Be inspired by budding folk artists and Scandinavian traditions at Vesterheim! Students from the Scandinavian Fine Handcraft January Term course at Luther College will demonstrate carving and exhibit their class projects in an open house in Hanson Vesterheim Commons.
Everyone is invited to this free community event, and refreshments will be served. The Museum Store will stay open until 7:00 p.m.
Luther January Term students spend the month of January learning Scandinavian fine handcrafts from established folk art instructor Fred Livesay. The primary focus of the class is traditional woodworking, and students spend some time outside, learning to forage for carving wood, especially invasive species and discarded landscaping materials.
The class is held at Vesterheim, and students visit the museum collection multiple times to follow the lineage of craft through generations.
The class is taught by Fred Livesay with a bandweaving class by Laura Demuth.
Thirty-five years of teaching and studying in the United States, Sweden, and England give instructor Fred Livesay a clear understanding of the joy handmade objects bring to everyday living; the healing art of craft; and the meditative connection between head, hands, and heart. Livesay is a founding instructor of North House Folk School and of the Spoon Gathering in Milan, Minnesota, and a sought-after teacher of craft nationally and internationally.
Laura Demuth has been a weaver for over 40 years and enjoys all aspects of fiber production, from raising the sheep to taking a finished piece off the loom. She lives on a small acreage just seven miles northeast of Decorah and has focused on traditional weaving structures and techniques. Laura is a Vesterheim Gold Medalist, who has taught classes in traditional Scandinavian weave structures at Vesterheim and John C. Campbell Folk School.