This is my city! And West Park is our favorite park here. For 14 years we’ve raised our kids here, given our lives to the city’s social work, justice causes, and spiritual awareness. So it is appropriate and thrilling to have a place in this city’s art scene as well. I may be the only Scandinavian represented at the event, but this is my city! I would love it if you came to see why I keep painting this rhythmic Norwegian folk art in my urban context.
I hear there will be music and food all day, and 100+ artists set up! Yes, it’s street parking… you’ll be ok.
Kirsten Lauritzdatter was part of the farm community around Kjørlaug, Norway, and one of the women in my family tree. Speaking her name here honors her story and recognizes her place in mine. The Kjørlaug family was revered in my grandmother’s stories. Every name was sought after, considered, and carefully added to a growing line of people reaching back to the 1600’s. Attaching these names to a piece of my Rosemaling is my way of saying, “I see you, Kirsten.”
Kirsten Lauritzdatter is showing at the Vesterheim Museum in Decorah, Iowa until Jan 11th as a part of their Past/Present/Future of Folk Art juried exhibit along with “Norwegian Cupboard 2.” I chose to submit to this show, first of all because my grandmother was trained at their folk art school in Rosemaling, and second of all because many of my pieces are done in watercolor which is not the traditional medium for Rosemaling. The paint strokes flow so beautifully in watercolor that I think every rosemaler should try it! I’ll start a new trend. This exhibit allowed for unconventional methods while holding to the tradition of Norwegian Folk Art. It is an honor to be included. Thank you to the judges! If you are near the Vesterheim Museum anytime this year, stop in to see the curated results of the exhibit.
“Kirsten Lauritzdatter” and “Norwegian Cupboard 2” will be for sale through the Vesterheim Museum until January 11th.
If the title does not say [SOLD] then this piece is still available. I am willing to do prints of [SOLD] artwork only. Contact me if interested in Kirsten Lauritzdatter.
My “Kjorlaug Farm” pictures are odes to the old way of working the land. Since at least as far back at 1780 The Kjorlaug Farm was home to generations of cultivators in my family tree, bringing life up from the dirt. I’m imagining the land in Rosemaling style.
If the title does not say [SOLD] then this piece is still available. I am willing to do prints of [SOLD] artwork only. Contact me if interested in Kjørlaug Farm 1
My “City Lines” pictures are musings on the way people view the world through wires. I have found an opposing sense of division and connection in my observations. But the beauty is there for those who see, especially in cities.
If the title does not say [SOLD] then this piece is still available. I am willing to do prints of [SOLD] artwork only. Contact me if interested in City Lines 3.
If the title does not say [SOLD] then this piece is still available. I am willing to do prints of [SOLD] artwork only. Contact me if interested in Myk Vind 1.
Rosemaling is the folk art that moves like the wind, unbound, flowing as it wills. Every Rosemaling piece I paint is shifting as I create, then landing in a different place than I expect.
If the title does not say [SOLD] then this piece is still available. I am willing to do prints of [SOLD] artwork only. Contact me if interested in Myk Vind 2.
The desire to rosemal all my walls, doors, and ceilings prompted me to create a series of designs I can envision on cupboard doors in an old farm house in Norway. Rosemaling represents to me creativity in poverty—to meander down an old barn wall with paint strokes is an act of resistance against the darkness of that room. For this reason, Norwegian Rosemaling keeps coming out of me every time I sit with my brush. It is a gift, a sword my Norwegian grandmother gave me to fight the long nights with.
Watercolor and Ink. 8×12 inches.
Norwegian Cupboard 2 8×12 inches Watercolor & Ink
If the title does not say [SOLD] then this piece is still available. I am willing to do prints of [SOLD] artwork only. Contact me if interested in Norwegian Cupboard 2.
In the old Norwegian homes they painted on every door frame and cupboard, making the mundane flourish for all who lived there.
Watercolor and Ink. 8×12 inches.
Norwegian Cupboard #1
If the title does not say [SOLD] then this piece is still available. I am willing to do prints of [SOLD] artwork only. Contact me if interested in Norwegian Cupboard 1.
If the title does not say [SOLD] then this piece is still available. I am willing to do prints of [SOLD] artwork only. Contact me if interested in Quilted Rosemaling.
Brita Olsdatter was part of the farm community around Kjorlaug, Norway and one of the women in my family line that made a way for my existence. She was my great great great grandmother. Speaking her name with my art means she was not forgotten. I honor her existence and enjoyed imagining her story, gifting, and breath in Norway. —Kristin
Brita Olsdatter 5×5 Watercolr & Ink
If the title does not say [SOLD] then this piece is still available. I am willing to do prints of [SOLD] artwork only. Contact me if interested in Brita.
