the north may have seen an exotic textile from a distant land and set about adapting her home loom to reproduce this brilliant new idea.

A narrow medieval double-cloth fragment from Rennebu, Norway. The figures on the left possibly depict two women weaving on a warp-weighted loom. Museum of Cultural History, UiO, Oslo.

The ‘home loom’ of the north, of course, would be the warp-weighted loom, which was used for weaving reversible double-cloth for centuries in Scandinavia. Even when the technique’s flashier cousin came along – non-reversible double-cloth, woven on the treadle loom – the reversible technique still prospered for a while. A significant body of 18th century coverlets provides ample evidence for both of these double-cloth traditions, but while the non-reversible technique survived long enough to be documented, the reversible version fell out of use before anyone thought to describe the process. Yet over 80 coverlets in the reversible technique, many in excellent condition, provide mute testimony to the successful use of the warp-weighted loom to produce relatively complicated textiles. 

Non-reversible double-cloth lends itself to finer pattern elements than the reversible technique. Details of double cloth coverlets: reversible (left) OK 01696, National Museum, Oslo; and non-reversible (right) NF !910-0433, Norwegian Folk Museum.

The initial study

The coverlets of this gone-but-not-forgotten weaving tradition provided the starting point for my decade-long study to consider how reversible double-cloth might have been woven on the warp-weighted loom. Over the course of many research trips, I found that details inadvertently ‘recorded’ in the coverlets by the weavers themselves provided a surprising amount of information about how the loom may have been set up, while experimentation with various possibilities on the warp-weighted loom served to rule out a few ineffective options (most notably the natural shed). Based on these findings I proposed a possible method for weaving double-cloth on the warp-weighted loom. 

Studying a double-cloth coverlet at the National Museum in Oslo, 2009. Photo: K. Larson

Studying the medieval Lomen double cloth textile. Photo: K. Larson

As with any warp-weighted loom research, Marta Hoffmann’s groundbreaking documentation of plain-weave methods on the warp-weighted loom (The Warp-Weighted Loom 1964) provided the foundation for this research. But double-cloth is more complicated than plain-weave, and even Marta Hoffmann’s carefully qualified speculation, that double-cloth patterns may have been picked by hand instead of with the use of additional sticks, did not stand up well to observation, experimentation and speculation. 

The word speculation deserves repeating here: not for naught was Hoffmann so careful when straying from known facts. While my proposed method for weaving double-cloth was based on reasoned guesses and experimental results, it was still speculation. It was not entirely surprising, then, when a flaw emerged, all of which underscores the importance of Hoffmann’s documentation of an actual living weaving tradition. 

The 2022 study

Words to live by: What works at one width sometimes does not work at another. The error in the proposed weaving method seems obvious in retrospect, but textile width was just one of many factors in the initial study. Warping a loom for double-cloth takes a long time, and the study’s experimental textile (30 cm) was designed to require minimal setup when traveling to various locations. This facilitated what was then a top priority: consulting with knowledgeable warp-weighted loom weavers while testing different loom configurations. Since simply forming a reasonable shed was an early stumbling block, the width of the experimental weaving was low on my list of concerns. However, once an apparent solution to serious warp-passage problems presented itself – a slight fanning of the warp threads accomplished by stretching the spacing chains – shed formation improved dramatically and I moved on to consider many other factors in weaving double-cloth. The element of textile width was not revisited. 

Evidence of pattern storing is found in Scandinavian reversible double-cloth textiles, and therefore experimentation with transferring stored patterns was part of the study.  This proved to be a straightforward process on the warp-weighted loom, especially in comparison to the treadle loom. Photo: K. Larson

The flaw in the proposed warp-fanning method emerged only after the initial study was complete. In contemplating the next logical step in understanding double-cloth, I decided to weave a piece based on the medium-width (~ 80 cm) procession textiles. This group of five decorative panels depicting a procession on horseback is generally thought to slightly predate the coverlet tradition. Unfortunately, shortly after I began pattern weaving on my procession textile it became obvious that the normally beneficial effects of stretching the spacing chains did not extend to the center of this wider warp. 

Procession double-cloth in progress. Photo: K. Larson

Warp-fanning had worked well for relatively narrow double-cloth textiles, and since four of the six surviving medieval Scandinavian examples were 30 cm in width or less, it is possible that this method served as a useful way to weave the earlier decorative panels. However, it clearly would not have accommodated even the modest width of the procession textiles, much less that of the coverlets, which ranged from 123 to 175 cm in width. I was back to square one.

I discussed my ongoing double-cloth research with Marta Kløve Juuhl, curator (now retired) at Osterøy Museum near Bergen.  Marta, an experienced weaver and a recognized expert in warp-weighted loom weaving, was intrigued by the idea of weaving double-cloth at full coverlet width. Thrilled to find someone else curious about this question, I arranged with Marta to start a project on one of the looms at Osterøy Museum in late February 2020. Unfortunately, the pandemic interrupted any idea of further joint work, but we continued to discuss the project regularly by email.

In warping the loom at Osterøy Museum, we used the same elements of loom setup as those in the initial study, with the exception of warp fanning. As expected, weaving did not go smoothly, requiring continual clearing of the sheds, a familiar problem. Nonetheless the small amount of weaving accomplished at Osterøy was instructive, identifying heddle length as the first issue to address. 

Setting up the coverlet-width warp at Osterøy Museum, February 2020; sewing the warp to the beam. From ATR No. 64

 

Preparing to attach the backmost row of weights to the warp. From ATR No. 64

Initial pattern weaving. From ATR No. 64

Fortunately, bringing the warp home to Seattle required cutting all those laboriously tied heddles. Since they would have to be retied anyway, I conducted a small interim experiment before putting the coverlet-width warp back on the loom. This study indicated two things: heddles held slightly taut by their warp threads, but also tied at different lengths for the forward and back layers, reduced heddle tangling during shed changes. The heddles were retied at the new lengths (all 1,494 of them) and heddle tangling receded as a problem.

Weights were the next issue, with the coverlet-width warp requiring a total of 100 weights at 1 kg each. While relatively narrow stones are plentiful in Norway, most of the field stones in the Northwest are nicely rounded thanks to thousands of years of glacial action. These were deemed too thick for the compact weight rows required. Suitably narrow weights were instead achieved by using coins, eight rolls of pennies per weight. Acquiring these coins at several banks felt distinctly odd, loading money into a reusable shopping bag while wearing a pandemic mask. Multiple banks were visited during this penny-acquisition spree due to withdrawal limits caused by a nationwide coin shortage, a problem no doubt exacerbated by the needs of warp-weighted loom research.

