(Photo by Olivia Schmidt/KFSK)
A five-day Scandinavian heritage workshop took place in July at the Sons of Norway hall in downtown Petersburg. A few local artists who are dedicated to preserving the the town’s Nordic roots flew in an instructor from Minnesota to teach the traditional Norwegian art of rosemaling.
Inside the cozy top floor of the Sons of Norway hall, a group of people gathered around a table. The scent of fresh acrylics and the quiet hum of side commentary filled the air. Kim Garrett, at the center of the huddle, was intently painting an intricate floral pattern on a piece of black paper.
Her hands moved deftly, demonstrating the delicate brushstrokes that define rosemaling, a traditional Scandinavian decorative painting. Garrett, a retired Nurse Practitioner and a rosemaling expert, has taught various styles of rosemaling for almost a decade, but found her artistic passion for the craft almost by accident.
“I was taking a class at a folk school in Grand Marais, Minnesota, and when I got there, the class had to be canceled,” Garrett said. “And they said to me, ‘As long as you’re here, there’s this other class, you want to be in that class?’ Well, it was a rosemaling class. I had never heard of rosemaling, even though I’m Scandinavian, and fell in love. So here I am teaching it.”
(Photo by Olivia Schmidt/KFSK)
Rosemaling, which means “rose painting,” is a form of decorative painting on wood that originated in Norway. It is characterized by floral patterns, scrollwork, and sometimes intricate linework. Each region in Norway has its own distinct style, with some of the more popular varieties being Telemark, Valdres, and Rogaland. Garrett specializes in the Os type, known for its fanciful florals and vibrant colors.
“I really get bored doing one thing, so I do like most of the styles,” Garrett said. “But probably I’d have to say my favorites are Os, kind of from the Southern tip of the West side of the country. I like the bright colors of Os, which are the projects that we’re doing here.”
(Photo by Olivia Schmidt/KFSK)
Every day, workshop participants painted a new object. One day it was a mirror frame, the next a door board, then baskets, and finally a plate. Each item received a base layer of black before the artists began to paint their colorful flowers and scrolls. Most students used acrylic paints, a point of mild frustration for Garrett, an oil painter.
Garrett’s only ally in this paint debate was Ashley Lohr, a local art teacher. She was the sole oil painter to enroll in the class.
(Photo by Olivia Schmidt/KFSK)
“I love painting, but I haven’t picked up oils in a while,” Lohr said. “So this, the option to touch oil painting has been my motivation, and I’ll hopefully be able to have some rosemaling projects this year in the classroom. But, I also really admire the dedication that the rosemaling ladies have in town – I just have been really excited to get a little taste of what they’re up to.”
Lohr referred to the Muskeg Maleriers, a group of about ten women dedicated to rosemaling. Founded in 1976, the club is nearing its golden anniversary. Sally Dwyer is one of its longest participating members.
(Photo by Olivia Schmidt/KFSK)
“Well, it’s 1977,” Dwyer begins. “I was getting married that fall. I took a tole painting class, which morphed into rosemaling, so I could address all my wedding invitations, all 400 of them. And I started coming to the group that was meeting up at the old gym. For the first year, I did nothing but dots and backgrounding, because I wasn’t confident. And then one day, I picked up a brush and did a little liner work and everything worked out fine.”
The club has achieved a lot since then. They’ve traveled to Norway for classes and across the U.S. to various Norwegian diaspora communities. However, their biggest projects are much closer to home – at the grocery store, the bank, and the Sons of Norway hall. You can see the Maulriers’ sprays of colorful flowers all over buildings in downtown Petersburg.
“It’s really fun to be back home and painting,” Dwyer said. “Cause it really is a love, I really enjoy it, and this style is very freeing. It just kind of all came to a perfect storm of wanting to learn our heritage and keep it alive for the children that were coming. And I think we’ve done a pretty dang good job in the town.”
Even though Garrett was only in Petersburg for a week, it’s not the last time her path will cross with the Muskeg Maleriers. A select few will join her in the fall for a class she’s teaching on the Telemark style of rosemaling at the Vesterheim Museum in Decorah, Iowa.
