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Norwegian Woodcarving
Coon Valley, WI
Acanthus: Decorative carving of leaves.
Bristly: Covered with short, stiff rough hairs.
Carving: (noun) An object made by shaping and cutting.
Carving: (verb) To shape and cut a material into
a form or design.
Figure carving: Carving three dimensional images of people or
animals.
Figures: Carved three dimensional images of people or animals.
Heritage: Traditions that are part of a group’s cultural identity
that are passed from one generation to another.
Imagination: (sounds like, ih-MA-ji-nay-shun) The ability to think of
something that doesn’t already exist or that you haven't experienced.
Longships: Fast and agile sailing ships used by Vikings for war and
exploration.
Rosemal: To paint in the rosemaling style.
Rosemaling: Decorative painting from Norway that uses flowing lines,
flower designs and subtle colors.
Scandinavia: (sounds like, skan-dih-NAY-vee-ah)The northern European
countries of Norway, Sweden and Finland. (Some people also include Denmark
and Iceland.)
Vesterheim: (sounds like, VESS-ter-hime) A Norwegian-American museum
in Decorah, Iowa.
Vikings: Explorers and warriors from Scandinavia who traveled by ship
in the 8th – 10th centuries.
Woodcarving: To shape and cut wood into a form or design.
Do you have a hobby? Do you love doing this hobby so much that you would like to do it every day?
Have
you ever seen a thistle? Acanthus plants are very similar.
What tools does Becky use? What are the steps in her process?
Does
all art making use imagination?
If you were going to paint or carve a scene to represent your cultural heritage, what would it be?
Who
are the people in your community who like to make beautiful things? Do they
work with wood like Becky? What kinds of things do they make?
You
can find some more information and photos of acanthus style carvings at
Saga Artisan.
Find
out more about the great regional resource, the Vesterheim
Norwegian-American Museum.
Becky
won her gold medal in wordworking at Nordic
Fest in Decorah, Iowa. Learn more about this fun festival!
Want
to see other examples of Norwegian-style figure carving? Check out this page
from Pinewood
Forge of three carvers in the Minneapolis area.
Becky likes to carve in the acanthus style. Want to see an acanthus plant and some other kinds of carvings it has inspired? You'll find those photos on Things That Inspire or at Acanthus Technology Design.
Have
fun and learn some Norwegian vocabulary with this word search game at
Transparent Language or this quiz from
Digital Dialects.
Skiing
is a popular winter sport and tourist attraction in Norway. Give it a try
yourself in this game from
Visit Norway.
Text written by Louie Holwerk, edited by Anne Pryor and Asa Olson.
Sources consulted include a tape recorded interview with Becky Lusk by
Jeanie Geurink (10/21/02), in cooperation with the UW-Madison Folklore
Program. The tapes are housed at the Wisconsin Arts Board.
For Educators:
Resources/
Credits
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