With the warp reestablished on the loom, the most likely avenue for improving loom function seemed to be the disposition of the weight rows. Four different configurations were tested, but one clearly outperformed the other three. In that configuration all weight rows were placed behind the shed rod, with the two rows of the forward layer held separate from their backmost neighbors by being tied at intervals to the shed rod. 

Four weight row configurations were tested in the 2022 study. Option ‘d’ was the most successful, with the two forward rows placed behind, but attached to, the shed rod. From ATR No. 64

In the final configuration, spacing chains of the two forward weight rows were tied to the shed rod. The chains formed slight arcs, providing additional stretching of the warps that was somewhat reminiscent of the earlier warp-fanning method. This effect may have assisted in warp passage. From ATR No. 64

This unusual weight-row disposition was inspired by an irregularity I had noted in several coverlets during the initial study. The method for establishing use of the warp-weighed loom in the first place had been a program of measuring irregularity in warp thread spacing. This irregularity is mostly disguised by the profusion of pattern in the coverlets, but is quite evident when measured. Oddly, several coverlets had a series of widely spaced warp areas that were somewhat evenly dispersed across the textile. It seemed possible that this represented a pull on the warp threads – or rather on the spacing chains – to hold the weight rows separate in some fashion. The success of the final configuration, with the forward weight rows tied to the shed rod, lends support to this possibility.  

Reversible double-cloth coverlets woven on the warp-weighted loom were the last chapter in a centuries-long tradition in central Scandinavia. Since available evidence points to narrower textiles being the primary decorative intent of medieval double-cloth, perhaps the appearance of the horizontal treadle loom had a role in encouraging this final chapter. The adoption of the treadle loom happened unevenly in Norway, but occurred at about the same time as the coverlets were woven. With the new loom’s superior capability to produce yardage, it seems likely that once it was acquired, the warp-weighed loom would have been abandoned. Yet for those with knowledge of the double-cloth technique, the now-empty looms may have represented an opportunity. After all, the slow pace of weaving a wider double-cloth textile would no longer be an impediment to the all-important need to produce yardage. 

The use of materials for double-cloth was also revisited in our 2022 study. Double-cloth has an inherent problem: weaving (and continually exchanging) two plain-weave warps in a space best suited to one. Medieval Scandinavian weavers addressed this problem by using a (smooth) layer of linen vs. a layer of colorful wool, but the Norwegian weavers of both the procession panels and the coverlets had transitioned to a new set of materials. In these textiles the linen layer was replaced by a sheep-brown warp that, as evidence from the initial study indicated, was predominantly composed of hair from the dual-coated northern European short-tailed sheep. This relatively smooth fiber likely functioned as well as linen, and the resulting textiles, now all sheep’s wool (or nearly so), may have had a more appealing hand than those made with a layer of linen. 

Perhaps a similar spirit of innovative was at work in solving the problems that arose when weaving double-cloth at a wider width. Since the warp-weighted loom’s signature natural shed was (presumably) ineffective for double-cloth, the weavers may have reimagined the function of this basic loom part, using the shed rod as an attachment point for holding the double-cloth layers apart.

Or perhaps not. We cannot know for sure how double-cloth was woven on the warp-weighted loom, we can only experiment and speculate. 

Detail from Procession, 2019. Photo: K. Larson

For those interested in weaving double-cloth on the warp-weighted loom, I’ll be interested to hear what you find.  kllarson@uw.edu

Katherine Larson lives on Bainbridge Island, Washington. She has a doctorate from the University of Washington, where she is an affiliate faculty member in the Department of Scandinavian Studies, and she is the author of The Woven Coverlets of Norway.
Read the full academic article by Larson and Marta Kløve Juuhl from Archaeological Textiles Review:  “Norwegian double-cloth: warp-weighted loom experiments in a complicated technique”

The background research that forms the basis for the 2022 article can be read with these links: the study was published in the Norwegian Folk Museum yearbook (2015); and an account of the research process appears in an earlier Norwegian Textile Letter article (2012). 

The entire issue of Archaeological Textiles Review No. 64 is available online and can be accessed here.  Articles in this issue that might be of interest to readers of the Norwegian Textile Letter include experiments with 2/1 twill on a two beamed loom based on textile fragments from 400 BCE Scotland, rare finds of linen garments from a 17th century Swedish grave, and reconstruction of a tablet-woven band from 3rd-4th century Germany.

Border from Procession. Photo: K. Larson

March 2023

Help support wonderful articles on Scandinavian textiles with a donation to the Norwegian Textile Letter. Thank you! Tusen takk! 

To Seek Connections (Or Wanting to Know Where Things Come From)

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By Anne Karin Jortveit

Editor’s note: This essay is included on the website of the artist Liilian Saksi, featured in this issue, “Liilian Saksi: An Artist in Språngning.” Anne Karin Jortveit is an author, critic, and artist; two of her textile works are highlighted following her essay. 

«No other animal tends so thoroughly to become (for most of us) nothing but a signifier or blank page or resource unit. For it is surely the case that, despite their massive contribution to our lives – past and present – we think less of sheep than just about any other animal.» – Philip Armstrong

A few years ago I waited for the ferry that would take me from Hovedøya to Aker Brygge [across the bay to downtown Oslo]. It was early fall. The sheep, who had worked a summer job for the community, now wandered about freely, accustomed as they were to the flood of people on the island. The flock had gathered at the edge of the pier, as if they also waited for the boat, as if they also were ready to leave. I stood and talked with a friend when I suddenly felt a careful, almost friendly nudge in my side. One of the sheep had come close to us without our noticing. It seemed like it wanted to be scratched on the nose. For a moment I forgot myself, taken up as I was with the conversation, and immediately I felt that little nudge again. The rest of the time before the boat arrived this bold little animal received my full attention, and I went onboard with a new understanding. From then on my interest in wool developed a greater depth, all because of a confident sheep.

