Janet Eggleston
I took my first class in Norwegian Rosemaling in 2015 at North House Folk School in Grand Marais, MN, in anticipation of my retirement in 2016. I haven't stopped taking classes yet!
Rosemaling is the decorative folk painting of Norway – it literally translates as “rose painting.” The folk art was in its heyday in Norway in the late 1700s through the mid 1800s. There are many styles from the various regions of Norway – Telemark, Valdres, Gudbrandsdal, Rogaland, Agder, etc. We sometimes joke that each mountain valley developed its own style! Learning the different styles and studying the early painters is what keeps me taking classes. I have especially enjoyed learning styles such as Nordfjord and Viksdal that have been nearly forgotten.
Rosemaling has been the perfect hobby for me in retirement, connecting me with ancestral roots on my mother's side. There is a vibrant and growing rosemaling community in the US, and since the pandemic, Zoom has brought us together. The 2025 Folk Art Tour of Norway offered by Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum was life-changing for me. Seeing the old rosemaling – whole rooms filled with it – and meeting contemporary artists shaping the future of rosemaling was a priceless experience!
Having studio space here at Galena Center for the Arts makes all this possible for me. Tusen takk – a thousand thanks!
Rosemaling is the decorative folk painting of Norway – it literally translates as “rose painting.” The folk art was in its heyday in Norway in the late 1700s through the mid 1800s. There are many styles from the various regions of Norway – Telemark, Valdres, Gudbrandsdal, Rogaland, Agder, etc. We sometimes joke that each mountain valley developed its own style! Learning the different styles and studying the early painters is what keeps me taking classes. I have especially enjoyed learning styles such as Nordfjord and Viksdal that have been nearly forgotten.
Rosemaling has been the perfect hobby for me in retirement, connecting me with ancestral roots on my mother's side. There is a vibrant and growing rosemaling community in the US, and since the pandemic, Zoom has brought us together. The 2025 Folk Art Tour of Norway offered by Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum was life-changing for me. Seeing the old rosemaling – whole rooms filled with it – and meeting contemporary artists shaping the future of rosemaling was a priceless experience!
Having studio space here at Galena Center for the Arts makes all this possible for me. Tusen takk – a thousand thanks!
