Bio: Robbie LaFleur, from Minneapolis, Minnesota, has been following a thread of Scandinavian textiles since she studied weaving at Valdres Husflidsskole in Fagernes, Norway in 1977. She has continued her study with Scandinavian instructors at workshops in Norway and the U.S. Recent projects include interpreting Edvard Munch’s “Scream” painting into a variety of textile techniques and weaving tapestry portraits of her relatives. She was awarded the Gold Medal in Weaving from the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum in 2006. Robbie coordinates the Weavers Guild of Minnesota Scandinavian Weavers Group and is the editor and publisher of the digital Norwegian Textile Letter.

In 2019 LaFleur was a fellow with the American Scandinavian Foundation and traveled to Stavanger, Norway, to study the wool open-warp transparent tapestry technique of Frida Hansen (1855-1931). (full resume here)

Description: The weaving was inspired by an article in the Star Tribune, “Minnesota’s forests a haven where rare bird still sings,” (10/28/2022) by Greg Stanley, part of an excellent series, “Our Vanishing North.” While news of environmental issues can generate feelings of hopelessness and loss, these articles also focused on dedicated people trying to address the habitats and polices needed to help species survive.

Golden-winged warblers winter in Central America, traveling 3500 miles each summer to northern Minnesota. Half of all golden warblers in existence breed in the forests of our state. I admire the on-the-ground attempts of conservationists to combat the increasing monoculture of forest areas to provide a more traditional mixed habitat needed for many plants and animals.

 Nest is woven in wool open-warp transparent tapestry technique, first developed by Frida Hansen. She was a ground-breaking Norwegian artist on several levels. She reinvigorated historical tapestry weaving and the use of natural dyes during the National Romantic period in Norway, ran a school for tapestry weaving, directed one of the largest tapestry studios in Europe at the turn of the 20th century, and gained international fame for her large tapestries in Art Nouveau style. She also developed a patented technique for weaving “transparent” tapestries with wool warp and weft. Portions of the weavings, usually hung as portieres or curtains, were left unwoven, giving a see-through effect and an emphasis on positive and negative spaces in the images. Hansen’s transparent tapestries drew rave reviews at the Paris Exposition in 1900, and were purchased throughout Europe. Once her patent was released in 1906, many of her studio weavers and students also designed and wove transparencies. 

I am writing a book on Frida Hansen and her unique transparency technique, to be published in 2026.

lafleur1801@me.com