A Carver's Travelogue: Harley Refsal's trip to Norway

[BobD]

Harley Refsal, a Woodcarving Illustrated and Fox Chapel Publishing author and member emeritus of the Caricature Carvers of America, has been traveling and teaching classes in Norway. Here are a few photos and messages from across the Atlantic.

June 22
Greetings from Lillehammer. I arrived here in Norway the day before yesterday...just in time to get in on Midsummer celebrations, which are done up in a big way. Last evening I participated in a delightful evening of traditional handwork demonstrations, traditional music and dancing, food, a huge bonfire, etc. at Maihaugen, a huge open air outdoor museum (it consists of a hundred or so log buildings, all wonderfully maintained and staffed with guides, demonstrators, etc.) on the edge of town.

Tomorrow I travel by bus to Rauland, a town up in the high mountain country of Telemark, to a branch campus of Telemark University College, where I'll be teaching 3 courses in Scandinavian style figure carving, beginning now on Monday.

[BobD]

July 15
(Photo courtesy of Heidi Gjerstad)

These Norwegians, ranging in age from 31 to 87, were members of the 2nd of 3 classes I'm teaching here at a course center in the small village of Rauland (pronounced 'Rowland'), up in the high mountain country in the county of Telemark. The nearby village of Morgedal considers itself the birthplace of modern skiing, because it was there that a local boy named Sondre Nordheim developed the first flexible binding, back in the mid 1800s, which served as the spark that ignited enthusiasm for skiing as sport, rather than simply a method of getting around in the deep snow. (Unlike in North America, Norway never had a snowshoe tradition...cross country skis were the way they got around in the deep snow.)

This part of Norway, very picturesque and somewhat isolated until the era of modern travel, is sometimes compared to Appalachia, because due to its rugged terrain, and therefore its isolation, its music and handwork traditions were well preserved much longer here than in other parts of the country. Some of the sod-roofed log farm buildings in the area are hundreds of years old...one dates back to the 1340s. Not bad! Those folks knew how to build buildings that lasted, and their descendants, some 650 years later, appear to be having a good time honing their wood working skills as well.

[BobD]

July 22
(Photo courtesy of Mari Ann Corneliussen.

Here are a couple more photos from Norway, these taken on the campus of Telemark University College in Rauland. In addition to the modern classroom buildings and studios, the campus features an impressive collection of log buildings built in the traditional style of log farm buildings in the immediate area. This part of the county of Telemark is known for its well-preserved log buildings. The house featured in these photos was built in the early 1990s by a local log builder named Ottar Romtveit, who was commissioned to build a set of Telemark-style log buildings in Lillehammer, Norway, to showcase this style of log buildings during Lillehammer's hosting of the 1994 Winter Olympics, when the eyes of the whole world were on this country for 16 days. So Ottar built two complete sets of these buildings; one set was erected in Lillehammer (where it can still be seen today), and the other set was erected on the University campus here in his hometown, where it is the main feature of what has now become a sort of regional cultural heritage center.

Demonstrators and traditional crafters are featured throughout the summer tourist season, and here I am shown demonstrating Scandinavain-style figure carving on the porch of an exact replica of the house on the nearby farm named Gardsjord. The part of the house where I am working dates from the late 1600s, the other end--the 'new' part of the house--is from the 1700. So as I sit carving a figure that will be featured in the upcoming book 'Whittle Littles,' I feel like I'm on sacred ground--surrounded by centuries of woodcarving tradition.

And it's quite an international summer at this Norwegian cultural center: the two of us sitting here carving on the front porch of a centuries-old house represent two very different carving traditions. James Chincondenji is a professional carver from Malawi, whose traditional African carvings...primarily in ebony...can be found in collections throughout the world. One of his carvings was selected for presentation to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth during an official visit to Malawi, and two different popes have also been presented with carvings created by Chincondejni during their visits to the country.

Note the two books featured on the table near where I sit carving: ‘Art and Technique of Scandinavian Style Woodcarving,’ and ‘Celebrating Birch’--both published by Fox Chapel Publishing.

[BobD]

July 28
I keep receiving (finally) photos that various Norwegians (participants in the carving classes I've been teaching, etc.) have taken when I've been at Telemark University College--Rauland campus. The image I'm attaching is of me (on the left in the photo wearing the maroon cap and a North House Folk School fleece) and James Chincondenji, a professional carver from Malawi. This is the 5th year in a row that James has been coming here during the summer tourist season, where he carves all day, 7 days a week, creating pieces from ebony (which he brings with him from Malawi). We met during his first stay, when he enrolled in a Scandinavian-style figure carving class I was teaching, and have become friends through the years. He didn't speak Norwegian, but he discovered that I spoke English, so even though I teach the classes here in Norwegian, I can work with the non-Norwegian-speakers in English. (It's not uncommon that one or more of the students do not speak Norwegian. Due to the scenery and the well-maintained log farm buildings in the area, this is a popular tourist region, and I've had students from various European countries, the U.S., the Middle East, etc....and with those students, English is the most common language.)
Anyway. James is a fantastic traditional African carver, who is obviously recognized in his home country as well as in other countries; he was commissioned to carve a piece that was one of the presentation gifts to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth during an official visit to Malawi some years ago, and his work has also been presented to two different popes during their visits to Malawi. Here James and I are shown as we sit demonstrating in front of a building which is a copy of a 300+ year old log house which is still standing, and in good condition, on a farm called Gardsjord, about 2 to3 miles from this site.

Beste hilsen, Harley

[RUssL.]

Thanks, Bob.

I love the cultural juxtaposition.
It IS a small world.

Russ

[Rich2008]

Bob;
Thanks for posting this about Harley Refsal. I too, am Norwegian, and my Grandfather was born not too far from where this was filmed in Norway. The log cabin where he was born is still standing and still well kept up by our "Norwegian Cousins" there, and is over 400 years old. I will meet Harley at the Vesterheim in Decorah Iowa, someday!

Rich

[Nancy-G]

Thanks, Bob.

[mpounders]

Thanks for posting this! What a wonderful trip and the log cabins are amazing.

[bigEd_H]

Thanks for posting this, Bob. Harley is a real treasure for his efforts to keep the Scandinavian style of caricature carving alive. It's a treat to hear about his travels and see the Norwegian countryside and traditional architecture of the area.

[A_Swope]

Thank you for posting this Bob.