Sheep in Sweden. Photo: Liilian Saksi

People talk about whether we have entered the Human Age, the Anthropocene. The whole world is affected by what we humans, with the help of technology, have created. We use, misuse and consume at an escalating rate, and often at the cost of something or someone. This truth also intrudes on the work of artists. When considering those who utilize animal fibers, the use of wool, and the fact that it once belonged to a living entity, undeniably becomes part of a larger picture. In this day and age, it is difficult to pretend that there is no connection. Within the fibers one finds the connection between animals and people. Wool is like a door that opens on the living world and between species. How do we manage this gift from nature going forward? With respect and care for its source? Or is it primarily just the material itself that has worth for us? We seek out the quality of the raw wool we wish to use, but spare few thoughts for the sheep body on which the wool actually grew. The sheep then becomes a distant supplier, reduced to fiber type and sorting. But perhaps it is precisely in the Human Age that we now have the possibility to truly reflect on the missing link between our materials and their origins?

The arts are a place where this concept can unfold. In artistic circles, one no longer considers just the aesthetics but also the ethics. For more and more artists these two categories are joined. This is not always expressed in themes, but nonetheless emerges as a driving energy, like an underlying attitude in artistic choices. To work with art is to be an active participant in the world, to be sensitive to events and changes, and to know that what one does affects the use of resources and leaves footprints. At the same time, one’s own motivation can inspire others, and can reflect back an uplifting feeling of contribution in this larger context. Wool also connects artists to others who value fiber, and of course on a higher level, textiles concern us all.

Anne Karin Jortveit. Hesje [Hay rack]. Hayracks are built up from loose parts, and this work changes with each installation. The panels are woven with the artist’s entire “thread archive,” yarn from her first spinning course through recently-spun yarn, and hung over a framework made of copper pipes. 363 x 103 x 44 cm. (11.75′ x 3.4′ x 1.4′)

Our familiarity with wool has very long timelines, one enters a handcraft relationship with roots that stretch back several thousand years. Sheep were among the first farm animals to be domesticated. Just in Norway they have been present for around 6,000 years. Wool is connected to survival itself, and before we learned to spin and weave we made felt, itself the original textile. Wool fiber’s unique characteristics have seen humanity through harsh winters and difficult weather. Wool breathes, provides insulation and draws dampness away from the body. It is flame resistant and dirt repellant. We have protected ourselves with it, and we have adorned ourselves with it. We have enfolded it in myths and stories. It’s no wonder that wool has been highly valued throughout history, often being considered more important than meat. As the respected felt maker Claudy Jongstra puts it: “Nature is so clever; the fibres are constructed so ingeniously that it intrigues me. To this day, we’ve been unable to make a fibre that combines the same characteristics and qualities. I think that’s unbelievable. I deeply respect that.”

Even when artists use spinning or felting in projects that do not have a practical use, an echo of wool’s contribution to life’s necessities and life’s pleasures is felt through mere contact with and manipulation of the material. Today wool is a byproduct of sheep raising, but fortunately some things are in the process of changing. It blossoms forth in the handcraft milieu, it is incorporated into artistic thinking, it enters into the design process. Even the handcraft enthusiast wants more than to knit with purchased yarn. It is about wanting to know. People seek out and bring forth tools, techniques and insights that have had changing and sometimes low status in our recent past. It is as if we want to assure ourselves that this knowledge is not lost, now that these skills are no longer passed seamlessly from one generation to the next. Most important of all, it is about taking care of and guarding the diversity of the surrounding landscape. This also raises questions about values, both material and existential, and between humans and animals. 

Sheep in Sweden. Photo: Liilian Saksi

As I finish writing this, I look over at Molly, my dog, where she lies curled up between the pillows on the sofa. She also has met the sheep on Hovedøya. On one of our trips we suddenly stood face to face with the whole flock. One sheep decided to take a step forward. I held the dog leash firmly, a little anxious. Both animals neared each other and finally stood nose to nose. When the other sheep saw that this was not a dangerous animal, they also came forward. I stood on the sidelines, touched as I observed what happened. Perhaps this was the same year as my own meeting on the pier. Perhaps it was even the same sheep that was seeking contact. 

«…to understand other living things, their environmental conditions, and their ecological relationships in such a way as to awake in us a deep sense of our kinships with them as fellow members of the Earth’s community of life.».  Paul W. Taylor

www.annekarinjortveit.no
Translated in February, 2023, by Katherine Larson, Affiliate Assistant Professor,
Department of Scandinavian Studies, University of Washington, Seattle
Anne Karin Jortveit is and artist and writer who lives in Ås, Norway. She works in Ås and Oslo, with a studio on Hovedøya. She works three-dimensionally with textiles and recent years has immersed herself in handspinning, weaving and plant dyeing. These pieces by Jortveit are on her website, only two of many compelling installations.

Anne Karin Jortveit. Sørgen’s Signatur (Sorrow’s Signature), 2022. Rug hooking on fabric with hand-spun wool thread (187 x 143 x 5 cm).

Jortveit wrote about Sorrow’s Signature: When I cleared out my father’s personal belongings, I found a paper with the words “Astrid Died January 15.” My father had become very forgetful. He no longer remembered details of the recent past, such as dates, so he had written down the death date of my mother, his wife.

​This little note was perhaps a kind of anchor. He himself died half a year later.

​This is not intended to be a private work. The name and date are interchangeable.
This simple, raw and bare sentence also contains a shared experience.
Regardless of time, place and circumstances.

Anne Karin Jortveit. 11,2 kilo (11.2. Kilos), 2004.

This weaving consists of clothes from my wardrobe, clothes I acquired but rarely used.
This weaving is a picture of one year’s discards.

In 1998, each and every one of us threw away 11.2 kilograms of textiles and clothing.
When I began this project, I had access to statistics from 1998; therefore this piece weighs 11.2 kilograms .

In 1998, discards were distributed as follows: 68% was sent to the dump; 16% was burned; 7% was reused or recycled, mostly to the Third World and Eastern Europe; 19% had never been used.

Traditionally, rag rugs were the final use of textiles. When clothes could longer be repaired, they ended up here, under our feet, the place where we leave traces of dust, dirt and sweat. This is a rag rug for today. I could wear all the clothes in this weaving and still be well dressed. None of the clothes came close to being called rags. I just got “tired of them.”

Afterword: ​This text was from 2005. In 2013, I checked the numbers again and read that each one of us threw away around 24 kilos of textiles a year. That would have become quite a weaving.

[Editor’s note: Textile discards are not improving. According to figures published by the Boston University School of Public Health, Americans discard more than 45 kilos (100 pounds) of textiles per year. The figure is based on the most recent year of EPA statistics available, 2018. See “The Aftermath of Fast Fashion: How Discarded Clothes Impact Public Health and the Environment.“]

March 2023

Help support wonderful articles on Scandinavian textiles with a donation to the Norwegian Textile Letter. Thank you! Tusen takk! 

