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Reconstructing Tapestry Cushions for the Oslo City Hall

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By Robbie LaFleur 

If you visit Oslo, be sure to visit the Rådhus (City Hall). The enormous rooms hold monumental frescoes and tapestries, including Lilletorget (1950), designed by Kåre Jonsborg. When it was woven by Else Halling and assistants, it was the largest tapestry woven in Norway to date, at 12’ x 24.5’. 

In the main hall, a long marble bench flanks one wall, lined with 60(!) tapestry-woven cushions. Thirteen seat cushions with 26 back cushions are woven with a dark background. Seven seat cushions with 14 back cushions have a light background.

Tapestry cushions in the main hall of Oslo City Hall. 

The covers were designed by Else Poulsson (1909-2002) and made by several weavers with Husflid (the Norwegian Handicraft Association) in 1949-1950. Poulsson won other textile design competitions for the new building. A monumental tapestry depicting St. Hallvard, patron saint of Oslo, was hung in the City Council chambers in 1948. In other spaces are tablecloths, upholstery, and curtains by the famed designer.

The bench cushions received seventy years of heavy use; they were worn, stained, and faded. You could see areas with old repairs, and the warp was visible in places. The City administration decided to fund a reconstruction of the cushions, as close as possible to the originals. They contracted with Kristin Sæterdal to outline the scope of the project, including the materials needed and the techniques to be used. 

Sæterdal’s report, “Test Project for Cushion Covers,” was quite thorough. She identified the correct warp, Bockens linen 8/4 (although she mentioned that cotton warp could be chosen too, because it wears out less). She identified the tapestry techniques to be used and gave instructions for fashioning the tapestry into cushions. She drew the cartoons and completed her plan for the preliminary reconstruction in 2020. 

Tapestry techniques to be used: Pointed dovetail (fig. 1), Steps (fig. 2), Outlining (fig. 3)

Based on Sæterdal’s estimates made during the trial, 80 kilos of thick yarn were ordered from the Hoelfeldt-Lund spinnery. The yarn was dyed at Sandnes Garn (Sandnes Yarn). Colors for the 28 kilos of light yarn and 52 kilos of sheep brown yarn were based on samples from the existing cushion covers.

This is a sample for the ORIGINAL project, woven by Else Poulsen. Owned by the Norsk Folkemuseum. https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023236221/hyndetrekk-prove-til

Dorthe Herup was chosen to head the project in February 2022, and she has a team of four weavers to help reconstruct the cushions. Herup wrote about the importance of the wool that will be used. 

“The original textile was woven with spelsau yarn from Spinnerigården and the choice of yarn is important for the appearance and qualities of the textile. Spinnerigården still exists and Per Hoelfeldt Lund, who originally spun the yarn, is still alive. Yarn for this reproduction was spun in 2021 by Per Hoelfeldt Lund. Thus, the yarn is supplied by the same manufacturer as the original. This was also important to us.”

It is wonderful that two well-known contemporary tapestry artists are involved. Kristin Sæterdal conducted the initial research, and Dorthe Herup will lead the project to completion. Kristin Sæterdal’s tapestries are more likely to include spaceships and technology than the geometric historical cushion design, reminiscent of the Viking Age.  Dorthe Herup weaves figures in a unique technique, honoring people and families over generations. 

It is commendable that Oslo city officials understand the importance of reconstructing the original tapestry cushions. They estimate the entire project should take 2-½ years. If you visit Oslo City Hall after that, admire the beautiful tapestries and frescos and then rest on the beautiful cushions. But don’t spill your coffee. 

Marta Kløve Juuhl from Bergen, Norway, is one of the four project weavers. Her first cushion cover is shown in process. 

Read more: 

Longbers, Ingeborg. “Modern Norwegian Tapestries.” Handweaver & Craftsman, Winter 1953-54, p. 12-13. More information about the tapestries in Oslo City Hall. 

Sundbø, Annemor. “Norwegian Tapestry in the Post-War Years.” Norwegian Textile Letter, August, 2021. 

Sæterdal, Kristin, “Test project for Cushion Covers.” In Norwegian, but with interesting illustrations. On the Project Documentation page, click on the link for “Vedlegg 1_Forprosjekt rådhusbenk, av Kristin Sæterdal.pdf” and the document will automatically download. 

To view the extent of beautiful architecture and ornamentation in Oslo City Hall, see this page from the city’s art collection website: Oslo rådhus.

August 2022
Help support wonderful articles on Scandinavian textiles with a donation to the Norwegian Textile Letter. Thank you! Tusen takk! 

 

 

 

Wynne Mattila: The Raanu Tradition Continues in Minnesota

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By Robbie LaFleur 

A blog post from the publishers of Selvedge Magazine caught my eye earlier this year, “The Forgotten Finnish Raanu,” by Minna Stubina (January 2, 2022). The post incudes many vibrant photos; be sure to read it. 

Stubina wrote, “The raanu craze faded toward the end of 1980s and by 1990 nobody was making raanus anymore.” But wait! This line isn’t true in Minnesota. One of the most popular classes taught at the Weavers Guild of Minnesota is Wynne Mattila’s raanu rug class. It has been offered five times in the past decade, and each session fills quickly.

