By Lisa Torvik
Editors note: In the exhibit at Norway House this summer, “The Baldishol: A Medieval Tapestry Inspires Contemporary Textiles,” artists reimagined aspects of the famous Norwegian work. Many learned about the tapestry for the first time; others were very familiar with the image. Lisa Torvik grew up with it, literally; her mother recreated the image in needlepoint years ago.
For the exhibit at Norway House I wanted the challenge of creating something large, and thought the rough dimensions of the original Baldishol tapestry were a good start. The overall structure, too, was helpful to copy because unlike the individual motifs, I was inspired by the months. I immediately thought of our birth months, mine and my husband Neil’s, which are February and March. I filled each of our “months” with personal and historical references, and things that have inspired us.
Lisa’s panel: The Norwegian Links
Frida Hansen, “Løvetand,” 1893.
My favorite historical weaver is Frida Hansen and I included a few motifs from her work that other Frida fans will pick up on: the stars from The Milky Way, of course, but also the bunched floral corners and, from my favorite piece of her work, Dandelions. They may not fly in the air, at least not until they go to seed, but as per the inscription she wove in, the dandelion is “the plant that grows the more it’s tread upon.” Dandelions was her personal contribution to the textiles displayed in the Norwegian section of the Women’s Pavilion of the Chicago World Exhibition of 1893. It was created under contract with the Norwegian Feminist Association, led by close personal friends of Frida’s.
The author at her wedding, wearing a beaded belt
Much of the rest of February is from the Valdres district of Norway, where I worked in the local museum and attended weaving school. The barn features a låverosa, or barn rose, which has an interesting origin in the creative carpentry of a Valdres man who worked in Pennsylvania Dutch country for a period in the late 1800s, then returned home to Valdres. Bitihorn is a landmark mountain in Øystre Slidre township as one enters the Jotunheim mountain range from Highway 51. The stakk or jumper of my bunad, or national costume, is the fest plaid from Robøle farm, an ancient farm once encompassing most of the area and the farm on which I lived. I have used the exact same yarn, Røros Nr. 2, and colors that are used in its weft to suggest the plaid, though the weave structure is actually a more complex pointed twill called ringvend. My belt is beaded with a silver buckle, suggested by my miniature applique. I have several pins I wear, more round than rectangular but oh well….and the kjerringkniv on my belt some might wonder at. Not a weapon, but a utensil, worn nearest one’s favored hand. A man’s knife on the other hand….literally…
Woven keyboard and mouse!
I show my shuttle as triumphing, finally, over my keyboard and mouse, though the latter are still a big part of my everyday, for work. After nearly forty years, I long to engage with “technology” that does not require a password! Or updating software! No virus bots or spyware haunt my looms or needles.
The bottom border under February loosely reproduces motifs from the design of the Valdres sweater, the heart-shaped curls offset by cross-hatched diamonds. I have knit it several times.
The blue column represents slate tiles of Øystre Slidre, and the waves beside represent Surnadal.
The central column is part of the original Baldishol design, and I have decorated it with the communal coats of arms of two Norwegian townships: Øystre Slidre, depicting in sky blue its history as a producer of roofing slate (skifer), and Surnadal, with its fishing and maritime past represented by bright green waves. My grandfather was born and grew up there.
Neil’s panel: The Irish Connection
Triskele
On to the Irish. My husband Neil’s family originated many places in Europe, but from what he knows, mostly in Ireland. And it is Irish culture he most admires. So we start with the triskele, an ancient symbol about which not much is known for sure but that does not stop varying interpretations. Also sometimes called the three-legged man, it was carved on rocks as much as 3000 years ago in Ireland. I continue the border with shamrocks, of course.
The sweater is partially knitted.
Neil is resting his vorpal sword. Usually it’s invisible, but it’s always at the ready to slay the unrighteous jabberwock and other monsters. He has never worn a kilt, though we briefly toyed with the idea for our wedding. However, he has great legs and should show them off, in my opinion. His socks are woven with real Aran Isle yarn and I am particularly proud of getting some perspective right, for once, with his feet. His sweater is woven and partly knit out of the same weaving yarn, my good old Røros Nr. 2. I knit the same front pattern from a sweater I have knit for him, a Guernsey pattern from the channel islands.
My husband requested that I show something related to his career as a grade school teacher, something he loved and was good at. So, some books and a little slate lie by his feet. He holds up a palette, representing his return to painting, and the cliffs are taken from one of his paintings that he made from a photograph of Shetland. He loves the ocean, so there had to be some waves crashing on the cliffs. I wanted to squeeze in a pint of Guinness next to his guitar, but was afraid I did not have enough room, having to make everything line up with the top and bottom borders too. So the space is bare, but I embroidered in a wee pint anyway, in the border below it.
Lisa Torvik credits early influences of her mother, grandmothers, aunts and friends in Norway for her knitting, sewing, embroidery and weaving interests. She spent a year in her youth studying weaving at Valdres Husflidsskule in Fagernes, Norway and now focuses on projects in traditional Norwegian techniques and more contemporary applications.
“The Baldishol: A Medieval Tapestry Inspires Contemporary Textiles is available to view by appointment at Norway House through the end of September 2020. See the exhibit virtually or sign up to visit at: https://www.norwayhouse.org/baldishol-virtual-tour. You can also read articles about many of the pieces on the Norwegian Textile Letter exhibit page.