Nordic News and Notes: Lectures

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Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum Webinars

Exploring Sami Coastal Handcraft, with Hege Nilsen. Sunday, June 4, 2023. 1:00-2:00 pm CT. Cost: Free

Join folk artist and culture-bearer Hege Nilsen for a conversation exploring the traditional handcraft of the Coastal Sámi. From leatherwork, to pewter thread braiding and embroidery, to mica embellishments, you will learn about the folk art still made by this segment of Scandinavia’s indigenous people.

 

 

 

 

Natural Dyeing: Historical Handcraft as a Living Art, with Lesley Darling. Saturday, June 10, 2023.  1:00-2:00 pm CT. Cost: free 

Has the growing popularity of natural dyes made you curious about the process? Join textile artist and educator Lesley Darling for a webinar on the history of natural dyes across cultures, ideas to start saving your own dyes, and how you can learn more about the process. Lesley will also talk about how plant based dyes are making waves across the planet, from fashion labels and Nordic traditions to naturally dyeing dresses for an internationally celebrated drag artist.

The Mystery of the Missing Swans and Maidens: A Frida Hansen Tapestry Tale with Robbie LaFleur (Originally aired on April 2; now on the Vesterheim YouTube channel)

Back in 1903, Norwegian-born socialite and tapestry teacher Berthea Aske Bergh was determined to show Americans the brilliance of Norwegian billedvev, or tapestry. She traveled back to Norway and purchased Sørover (Southward), a tapestry of swans and maidens with shimmering threads from the famous Art Nouveau artist Frida Hansen.

Southward was an important, often-displayed monumental tapestry, so when the curators for the blockbuster show, Scandinavian Design in the United States, 1890-1980, sought key textiles, Frida Hansen’s tapestry was top of mind. But where was this 11 x 10 foot weaving now? Only a few grainy black-and-white photos and many glowing descriptions remained.

In January 2021, nearly 90 years after Southward was last displayed publicly, noted rug dealer Peter Pap opened a Tupperware container in a storage building in Maine. He unfolded a woven treasure in dusty, but pristine condition, and with a quick google search, he learned it was a long-lost Frida Hansen tapestry.

The veil of mystery, as well as the dust of decades, has been removed from Southward. The Frida Hansen masterpiece was restored to the world in time to add to the Scandinavian Designexhibit during its recent run at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and at the Milwaukee Museum of Art, showing March 24-July 23, 2023.

Join Robbie LaFleur for this timely webinar to celebrate the life and work of Frida Hansen and, especially, to hear about the Southward tapestry mystery as it unfolded.

Lecture on Swedish Folk Art in Duluth

“Tulips and Roses,” with Ulla-Karin Warberg. April 18, 2023, 6 pm at the University of Minnesota Duluth Solon Campus Center, Room 120 — AND — April 19, 2023, 1:30 pm at the Nordic Center, Duluth. (pdf poster here)

“Tulips and Roses,” by Ulla-Karin Warberg, is an exposé about Swedish Folk Art and its pattern traditions. She will use the folk art patterns as a starting point to show how they were adapted and used in different parts of Sweden. Learn how vernacular art was influenced by economics and geography. Observe older paintings and watercolors from the permanent collection of Stockholm’s Nordiska Museet. See works that show farmsteads, painted furniture, textiles, betrothal gifts, paintings and minor handicrafts.

Ulla-Karin Warberg is a curator at the Nordiska Museet in Stockholm and a lecturer at Uppsala University in Sweden. She has curated numerous exhibitions and has a distinguished publication record. She has also presented gallery lectures to UMD students as part of the Nordic Art and Design Study Abroad program.

Help support wonderful articles on Scandinavian textiles with a donation to the Norwegian Textile Letter. Thank you! Tusen takk! 

 

Mendable: An Exhibit and Environmental Investigation

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Norske Kunsthåndverkere (The Norwegian Association for Arts and Crafts, referred to as NK) is a membership organization working to promote and support Norwegian contemporary craft artists nationally and internationally.

NK has a current membership of more than 1000 professional artists and makers in a range of media from all of Norway. The group arranges an annual exhibit, the Arsutstillingen;  sponsors thematic exhibits around Norway; publishes a magazine, Kunsthåndverk; administers art grants; and works to influence art policies.

NK runs two galleries – Format  in Oslo and KRAFT  in Bergen. Another arm is Norwegian Crafts, a non-profit organization funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Culture and Equality and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) that aims to strengthen the international position of contemporary crafts from Norway.

NK arranges thematic exhibits in various areas of Norway, and the themes are chosen by one of the seven regions that are part of the association. In 2020 the Norske Kunsthåndverkere regional group in Viken worked with NK on the juried exhibit “MENDABLE—Climate and Environment in Today’s Art Practice.” The jury and project group included Margrethe Loe Elde, Barbro Hernes, Svein Ove Kirkhorn and the project leader Ann Kristin Aas. 16 artists were chosen for the exhibit at the House of Foundation in Moss, August 29-October 11, 2020.

[Editors note: NK includes artists working in a variety of media. For the Norwegian Textile Letter, we focus on the artists working in fiber-related materials. You can see the full list of artists here. You can watch a Facebook video of many of the artists here. The following general description and the entries about the fiber artists are taken from the NK website.]

The Mendable Exhibit, 2020

We posed the question of how artists take a position on climate and environmental questions in today’s material-based art. We wanted to know about how the choice of materials, technique, content and expression in art were affected by thoughts of, or consideration of the environment. In the exhibition MENDABLE, we wanted to investigate how environmental activism is present in fine craft, and how the artists reflect on creating works of art in a world that is already full of things.

The title MENDABLE indicates something that can be repaired, both in a physical sense, but also as repair of a relationship or improvement of a situation. The artists in the exhibit seek relevant ways to express their unease with the climate situation through their work. They seek to help us find deeper understanding and insight through varying forms of expression and artistic methods. In this lies a hope that something can be done about the situation, that it is possible to repair something destroyed, and that it is possible to change and improve our way of living in the world. 

The artists pose questions around overproduction, overconsumption, and the exploitation of natural resources. What are the consequences for nature, and for us? Several of the artists use a working process that is close to nature to explore these questions. Many gather the raw materials themselves, like clay, wood, resin, and plants, directly from nature. Recycling and manual work are strong aspects of the artists’ works. Reworking found materials, building step by step, sewing stitch by stitch, repairing, unraveling, whittling, and weaving create room for reflection and new realizations—a method to find a deeper understanding of nature and the world around us. 