Not even the pandemic stopped her classes. She taught three students from Michigan via zoom in 2020. “I’ve found that students who have a Finnish background really connect to this particular structure,” Wynne said. She is currently tutoring a student in Wisconsin on raanu rug weaving over Facetime.  He is weaving his second raanu, inspired by the brightly colored flowers in pots on his deck.

Wynne learned about raanu weaving in 1994, at a workshop taught by Finnish-born Pirkko Karvonen, who lived and wove in Canada. Pirkko introduced her students to many types of raanu; one was woven with fine threads that resembled a coverlet, while some resembled the familiar striped raanus like those featured in the Selvedge article. Inspired by her Finnish teacher, Wynne began raanu exploration. She explained, “And because I am a rug weaver, I took one of these [class] samples and beefed it up, making it thicker and better suited for the floor.”

During a trip to Finland, Wynne learned that Lapland raanu, from Finland’s northernmost region, are used to cover goahti (tent-like structures) or for warmth as blankets in the Arctic climate. The braided warp fringes of the Lapland raanu are used to tie the raanu together on the goahti. The colors in the raanu are often arranged to tell a story about nature. These raanu are woven in weft-faced plain weave on an upright loom.

Wynne Mattilla. “Aurora.”

Wynne weaves raanu rugs on a floor loom. “I love that two colors of yarn, two shafts, and two treadles can create a design that is visually simple or extremely complex. I love to design as I weave—even with two colors, the possibilities are endless.”

Wynne Mattilla. “Black and White Raanu.”

Raanus became an important part of Wynne’s weaving and teaching life. She first taught raanu as one of four weave structure options in a weft-faced wool rug class at the Weavers Guild of Minnesota from 1998-2004, before developing her raanu-only class for the Weavers Guild of Minnesota. Student Lisa-Ann Bauch  commented, “I’ve taken Wynne’s raanu class several times. I love how she emphasizes both the technical aspects of weaving a good raanu and also the idea of finding personal color inspiration in the natural world.” 

Lisa Ann Bauch, “Early Spring.” I took a walk in the woods near my house after the snow was gone, but before the trees had leafed out. I was struck by the bright green moss and purple raspberry canes emerging from under the brown and orange of the dead leaves.”

Wynne recently finished a commissioned raanu, Kuusisto,. The title is taken from a family name that translates to “spruce grove.”

I was commissioned to weave what will become the family heirloom for a man who was born in Finland but left at an early age.  At one point, he came by with his daughter, who will inherit it someday, so they could see it on my loom.  It was a joyous piece to weave and I’m honored that one of my pieces is the beginning of their inheritance.

Wynne Mattilla. “Kuusisto,” 2022.

How Kuusisto was woven

Wynne’s plan for this nature-based raanu was to weave a Finnish landscape, as if the viewer was looking through evergreen and birch trees during all seasons of the year.  It is a piece best viewed up close.  The numerous color changes create glimpses of the colorful beauty found in nature. Thirty colors were used to capture the shade of natural elements in the raanu. 

  • the northern lights – greens, reds, purples, turquoise, citron yellow, light and dark moss green
  • evergreen trees – darker green, black-hued green
  • amanita muscaria mushroom – reds and whites
  • winter landscapes – dark blue water, light blue ice, periwinkle gray shadows on snow
  • birch tree trunks, reindeer moss –  yellow white, gray white
  • lakes and sky – shades of blue
  • sunrises – reds, gold, pinks, citron yellow, lavender
  • flowers – purples and pinks of pasque flowers; blues, purples and pinks of lupine; honey gold for the flower of Lapland

Wynne explained: 

Weaving a raanu with many colors of yarn can appear “too busy” to me.  (When I wove “Aurora”, I placed cool colors on the “wide” column and warm colors on the “narrow” column.)  I decided for “Kuusisto”, the yarn on the “wide” column would always be a darker value than the adjacent color(s) on the “narrow” column.  

Wynne Mattilla. “Kuusisto,” 2022. (detail) 28.75” wide by 90” long. 8/5 Irish linen warp at 10 ends per inch. Weft: Halcyon Geo wool rug yarn. 7 strand flat braids for end finishing,

Wynne plans carefully, but leaves room for her passion to design at the loom. 

To manage the 30 shuttles of yarn while weaving, I placed the darker colors in one bin, and the lighter colors in another bin.  I designed as I wove at the loom, recording dark and light sections and high contrast colors on my project record to track the rhythm of my raanu as it progressed.  I let my eye choose which color to use next.

Wynne Mattila’s yarn cards for weaving “Kuusisto.” The left card shows colors on the wide column and the right two cards show colors on the narrow column.  Occasionally a yarn moved from the narrow column to the wide column, but it was always a darker value than the adjacent narrow column color.

The raanu craze continues

 

There is an unbroken link of Finnish raanu tradition continuing in Minnesota, thanks to the dedication of Pirkko Karvonen and Wynne Mattila as teachers and weavers.

August 2022
Help support wonderful articles on Scandinavian textiles with a donation to the Norwegian Textile Letter. Thank you! Tusen takk!