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Norwegian Rosemaling
Platteville, WI
Vocabulary
Ancestry: (sounds like, ANN-sess-tree) The ethnic origin of a person
and his or her ancestors.
Asymmetrical: (sounds like, a-sim-MEH-tric-kul) Designs that are not
even and balanced on each side.
Decade: (sounds like, DECK-ade) A ten-year period.
Etched: cut into the surface.
Folk Art: Art made in traditional ways by members of a cultural group who
learned from other members.
Heritage: Traditions that are part of a group’s cultural identity that are
passed from one generation to another.
Immigrant: Someone who moves from one country or region to another.
Profitable: Able to make a profit, to earn more than what you began with.
Revival: (sounds like, ree-VIE-vull) The start of doing something again
after it had been lost or forgotten for a while.
Rogaland: A region on the southwest coast of Norway.
Rosemalers: (sounds like, ROSE-mall-ers) People who do rosemaling.
Rosemaling: Decorative painting from Norway that uses flowing lines,
flower designs and subtle colors.
Smorsgasbord: (sounds like, SMORE-gus-board) A table at a restaurant or
home with many different dishes of food to try.
Symmetry: (sounds like, SIM-meh-tree) Balance in a design because
the elements on one side of the center match the elements on the other side.
Trait: Feature; characteristic.
Vesterheim: (sounds like, VESS-ter-hime) A Norwegian-American museum in
Decorah, Iowa.
Vibrant: (sounds like, VI-brint) Pulsing with energy.
Woodenware: Wooden pieces like plates and bowls that are not decorated or
finished.
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Journal Questions
 What
do you do that shows your unique style?
What
do you think a “feathery style” of painting means?
Do you have art in your home
so old that the colors might have changed over time?
Have
you noticed the word “rose” in rosemaling? Are flowers and scrolls the only images in
rosemaling?
Do you have to be Norwegian-American to have rosemaling as a cultural symbol?
How
does your community show its cultural identity?
Are
there any rosemalers in your community? What are their connections to the
tradition?
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Resources For Teachers
 These
two books are excellent resources for understanding the art of rosemaling in the
Upper Midwest: Norwegian Folk Art: The Migration of a
Tradition by Marion Nelson (or the VHS version Norwegian Folk Art: The Migration of a
Tradition) and Rosemaling in the Upper Midwest: A Story of Region and
Revival by Philip Martin (Wisconsin Folk Museum. 1989).
 The Illinois
Norsk Rosemalers Association has this article on the history of rosemaling.
Peruse
these rosemaling
supplies, equipment and books from Vesterheim Norwegian- American Museum.
 “Rosemaling
Fever” is one of twelve songs on “In
Full Speed,” a Norwegian-American humor album by Ole and Sven
(otherwise known as Phil Dybdahl and Dave Nelson of Madison).
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Resources For Students
Take a
look at these
seven books by
Lois Mueller on rosemaling techniques.
Who
are the rosemalers in your home town? Check with one of these rosemaling
associations to find out.
Other Wisconsin artists along with Lois Mueller have won the Vesterheim Gold Medal too. Check this
list. Maybe there’s a Gold Medal
winner in your community!
Learn
about another Wisconsin rosemaler, Bernetta Pritchard of Fall River, Wisconsin,
in this article, Rosemaling,
American Style.
Curious
about all the different
rosemaling styles? Rosemaler and Vesterheim gold medal winner Rhoda Fritsch
explains them all.
Learn
more about rosemaling and the other Norwegian
folk arts of woodcarving and Hardanger embroidery at this site from a Sons
of Norway lodge in Anchorage, Alaska.
 Is
there rosemaling in a public place in your community? Send us a photo and we’ll
post it here!
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Credits
Text written by Nicole Saylor, edited by Anne Pryor.
Sources consulted include audio recorded interviews with Lois Mueller by
Nicole Saylor (9/23/03) with materials housed at the Wisconsin Arts Board, a
photography session by Twyla Clark (7/04), and Rosemaling in the Upper Midwest: A Story of Region and
Revival by Philip Martin (Wisconsin Folk Museum. 1989).
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