Eline Medbøe   |  I FIND SHELTER IN OUR REMAINS

It is strange that something that is so woven into our daily lives and our personalities is something that, at the same time, we respect so little. We throw away enormous amounts of completely usable clothing every year. Clothes are consumer products where the prices are out of line with the human and environmental resources used to produce them. By using recycled materials like cast-off clothing in my work I try to comment on us and the times in which we live. I sew my works with repetitive hand stitches  and I am concerned with the actions I take while I transform the textiles. There is something ruthless and brutal in sewing into a skirt, a pretty piece of clothing that someone has worn next to their skin. I hope the viewers of my work will become more conscious of their own relationship to clothing, and the value of the materials we toss away so easily. 

Eline Medbøe, ” I Find Shelter in our Remains.” Source: NK website: https://norskekunsthandverkere.no/users/eline-medboe. See the site for additional photos.

www.elinem.no
Instagram: @elinemed
Video: “Interview with Elina Medbøe”

Kristina D. Aas  |   UNWEAVING

With my “Unweaving” project, I reflect on the production of art at a time we are swimming in products. We don’t understand how things are made, what they are made of, who makes them, nor where the makers are. When these layers of knowledge are erased, one begins to ask questions about the meaning of making art or crafts. I am trying to answer the question for myself, and in dialog with the public by the dismantling of work I have used several months to create. 

Photo: Karina Nøkleby Presttun

Source: Kristina Austi website: https://austikristina.com/upcoming-exhibitions/2020/8/29/mendable

https://austikristina.com [Editor’s note: The artist’s name is now Kristina Austi.]
Instagram: @austikristina

Karina Presttun Nøkleby   |   RUBIN

I began to investigate wood shavings as a possible method to stiffen textiles because a friend who creates frames of recycled materials had a sack of shavings. Great, I thought. Free, locally produced and environmentally friendly. Unsurprisingly, it didn’t work out as I intended, but worked out as something completely different. I think this happens continuously; in attempting to do something “a little more climate-friendly,” possibilities pop up, disguised as restrictions.

Rubin

“Rubin,” by Karina Presttun Nøkleby. Photo: Eivind Senneset. More photos are on the artist’s website: http://www.karinapresttun.no/portfolio_page/rubin-2019/

http://www.karinapresttun.no/contact/

Kristin Sæterdal   |   SPACE DEBRIS

“Space junk is waste and discarded or lost objects from human activity in space. Most are in orbit around the Earth in or close to the original orbit they were put in.” Wikipedia. The European Space Agency ESA monitors 20,000 objects that, among other things, monitor global warming and other environmental issues. The agency sends out alerts to satellites so they can be maneuvered manually to avoid collisions. In the event of a collision, even a small nut can cause major damage.

“Space Debris” by Kristin Sæterdal. Source: Mendable exhibition catalog.

kristinsæterdal.com
Instagram: @tinsapus
Video on the weaving of Space Debris

These are only a few of the talented artists working in textiles that are part of Norske Kunsthåndverkere. From this page listing all the artists, you can choose among materials used, including tekstil. There are other catalogs to download from thematic exhibits and the annual exhibition, Årsutstillingen, on the NK website page, “Fagstoff.” Many are in English.

March 2023

Twist of Fate: Carol James’ Journey in Sprang

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By Carol James

Carol James grew up in an environment where she learned a number of textile techniques. Her mother was of Bavarian-Austrian extraction, and taught her to embroider and crochet at an early age. By the time she was in high school she was knitting socks and gloves, and had taught herself tatting and traditional Norwegian Hardanger embroidery. In her 20s she met someone from Quebec who told her about fingerweaving.

Fingerwoven sash by Carol James, inspired by sashes made by the ladies of Assomption, Quebec, for the fur trade. Photo: Carol James

While living in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in the 1990s, Carol came to be known for that fingerweaving technique. It is the method to make sashes used by several distinct groups of that area. Volunteering at diverse historic sites in and around Winnipeg, she was given the name SashWeaver.

At one event she encountered individuals who specialized in military re-enactment from the late 1700s and early 1800s. Seeing that she was called the Sashweaver, one of the military re-enactors commented that they were in need of a special kind of sash for their uniforms. Could Carol make sprang sashes for them? Carol responded with the question, “What’s sprang?” This was the beginning of a great deal of exploration into an almost forgotten textile method.

Note the sprang-woven belt on the soldier to the right. Photo: Carol James

Carol quickly found that sprang is a very adaptable textile technique. Peter Collingwood describes it as “a method of making fabric by manipulating the parallel threads of a warp that is fixed at both ends” (Collingwood pg 31). Sprang works well with a variety of textile structures, including interlinking, interlacing, and intertwining, and it was used in the past to create a wide variety of garments including bonnets, shirts, leggings, and sashes.

The portrayal of Jacob Fugger by Albrecht Drürer led Carol to think that Mr Fugger wore a sprang bonnet, so she used sprang for a similar bonnet. See Carol’s blog post, “Jacob Fugger’s Bonnet.”

To better understand how sprang works, you might want to watch Carol’s video. See samples of items made with sprang, and make a sample yourself.

Evidence of sprang dates to pre-historic times. Bonnets in this type of structure have been found in association with human remains in peat bogs in Scandinavia dating to 1300 BC. The technique was known in ancient Greece, Rome, as well as ancient Egypt. Paintings from the Renaissance would indicate that sprang was known across Europe. Indeed in modern times the Norwegian Government has added sprang to its Rødlista (red list) of endangered craft techniques, attesting to its cultural significance.

A half-mitten in sprang owned by the Norske Folkemuseum. https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023151981/vott-halvvante.

The disappearance of the sprang technique from common usage in Western Europe roughly coincides with the Industrial Revolution. Cloth production shifted from individual artisans weaving with their shuttles, one row at a time, to unskilled workers producing large quantities of cloth in factories. Much knowledge was lost when the skilled weavers could no longer make a living at their looms. Sprang seems to have been one of the techniques that no longer seemed necessary to remember.

Carol was introduced to two books in the public library:

Skowronski, Hella & Reddy, Mary. (1974) Sprang Thread Twisting, a Creative Textile Technique. New York, NY: Van Nostrand Reinhold Co.

Collingwood, Peter. (1974) The Techniques of Sprang: Plaiting on Stretched Threads. London, UK: Watson-Guptill Publications (Faber and Faber).

