Vesterheim’s Folk Art School celebrating 50 years of Nordic artistry

DECORAH - From a plain block of basswood, Minnesota loons and fjord horses spring forth. From a plain strip of basswood, intricate patterns emerge in sampler style.

Ten students ages 9 to 16 are whittling away at Norwegian folk art traditions dating back to their Viking ancestors. They gather Wednesdays after school, wrap their thumbs in bright turquoise tape, don gloves and leather aprons and place a carpet square on their laps before grasping carving knives or gouges in one hand, and a block of wood in the other.

They sharpen their skills under the watchful eye and tutelage of Rebecca Hanna, 58, of Decorah, who began carving 28 years ago, took up figure carving 18 years ago, and has been teaching at Vesterheim's Folk Art School for about six years.

A retired elementary school teacher, she is now shepherding a new generation through six-week sessions in the Whittling Klubb for Kids.

It's one of 61 classes in various Norwegian folk arts being offered during the school's 50th anniversary year. Most of the classes are designed for adults, but after-school offerings are reeling in more young people, as well.

Some of Hanna's students are carrying on family traditions - like Zach Heine, 16, of Decorah, whose grandfather has carved ships, including Norwegian models. This heritage, along with Boy Scout projects, piqued the teen's interest in 'learning the different things you can do with knives.” He's been carving for a couple of years now, and his aunt and grandparents display his handiwork in their homes.

Abby Moen, 13, of Decorah, has been honing her skills for a year and already has won a 4-H blue ribbon at the Winneshiek County Fair with her sea captain carving.

'It's neat to see them doing something other than the computer or iPad. They're using their hands, they're using their minds in a whole different way, and they're seeing the finished product,” said Darlene Fossum-Martin, Vesterheim's education specialist.

'We're unusual with other folk art schools, because we just keep with the Scandinavian folk arts,” she said. 'This carving class stays right true and tried with that.”

Hanna loves teaching the class. It not only gets her back in a classroom, but helps forge new interests in Old World ways.

'I like to see some of these folk arts go down to the next generation,” she said. 'I don't want that lost, so I think it's really important to keep this going.”

That's the goal across all the classes, which explore fiber arts, food traditions, jewelry and wirework, knifemaking and metalworking, rosemaling and painting, as well as woodworking.

'The more we get diluted in our societies, the less we know who we are,” said Fossum-Martin, 61, who teaches most of the Norwegian immigrant food classes.

The classes also let students leave their day-to-day worries behind as they focus on their craft.

'Working with their hands is so therapeutic,” Fossum-Martin said. 'We hope that they leave class with a sense of accomplishment, and a sense of feeling good and carrying on traditions of the folk arts, and gaining new knowledge.”

HISTORY

Vesterheim has a history as colorful as rosemaling's intricate, painted designs. The world's largest collection of Norwegian-American artifacts began as a small study aid for Luther College students in 1877. It evolved from natural history artifacts, like bird eggs, to now featuring 24,000 cultural pieces reflecting the everyday lives of Norwegian-Americans, especially immigrant farmers.

The museum became an independent institution in 1964, under the leadership of Marion John Nelson. A professor of art history at the University of Minnesota, he began presenting items in the collection as works of art, as well as household artifacts.

'For example, bowls and spoons were carved out of wood and used on a daily basis, but carved wooden ale bowls were used on special occasions such as weddings or Christmas meals, and because of that celebratory significance, they were carved with horse heads for handles and decorated with chip carving,” Fossum-Martin said.

Nelson added folk art classes in 1967, and today, Vesterheim has become a mecca for people near and far, wanting to teach or learn the Nordic folk arts, Fossum-Martin said. Classes in 2014 drew students from 24 states, coast to coast, as well as Canada, she noted. And while the 2016 teaching roster includes a few local and Midwestern artists, other instructors are coming from Virginia, Connecticut, North Carolina, Texas, Montana and Norway.

The Folk Art School is poised for the future, thanks to a recent addition to the Dan and Bonnie Huebner Endowment, established in 2004 to support Vesterheim's educational programming. The Decorah couple, now deceased, were ardent supporters of the museum, and an additional gift of $2 million following Dan Huebner's death in February 2015 is the largest in the museum's history.

'The remarkable stewardship of the Huebners has made it possible for people of all ages to celebrate heritage and tradition,” Chris Johnson, Vesterheim's President/CEO, said. 'We are very humbled by their extraordinary gifts, which will go far into the future to support education at Vesterheim.”

' What: Vesterheim Folk Art School

' Where: Westby-Torgerson Education Center, 502 W. Water St., Decorah

' Founded: 1967, with classes in Hardanger embroidery taught by Carola Schmidt of Decorah and rosemaling taught by Sigmund Aarseth from Norway

' Building features: Classrooms, workshops, Vesterheim Museum Store, student lounge, Fladager Reference Library, Bruening Visitor Center, offices

' Classes: Norwegian traditions in fiber arts, food, jewelry and wirework, knifemaking and metalworking, rosemaling and painting, woodworking

' Also: Study tours to Norway; Gold Medalist program for excellence in rosemaling, knifemaking, woodworking and weaving; judged exhibitions

' Information: Darlene Fossum-Martin, (563) 382-9681, Ext. 215, dfossum-martin@vesterheim.org or Vesterheim.org/folk-art-school