By Lea Lovelace, Director of Folk Art Education, Vesterheim Norwegian American Museum
If you would have interviewed me about online folk art programs eight months ago, I would have told you that I did not like the idea. Vesterheim’s Folk Art School mission is to bring people together in community and to share in the healing power of handcraft, inspired by our amazing collection. I’ve been quoted saying that “Folk Art is about putting our screens down, connecting our hearts with our hands, and sharing in the magic of making together.” However, when Covid-19 hit, we quickly realized that the only way forward was to embrace our screens. After we stopped mourning all we could not offer and do, we found creativity, inspiration, and new audiences through digital platforms. We abandoned the idea that folk art education could only be served in ways that we knew, through in-person instruction. Words like “pivot,” “pilot'” and “zooming,” as well as phrases like “being nimble,” found their way into our everyday vernacular. We were fortunate to receive funding to help us try new things and we were supported by our beloved instructors, who were willing to rethink teaching, learning, and connecting through virtual experiences.
An online class on plantefarging (natural dyeing) sold out quickly.
In just a few months’ time and over sixty online programs later, we have shifted our mindset about what outreach looks like and have discovered just how unexpectedly warm and engaging digital platforms can be. Someday we will welcome people back to campus with Norwegian treats to share and learn with us, but we also see online programs as a new arm of the Folk Art School, not just as a temporary measure during the pandemic. We have created a new position dedicated to Digital Learning and Outreach (Hooray for Josh Torkelson!) and our online classes, Bokprats (book talks), Family Adventures, Folk Art Conversation Webinars, and Collections Connections have reached friends new and old all over the country and all over the world. Comparing online class experiences with in-person class experiences is like comparing apples to oranges. They’re both unique and have a lot to offer. Here is what we like about our new online programs:
Uplifting our Master Artists, Providing Access to the Collection
Since the start of our digital work we’ve offered several programs to connect past folk art class participants to our master folk-art instructors whom they might have missed taking classes from during this time. In one example, our Collection Connections series, Vesterheim Gold Medalists Laura Demuth and Jan Mostrom shared some of their favorite weavings from the collection in an informal presentation over the lunch hour. They highlighted history and techniques used and how these objects have inspired their own work. Programs such as these uplift our folk art instructors and our collection, and also provide greater access to students for whom it might be difficult to visit Vesterheim, even in normal circumstances. These classes and events provide a warm small group sense of community where participants can share things they are working on and connect with other weavers both near and far.
In a Collection Connection talk, Jan Mostrom discussed four of her favorite Vesterheim weavings, including this rutevev.
New Instructors, New Kinds of Classes
Our digital platform provides opportunities to feature new instructors and offer more introductory level classes which provide an entry point for new learners to try their hand at Folk Art. For these classes, we provide kits that are shipped to participant homes with all the items needed to have a successful experience (including a Norwegian chocolate bar – a most essential item!). These online programs have allowed us to engage new instructors and new students living far away from Vesterheim for whom both the travel distance and the nature of a short class might be hard to justify. Being able to offer a greater number of beginner courses online will also allow us to differentiate and provide more speciality in-person classes. In this way, our online programs support our in-person offerings.
New Audiences
The author in her new role as online host.
Recently, I hosted an online “Beginning Rosemaling” class and had fifteen participants, representing 12 different states (including someone from Alaska!). There were men, women, a grad school student, and a new grandmother. This is what online classes look like at Vesterheim. In another event, when Robbie LaFleur was featured in an evening Zoom Webinar conversation on Lila Nelson’s weavings, we had hundreds of people in attendance including folks from Canada, Northern Ireland, and Norway. In one of our smaller and cozier events, Kate Martinson’s recent Collection Connection on knitted mittens, we gathered non-textile producing Vesterheim Gold Medalists, a homeschooling high schooler, and even a graduate student from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Part of our job is to facilitate the intergenerational transmission of these rich folk art traditions and we are excited about the ways in which digital programming facilitates this.
Increased Access
It is so great to see familiar faces as we convene a program, but it is also exciting to see new folks because of the greater accessibility of online programs. Vesterheim Gold Medalist Rosemaler Patti Goke said it first and others have since echoed her statement. “I love the accessibility of online classes. I have wanted to try so many other folk art traditions for so long, but I couldn’t justify investing the time or the cost in trying onsite classes in other disciplines, as I needed to prioritize taking Rosemaling classes. Now with online classes I can try something new and see if I want to return to Vesterheim to take a more intensive class in-person.” We are seeing weavers trying tinsmithing and woodcarving online for the first time. Perhaps there is a pandemic inspired freedom in exploring similar design elements but through a different material. After all that is what art is about– exploring, creative problem solving, and negotiating history and the world around us in new inspiring ways.
Fostering Community, Having Fun
Online programs can be warm and build community? Yes they can! During my time hosting these programs, I’ve witnessed some wonderful things. A college student joined her mother from across the country while attending a jewelry class together to celebrate their Norwegian heritage. We’ve seen folks give each other a thumbs up emoji for sharing their first attempts at band-weaving and laughing over the lessons they learned during the class. We’ve seen a group of 50 raise a glass of wine to one another during a monthly Bokprat (book club featuring books by Scandinavian authors). Even our largest events, the free Folk Art Conversation Webinars foster community as we see people greeting friends on the chat feature and offering comments to one another. I’ve seen dogs and cats and kids climb onto participant laps during a class, which may feel embarrassing but really just makes for a warm, authentic experience. (I’ve certainly had my own share of zoom moments with my furry coworkers ever present by my side). In one of my favorite moments, on Halloween Weekend during a Sami Mitten Class, the students had an impromptu costume contest. Instructor Laura Ricketts switched out her hat each time the camera panned back to her and a participant surprised Vesterheim host, Josh Torkelson, by dressing up as him, resulting in all kinds of spontaneous laughter.
Where does Laura Ricketts get all her hats? Photo: Josh Torkelson
Digital programs have humanized us all and reminded us that we are in this together, negotiating this pandemic, and finding some silver linings along the way. We have learned new things, had fun, met new friends along the way, and we are building a community in these tough times. This is what learning at Vesterheim is all about: sharing stories and experiences, bringing people together from all corners of the country and beyond, making connections to our collection, our history, and our folk artists, and perhaps even finding a passion for folk art for years to come.