It was a steep learning curve, but Carol eventually figured out a way to make sprang sashes for the military re-enactors. She found that the technique could be adapted to far more than sashes. She was inspired by an image in a book by Dutch textile artist Fenny Nijman, Sprang – Egyptisch vlechten. Vlechten met gespannen draden (Sprang – Egyptian Braiding: Braiding with Tensioned Threads), Wageningen, 1977.

Carol James’ re-enactor friend, an artillery enthusiast, wanted a silk officer’s sash with a cannon design. So she drew up a cannon and mapped it out on graph paper. Read more in this blog post: “Sprang Military Sash.” Photo: Carol James

By this time Carol was rather well known for her skill with fingerweaving. A local museum had asked her to teach fingerweaving classes. Carol began by writing handouts for her students. Her students encouraged her to publish the handouts as a how-to book. That was the genesis of the book Fingerweaving Untangled: An Illustrated Beginner’s Guide Including Detailed Patterns and Common Mistakes, 2008.

Encouraged by the success of Fingerweaving Untangled, Carol set out to apply the same instruction method to the sprang technique, and authored the book Sprang Unsprung: An Illustrated Beginner’s Guide Including Detailed Patterns and Common Mistakes, now in its second edition.

 

In the early 2000s, Carol found herself traveling to spread the word about these braiding techniques, fingerweaving and sprang. Aways seeking new places to host her classes, Carol’s friend and Ohio lace instructor Tracy Jackson recommended Carol pitch her Introductory Sprang class to Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum in Decorah, Iowa. Curator Laurann Gilbertson was very supportive of the idea.  This is how Carol came to teach sprang at Vesterheim in the spring of 2018. Beyond learning the technique, and teaching within the walls of Vesterheim, it was agreed between Carol and Ms Gilbertson that the students would benefit from viewing the collection. The various sprang lace pieces were displayed on a table, and the students were allowed a close-up examination. Back in the classroom Carol decided this could be an excellent teachable moment, and used the pieces to show students a way to derive written lace patterns from the original pieces.

Carol has travelled across the US and Europe and has viewed a rather large number of sprang items. With permission from curators, she has photographed many of them for her study. She has replicated the motifs from many of these pieces, and always intended to publish her sprang patterns. The silver lining of COVID for Carol was that it allowed her to focus on writing sprang patterns to the point that she has managed to publish several volumes of sprang lace patterns.

Among the titles of Carol’s sprang lace pattern books you will find Sprang Patterns and Charts Inspired by Samples in the Collection of Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum. Laurann Gilbertson wrote an introduction for the book and contributed information on the provenance of the individual pieces. Each sprang lace pattern was tested by Carol’s sprang apprentice and fiber artist Sharon Wichman. Many were the discussions between Carol and Sharon concerning the complexity and variations among the various patterns. This led them to the decision to include comments from the sample maker, with her insights gained while working through these patterns. This volume celebrates the sprang lace collection of Vesterheim and hopes to render the pieces more accessible to the public. 

This book can be ordered from the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum bookstore, here.

Carol has created a variety of garments, hats, scarves, fingerless mittens, vests and more using the sprang technique.

Carol visited the Kelsey Museum collection in the spring of 2016 and afterwards made a hat based on a tattered one from the collection.

Carol’s dream is that sprang will become better known. Her challenge to you, dear reader, is that you will take up sprang. Perhaps one day, in addition to spinning, weaving, Hardanger, and embroidery, there will be a significant display of sprang at the biennial National Norwegian Folk Art Exhibition in Decorah, Iowa.

Carol James, February 2023
www.spranglady.com
Instagram: @spranglady

Resources:

James, Carol. (2016). Sprang Unsprung, Second edition. Winnipeg, Canada: Author.  Available in English or French through Spranglady.com. Ebook available through TaprootVideo.com

James, Carol. (2016). Sprang Lace Patterns. Canada: Author.  Available through Spranglady.com. Ebook available through TaprootVideo.com

James, Carol. (2017) Introduction to Sprang [DVD]. Seattle, WA: Taproot Video. Available as DVD or streaming through TaprootVideo.com

James, Carol. (2020). “Sprang: Planning the work and working the plan.” Strands Vol. 27, pp 8–14. London, UK: The Braid Society. Article explaining Carol’s method to chart sprang lace patterns.

James, Carol. (2021). Sprang Lace Patterns Inspired by Dutch Sashes: 77 Patterns Charted and Written by Carol James. Winnipeg, MAN. Spranglady.com, Ebook available through TaprootVideo.com.

2022 Ribbon Winners from the Annual Exhibition of Weaving in the Norwegian Tradition

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From the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum press release, Summer 2022:

Six weavers were awarded ribbons in the annual “National Norwegian-American Folk Art Exhibition” at Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum and Folk Art School. The exhibit was on display from July 2 -July 30, 2022.

Photo: Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum

The exhibition also included knifemaking, metalworking, rosemaling, and woodworking categories. Vesterheim, which has some of the most outstanding examples of decorative and folk art in the nation, established the rosemaling exhibition in 1967 and added weaving, woodworking, knifemaking, and metalworking in later years. 

Each year judges award blue, red, and white ribbons representing points that accumulate over successive exhibitions toward a Vesterheim Gold Medal. Judges also present Honorable Mention and Best of Show Awards and the public votes for People’s Choice Awards. 

Judges this year for weaving were Mary Skoy, master weaver from Edina, Minnesota; Robbie LaFleur, Gold Medal weaver from Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Rachelle Branum, art educator from Decorah, Iowa.

Kathleen Almelien, Washington, IA.  “Granddaughter’s Confirmation” Blue Ribbon

Kathleen Almelien is an artist/teacher from Washington, Iowa.  She began investigating the process/product of band weaving in 2016.   Kathleen has become interested in reading the Norwegian emoji’s that are woven into this historic rope.

“Granddaughter’s Confirmation”

The 120“ long band is ⅝” wide and was produced on a rigid heddle.  My rigid heddle is held in a West Telemark vertical loom. The tape is made in 5 colors of Vavstuga 20/2 wool and 2 colors of perle cotton.

I was inspired to make my granddaughter’s conformation belt to protect her from harm. The protection is historically strengthened by the giving of one generation to the next.

I produced this pattern from a historic collection of motifs published by Magnahid Peggy Jones Gilje in her book Woven Treasures, published in 2020. 

