Subscribe to continue reading
Subscribe to get access to the rest of this post and other subscriber-only content.
Tag: Norway
-
“Kirsten Lauritzdatter”
4×4 inch. Watercolor on paper, wax sealed
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.
-
To er Bedre [SOLD]
”Two is Better” in Norwegian
5×7 inch. Watercolor & Ink
I took one of the writhing animals from a carved Viking era wall and turned it into two intertwined sea dragons, tipping my hat to rosemaling’s origins and naming the work “To er Bedre” because it’s still true today, “two is better” as Ecclesiastes wisely encouraged in its proverb on humans.
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 To er Bedre.
-
Myk Vind 3
”Soft Wind” in Norwegian
5.5×4 inches Watercolor
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 3.
-
An art with Viking roots
Norwegian Rosemaling hails from the writhing animals and ribbons found on Viking ornamentation, weapons, boats, and structures. Spending extensive time in carving, the arts thrived amongst the Vikings as they picked up new patterns and ideas in each region they pillaged, covering their every possession with heavy ornamentation. These designs gave inspiration to Rosemaling (“flower painting” in Norwegian), and like the Vikings, painters covered walls, doors, ceilings, and any wood they could find in colorful brush strokes, pushing back the bleakness of the long winters.
This is the origin story of Norwegian Rosemaling. It is my hope to keep this art tradition alive by sharing its story at art events and shows. There is so much more to these brushstrokes than paint.
-
Kjørlaug Farm 2
Watercolor & Ink
2 – 4×6 inch pieces
My “Kjørlaug Farm” pictures are odes to the old way of working the land. Since at least as far back at 1780 The Kjørlaug 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 2
-
Kjørlaug Farm 1 [SOLD]
Watercolor & Ink
5×5 inches
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
-
Norwegian Cupboard #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 & InkIf 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.
-
Norwegian Cupboard #1 [SOLD]
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.
-
Quilted Rosemaling [SOLD]
The intertwining of two grandmothers — one Swedish seamstress & one Norwegian painter, the stitches and strokes of their lives quilted into mine.
Displayed and sold at the Square Halo Gallery, Lancaster, PA, for the Inklings Conference “Ordinary Saints.”
Quilted Rosemaling 7×7 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 Quilted Rosemaling.
