Arts and Crafts in Norway

As I mentioned in an earlier post, there are a few interesting notes about arts and crafts in Norway. All of this, of course, is personal observation not professional expertise, so feel free to comment. Here’s one of the store fronts in Bergen that showcases a lot of the arts and crafts:

Knitting: This seems to be one of the most prevalent forms of craft. The Norwegians love color and they use it a lot in their knitted goods, from the knitted wool caps with the tassels, to the boots, and to the most gorgeous sweaters (‘jumpers’ in the UK). In the storefront picture above you can see a few sweaters . I didn’t get one as they are very heavy and very expensive. We bought hats for the grandchildren (on both sides of the Atlantic) but I found a better photo on the Internet:

Painting: The painting is called rosemaling or sometimes tole painting, which is mostly decorative flower painting. Apparently it varies from region to region and it’s also popular in Sweden. I saw it most often on goods such as wooden plates (for hanging on the wall),  wooden mugs, etc. Here in the UK, it’s similar to the ‘Fusion’ painting by Sheena Easton, who often presents on Create and Craft TV.  I think they may use two colors of paint (one darker, one lighter) on one brush to get the effect. Here’s an example:

It’s quite delicate, yet very colorful.

Embroidery: We saw lots of this, too. When we wandered down a side street in Stavanger, we came upon a little dress shop that makes traditional costumes for weddings, baptisms, birthdays, and all kinds of celebrations, including the Norwegian National Day on May 17.

   

Each costume, or bunad, varies by region. Be sure to click on each of the pictures to see it closer. The beautiful embroidery is not limited to costumes, however. I saw many beautiful examples of it on home furnishings, such as table cloths and bed linens.

Another popular type of embroidery is called Hardangar. One website I found said, “Hardangar embroidery combines drawn and counted thread work, along with satin stitch. It is done on an even-weave fabric, traditionally linen, with pearl cotton or linen thread, again traditionally natural color white on white or cream on cream.

The historical origin of this type of embroidery may have been in ancient Persia. It traveled through Byzantium to southern Europe where it was popular during the Renaissance. It may have reached Northern Europe and Norway through the Crusaders or the Vikings. Hardangar is related to Danish and Dutch Hedebo, English Ayrshire work and Ruskin lacework and was earlier known as Norwegian Drawn Work.” I did see a lot of neutral colors like beige, brown, white, grey, and black in the knitted goods, also.

Overall:  Norway is a fascinating country with a rich heritage intertwined with that of Sweden, Iceland, and Denmark, as well as minor influences from German, Finnish, and Russian culture. It shares a border with Sweden, Finmark, and Russia. I loved seeing it and talking to the Norwegians we met (most all of them spoke several languages, including perfect English!), but probably won’t go back. Mostly because we found it extremely expensive, which is also why we bought very little. We bought a couple bottles of water (about a pound in the UK) and they were over four euros! The fish market in Bergen is a sight to behold, if you love seafood, but whoa….. a paper plate of seafood for lunch (usually a piece of bread, a little crabmeat, some prawns and salad) was about 30-40 Euros, which is about £27 (UK) or US $43!!! That’s why we had every meal onboard our ship. If you can eat on the local economy (maybe NOT the fish market) and backpack, or if you have some Norwegian immigrant relatives, I highly recommend it,  however.