The word waist translates from Norwegian as ”life.“  Historically wrapping the apron band around the waist not once but twice gives a doubling of protection. The first “barrier” at the end of the band is a woven checkerboard, used for protection from nightmares. Then St. Anders cross/ humility. Finally, the heart/ the center of life’s functions represents the soul of the being and means everything positive – such as love, warmth and good feelings.  The heart emotes falling in love/being in love. I wish all of this for her future.

Kathleen Almelien, Washington, IA. “Oseberg Endless Sign Band” Red Ribbon

“Oseberg Endless Sign Band”

The 120“ long band is ⅝” wide. The band is made in six colors of Vavstuga 20/2 wool and two colors of cotton. The rope has three areas of design. The  four reds and white mid-band is woven with a warp of no 10 cotton and 13 “pick up“ yarns. The band’s length, 120″, is divisible by both three and four, which are Norwegian power numbers that protect from evil. It also uses the number three in the pick-up pattern.

The inspiration for this intertwined protective pattern came from the treasure trove of the Oseberg burial ship (carbon dated to 850 AD).  The double wall of zig zag is to catch and hold evil.  This emoji is reminiscent of sharp teeth or saw blades.

The band’s colors are equally important: 

Green: spring /renewal /promise,
Gold: the sun for warmth /growth/ hope/wealth
Red: the color of life and blood.

The rope has three areas of design.  The strengthening edges consist of three cotton warp and 3 colors of yarn to weave  the ”goats hoof” pattern distinct to the region of  Telemark.  

 

Carol Culbertson, Evansville, WI. “Diamonds Galore” Honorable Mention

“Diamonds Galore”

After weaving for 25 years, I taught myself Norwegian traditional weaving techniques 7 years ago. Since then, I have taken 3 weaving classes at Vesterheim’s Folk Arts School, learning how to expand and improve my weaving skills.

My inspiration for this piece comes from weavings I saw while taking a weaving class in 2018 and the celebration of our 60th wedding anniversary. It was most enjoyable putting together the colors and different elements.

Carol Culbertson, Evansville, WI. “Chris’s View” Red Ribbon

“Chris’s View”

Warp: Patons “Grace” 4 ply 100% cotton spun to an overtwist

My great-grandfather’s memories of his home in Vik i Sogn, Norway, inspired this weaving. When asked what he remembered most about Norway, he replied, “the mountains and fjords.” As I stood by his home in Vik and looked towards the harbor, this is what I saw – his view every day from his home. The two 16 1/2″ X 23″ panels are displayed in side by side “windows.”

Laura Demuth, Decorah, IA. “Two Long Winters” People’s Choice Award

I live on a small acreage just eight miles from Decorah, and have been weaving since the late 1970’s. I weave using mostly Norwegian techniques which I have learned in Vesterheim classes with inspiration from the textile collection.

This wall hanging was woven using 12/6 cotton seine for the warp and Rauma Prydvevgarn for the weft.

In 2017, my husband gifted me with a 60 inch wide Glimakra tapestry loom. I wanted to weave at least one piece on the loom that made use of its entire width. Woven using the Rutevev technique, the finished piece measures approximately 56″x71″.

Helen Scherer, Shawnee, KS. “Skis and Rails” White Ribbon

“Skis and Rails”

As a weaving hobbyist, I enjoy a variety of handlooms and traditional Norwegian weaving techniques for clothing fabrics and home textiles. My mother taught me the basics, but I continue to learn from many different resources.

This 25″x41″ skillbragd wall hanging was woven with thin 30/2 and 24/2 unbleached cotton for the background and mostly dark red, blue and green 6/2 Spælsau wool for the pattern weft.

“Skillbragd” means “shed weave” and is characterized by pattern weft floats over a plain weave background. Vertical background stripes are commonly seen with this technique, but the pattern is difficult to achieve without a rather unusual loom setup. On a countermarch loom, I used a group of four shafts for the ground separated by a few inches from a group of four shafts for the pattern. Each warp end was threaded through one ground heddle and above the eyes of from zero to four pattern heddles.

“Skis and Rails” is a traditional woven wall hanging in memory of my father, who enjoyed skiing and worked as a railroad roadmaster. The design was inspired by combining elements from a variety of old coverlet patterns in the “skillbragd” technique.

Sandra Somdahl, Decorah, IA. “Stars and Rosettes” Red Ribbon

“Stars and Rosettes”

I’ve been weaving for over 20 years but fell in love with the Norwegian techniques, yarn and colors. Living close to Vesterheim has given me easy access to classes and old Scandinavian woven pieces to use for inspiration.

The weft is linen and the warp is Norwegian Rauma Prydvevgarn.

Inspiration comes from a late 18th century piece from Sweden, possibly a south western province.

Wendy Stevens, Decorah, IA. “Firestorm Sunrise” Blue Ribbon

“Firestorm Sunrise”

I have been weaving since 1976 when I took an adult education class in beginning weaving on a rigid heddle frame loom and must admit that I was amazed to realize that I was making cloth.   I have also taken classes at Vesterheim in tapestry technique from Lila Nelson and in danskbrogd from Jan Mostrom and discovered that I enjoy the detail that both techniques require.  I am a member of the Oneota Weavers Guild and enjoy the sharing and encouragement within that group.

I wove Firestorm Sunrise in the winter of 2020 when devastating wildfires were sweeping across Australia. I chose single interlocking tapestry to show the sun rising over the Pacific Ocean.  Danskbrogd technique allowed depiction of the sun’s rays both reflecting from the ocean surface and radiating out into the smoke-filled sky showing the beautiful yet terrifying atmospheric changes that accompany wildfire.  High overhead flocks of birds, the only living animals that were able to escape, are making their way to new lands.

Following in Lila Nelson’s footsteps, I would like this weaving to reflect the beauty of nature as well as make a political statement.   I hope that the viewer will come away from this weaving with a renewed sense of urgency to address climate change by government, business and  individuals.

Firestorm Sunrise was woven in honor of and respect for my son, Thomas T. Stevens, who has been a wild land firefighter for over 20 years.

Lisa Torvik, St. Paul, MN. “Hordaland 3rd Generation.” Blue Ribbon and Best of Show

“Hordaland 3rd Generation”

My first weaving project was on a loom at home.  As a teenager, I took backstrap weaving from Lila Nelson.  I went to Valdres with the first Samband exchange group in 1970, as a museum guide in 1972 and a weaving student in husflidsskule all of 1974.

