Thanks to the hard work of Jan Mostrom, Keith Pierce, and Robyn Meadows, “Everything Under the (Midnight) Sun: Scandinavian Weavings” is up!  It happened just as in previous shows.  All the pieces were assembled in one spot this morning and the giant puzzle of placing them appropriately on the walls began.  Whoa!  The orange of one piece makes a second one look terrible.  Shuffling happens.  Then, magically, three pieces look marvelous together, with a harmony of color of pattern that enhances them all.  Maybe we have too many pieces.  But wait!  Jan’s tapestry looks perfect on the far orange wall.  Keith and Robyn carefully measured the walls and the pieces, and used the level on everything.  A few hours later, the pieces are nailed and tacked and shifted to the perfect positions, and once again the Scandinavian Weavers have a great show in place.

Several bands are in the show, and they look smashing on black felt. One of Jane’s bands is still on the heddle, giving the viewers a sense of how it is made. Nancy Ellison’s “Band of Sheep” is below.

Two pieces by Melba Granlund flank a tapestry by Sharon Marquardt.  What you don’t see is that they are above a blue sofa in a seating area, and the grouping looks as if it was custom woven for the space.

The holiday red of Judy Larsen’s Monk’s Belt runner seemed too strong to hang near pieces with more neutral tones, but POPS with the black-and-white of Jan Mostrom’s rya and Keith’s Viking band.

To be continued….

Nancy Ellison’s  weaving has a soft surface and the natural brown, black, and gray shades of the xxx sheep on her southern Minnesota farm.  “The Sheep Farm” was woven on three harnesses with a krokbragd threading.  It was woven with handspun yarn on a Louet David loom with a sinking shed which Nancy prefers for weaving krokbragd. The wooly sheep emerge with unspun fleece tied with traditional rya knots.  The piece received honorable mention at the Vesterheim National Folk Art exhibit in 2012.

“Side by Side,” a band with sheep images, was woven with Ashford Tepako wool yarn.  For a band of this type, Nancy sometimes uses a Schacht inkle loom and other times a Glimakra band loom. She wove it as a krokbragd turned draft by adding a set of string heddles to get a third shed.

It’s a wonder that Nancy has time to weave and spin, with the responsibility of her farm and animals – sheep, ducks, chickens, goats, and a remarkable goose who looks like he is wearing a cap.

She teaches spinning and weaving classes in an old barn on the farm.  The studio area has heavy timber walls, a magical space for a spinner or weaver, as you examine the new and antique looms and wheels lining the perimeter.  (And surprise! There are two long-haired rabbits tucked in a cage, too.)  The whitewashed round silo has been transformed into a gallery. Nancy is a dealer for a variety of spinning wheels and looms. You can – and should – visit “The Ellison Sheep Farm” open by appointment.

Nancy is a former home economics teacher, and studied weaving during the summer of 1968. She has been a member of the Scandinavian Weavers Study group for many years.

(More on a visit to Nancy’s farm here.)

The Scandinavian Weaving Study Group of the Minnesota Weavers Guild is mounting a new exhibition, Everything Under the (Midnight) Sun: Scandinavian Weavings, to be displayed in the Community Gallery of the Textile Center of Minnesota, from March 15 – May 4.  Information about the pieces and the weavers will be posted in the coming weeks.

Typically, the Study Group concentrates on a particular Scandinavian weaving technique for one or two years, culminating in an exhibit. Other times the group chose a theme on which to base a show, as in “Symbols, Myths, and Fairy Tales.” The 2013 display breaks from tradition. It gathers recent work by the weavers in a panorama of Scandinavian weaving techniques.

The  weavers represented have varying degrees of experience; some are new to the craft, others have woven for decades.  The looms used range from simple heddles with a backstrap to complex floor looms. The common theme is enthusiasm for traditional Scandinavian weaving techniques as a way to create contemporary textiles.

The show includes two tapestry pieces. One is based on a medieval Norwegian theme; the other uses similar techniques to depict a modern girl with a backpack, woven in hand-dyed yarns. Those familiar with Norwegian weaving will find pieces in familiar techniques; krokbragd, rutevev, skillbragd, and monk’s belt. Pieces are woven in cotton, fine linen, and wool, including hand-spun wool.  Sometimes traditional weave structures are used with unconventional materials, like fabric strips or pineapple bast.

All visitors will find inspiring weavings with “Everything Under the Midnight Sun” represented in the latest Scandinavian Weavers exhibit.

Contributors include Jane Connett, Keith Pierce, Patty Johnson, Judy Larson, Sharon Marquardt, Melba Granlund, Jan Mostrom, Nancy Ellison, Veronna Capone, Robyn Meadows, and Robbie LaFleur.

Lila Nelson wrote about the Scandinavian Weavers Study Group in the November, 2001 issue, “Norwegian Textile Folk Arts Today.”

The worship area of the Unitarian Society has huge windows opening onto a snowy city landscape.  Sarah Williams beautiful rosepath rag rug is the first piece you see when you walk through the rear doors into the narthex area.   The impressive scale and warm autumn colors of the rug create a wonderful first impression of the show.

The Timeless Tradition show up at the Unitarian Society looks great.  The textiles look wonderful against the brick walls.  I stopped in to take photos on the first Sunday after the show was hung; several people were around following the morning service.  They were so appreciative!  A man said to me, “I suppose you’re going to try to do that now!” – a friendly comment meant to convey how it would be amazing  that anyone could create such pieces.  “Oh, I have,”  I replied, “A couple of my pieces are here.”  Other people came up to me and thanked me.  Most pieces line two brick walls of the narthex area.  Nancy Ellingson’s “Three Billy Goats Gruff” is at the far end, hanging over the guest book on a podium.  Much of the wool in the piece is from Nancy’s own sheep, including the unspun wool of the charming sheep’s bodies.  (More photos of Nancy’s farm and sheep can be found here.)

If you can’t get to Norway to view or purchase beautiful woven textiles, you have an equal opportunity this month in Minneapolis.   The Scandinavian Weavers Study Group, part of the Weavers Guild of Minnesota, is displaying a selection of woven textiles through Christmas in the gallery of the Unitarian Society of Minneapolis.

The Scandinavian Weavers Study Group has been meeting for more than twenty years, providing a consistent forum for the study of traditional Scandinavian weaving techniques.  The members weave traditional patterns and also use the weaving techniques and pattern elements for modern expression.  The group studies a particular technique each year, most recently concentrating on boundweave techniques, in which the warp threads are covered, or bound, by the weft.  Many of the pieces in this show are woven in krokbragd, a three-shaft technique that yields pieces with an immense range of points, squares, and linear elements.

Most pieces in the current show are woven with wool, primarily Norwegian yarns. They hold the connotations of  traditional textiles – warmth, the multi-generational appeal of folk patterns, and ethnic identity.  On the other hand, the weavers’ personal design and color choices, and high craftsmanship, result in abstract art pieces.

Maybe you can’t get away to a “hytte,” a Norwegian cabin, this Christmas.  But you can admire many weavings that would be perfectly at home in that setting, as well as in our contemporary Minnesota homes.

Timeless Tradition: Selected Weavings

Hours:  9am – 3pm, M-F
(The office entrance is to the right of
the main entrance doors.)
Sunday: 9 am – 1:30 pm
For other times, call: 612-377-6608

Download a flyer for the exhibit.