Gold Medalist Portfolios

My love for rosemaling began during my first rosemaling class at my local Sons of Norway Lodge in Staten Island, New York. Being raised in a close-knit Norwegian-American family and community, taking this class with my grandparents didn’t seem like an unusual activity for an 11-year-old.  It was four years later when my father, Ted, a carpenter, who had to retire early due to health reasons, began to utilize his skills to build hope chests, clock, etc., told me that we were starting a business we called “Thor-Kraft.” This is when my rosemaling truly began and I became a “self-taught” rosemaler using books, patterns, and pictures to guide me along the way to paint the pieces he made. So, though I loved to paint, rosemaling didn’t begin as a hobby for me, it began as a business, but God has a funny way of putting you on the right path.  

My formal education in rosemaling began with Eldrid Artnzen, VGM and NEA recipient. I started at 19 years old and continued through my 30s. I took weeklong classes with Eldrid at Fletcher Farm School for the Arts and Crafts in Ludlow, Vermont. It was there that I relearned my stroke work and fine-tuned it, was introduced to all the styles of rosemaling as well as the history and became part of the wonderful rosemaling community.  

Alongside Fletcher and my classes with Eldrid, my education was also greatly enhanced by the now defunct Garden State Rosemaling Association, where I had the opportunity to learn from so many American and Norwegian rosemalers. The three most influential painters for me were: Sigmund Aarseth, who gave me the freedom to experiment, Dorothy Petersen, who gave me the love of Hallingdal, and Karen Jenson who reinforced the painting freely motto and introduced me to painting with acrylics. Karen’s class came at a time that was just prior to starting out family and as our family grew, I began to switch from oils to acrylics. It is at this time that once again I became a “self-taught” rosemaler. I went back to the books, patterns, and pictures, this time JoSonja Jensen’s work helped me greatly, and I developed a way of using my acrylics in a manner to get the effects of oils that I still use to this day.  

Concurrently to my art world, I became a professional education with a BA in Art History/Elementary Education. Education and a MS in Special Education. I was a GED Special Education Teacher with the NYC Board of Education for many years until my husband, Ken, and I started our family which included our two daughters, Annelise and Silje, and our son Axel. We had many adventures along the way including renovating a house and then moving to Maryland due to my husband’s job with the US Army.  

In closing, I am always a student, and I will never claim to be the foremost authority on all I know, for there is always something more to learn. That being said, I have a real mission in my life in passing on my knowledge of rosemaling to others because if you don’t share what you know with the future generations of rosemalers then that knowledge disappears. 

Rosemaling began as a “job” in my life, but it has become one of the biggest blessings I could have ever asked for and I am very thankful for this honor of becoming a VGM.