This is a transparent inlay weaving based on the traditional borders of a Hordaland coverlet.  The materials are primarily 16/2 Swedish linen, unbleached and colored, and some perle cotton.

When I was at Valdres Husflidsskule, our weaving teacher showed us a Hordaland coverlet she had woven when she was a student.  A classmate and I studied and drew its borders, shot for shot, on graph paper.  I used that as the pattern to reproduce the piece in half-width.  Last year, there was a couple meters of warp left on my loom from my Baldishol show piece so I was inspired to weave it down using my Hordaland tapestry as the model.  Starting at the bottom, I wove inlaid borders with the same shot-for-shot pattern until I ran out of warp.  This is why I call it “third generation.” (See: Three “Generations” of an Old Hordaland Weaving Design)

Vesterheim, the National Norwegian-American Museum and Folk Art School, welcomes people of all ages and backgrounds to engage in the conversation of the American immigrant journey through the lens of the Norwegian-American experience. Vesterheim offers innovative and interactive exhibits, classes, and programs, both at the dynamic campus and park in scenic Decorah, Iowa, and online at vesterheim.org and Vesterheim social media.
Help support wonderful articles on Scandinavian textiles with a donation to the Norwegian Textile Letter. Thank you! Tusen takk! 

Nordic Notes

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Viking Era Clothing and Jewelry with Steph Anderson

Historian and artist Steph Anderson presented an hour-long exploration of Viking era clothing and jewelry in a webinar from Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum, Viking Era Clothing and Jewelry. From tunics and cloaks to arm rings, necklaces, and brooches, Vikings dressed according to sex, age, and economic status. Steph is deeply knowledgeable and clearly passionate about her topic; she spoke for an hour, but clearly could have talked much longer (and I would have listened).

Webinar screen shot

Hannele Köngas, a Finnish Weaver

Hannele Köngas features naturally dyed, hand-woven Finnish wool on her beautiful site, Waveweaver’s Wool. Don’t miss the page featuring her throws to see amazing arrays of color.  I loved watching a video of her dyeing process. Even though it is only in Finnish, you can follow her dyeing with woad; it felt like a cliffhanger – what colors will emerge?

From the Waveweaver’s Wool website: https://www.waveweaverswool.fi/exhibitions/

Interviews and Articles from The Vessel Magazine

From Norwegian Crafts: “This year we celebrate Norwegian Crafts’ 10th anniversary! In 2012 the organisation was founded by the Norwegian Association for Arts and Crafts (NK). Two years prior to this, NK had started Norwegian Crafts Magazine, an online magazine with the main purpose to promote the activities of Norwegian craft artists internationally…On the occasion of Norwegian Crafts’ 10th anniversary, we have published a special issue of The Vessel titled Norwegian Craft Magazine Revisited. The issue presents a selection of 45 interviews and articles on craft written by 32 contributors, all of which have been previously published on Norwegian Crafts’ website or as part of Norwegian Crafts Magazine.”

Be sure to check out the Textile Art collection of articles in the special issue. There is also a Discover page to find articles that have been published over the years: It includes a tag specifically for weaving. The feature photo below is from “Hannah Ryggen’s Popularity.”

Virtual Lecture on Norwegian Woven Bands

Join folk artist Kathleen Almelien as she explains the use of symbols in bandweaving, the “emojis” of their time. The online lecture, “Symbols in Bandweaving: The Emojis of Traditional Handcraft with Kathleen Almelien,” is available on the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum YouTube channel. Almelien highlights her own bands as well as those in Vesterheim’s collection and draws parallels with the symbols used in other traditional Norwegian handcrafts. Woven bands played an important role in traditional Norwegian clothing. Used to close or support clothing (the way we use zippers, buttons, and snaps), they also added beauty and interest to clothing. Additionally, the symbols woven into the band communicated that the person came from a particular area of Norway and imbued the band with meaning to the wearer.

Exhibits

Evocative embroidery fills the galleries at the Galleri Dropsfabrikken in Trondheim from October 29-November 22, 2022, in Kari Steihaug – Potetbøtta og parfymen [Kari Steihaug: Potato Buckets and Perfume]. From the introduction:

In Kari Steihaug’s art, the overlooked plays a major role. That which has been set aside, the unfinished and the worn, is lovingly brought to light.

The materials she has worked with include worn clothing, faded curtains, discarded blankets, unfinished knitting projects, and bits of glass from the beach. She takes them, or brings them forth, and puts them together in new combinations. By embracing the imperfect the work becomes a counterweight to our time’s galloping consumer culture. (translated by Robbie LaFleur)

Photo taken from the Dropsgallieret website.

Articles about Weaving

In case you need a reminder about the wonderful textile collection at Vesterheim Norwegian American Museum, here is a short article that appeared in Handwoven magazine several years ago, in 2015. I though it was worth revisiting, partly because of a photo of a tavlebragd weaving (monks belt) with black as the background color. It was woven in the mid-1800s, but looks as modern as today. Read “A Link to the Past,” by Anita Osterhaug.

 

Have you seen Landskap, this monumental tapestry in the Parliament building in Oslo? Norwegian weaving instructor Ingebjørg Monsen once commented that it is on television more than any other tapestry in Norway, as it hangs outside the chambers, where TV reporters stand and wait for interviews with legislators. Read about the artist, Syssel Blystad, in “Norway’s Goddess of Modern-Day Textile Arts” by Victoria Hofmo, The Norwegian American, July 29, 2021 (Updated Oct. 18, 2021).

 

Viking Women

Viking women are featured on the cover of Scientific American: “The Power of Viking Women,” Scientific American, October 2022, pp. 28-35. The article is also available online.

Nille Glæsel from Tønsberg, Norway, has been researching Viking clothing for years, and she was recently tapped to work on the costuming for Robert Egger’s Viking-themed movie, The Northman.” Read more about Glæsel and the weaving-related references in the movie in this blog post of mine, “Authentic Viking Clothing in The Northman.”

Does Nicole Kidman understand what she is doing, or just moving the cards? A fuzzy screen shot from “The Northman.”

A Non-Textile Film

This short film featured on the New York Times Op-Docs site is so well done: Svonni v. the Swedish Tax Agency, by Maria Fredriksson, October 18, 2022. Will Svonni be able to convince the Swedish tax authorities that her dog is a legitimate tax deduction, necessary to the care of her reindeer?

Screenshot from Svonni v. the Swedish Tax Agency

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For those who would like to donate, here’s an easy link.