Two months after my trip to Norway, I still haven’t fully processed and examined all my notes and photos. I remain amazed at the mystery designers whose names I was able to verify in my research into the transparent tapestries of Frida Hansen’s followers. I’m sure you won’t be surprised to learn that many new research avenues opened as well. I felt pretty sure that once I began looking into how Frida Hansen influenced others to design in her wool open warp transparency technique, more and more weavings would surface.
The day after I arrived to visit my friend Annemor Sundbø in Kristiansand, I spent an entire day with Nanne Stølmacher, author of the new book Vevd Fargeglede: Sengetepper i Vest-Agder . She arranged with Ingeborg Fredriksen, who works for the Marnadal Museum, to see the historical museum buildings.
It wasn’t supposed to be a transparency research day, but it was. Ingeborg brought two open warp transparencies she owns, and we examined them carefully, unrolling them on to a long table next to this corner bed.
This was the first one.
I recognized the pattern from a book, an old photo of a transparency shown in the Jubileumsutstillingen [Jubilee Exhibition] of 1914. I had a notebook of mystery tapestry photos with me on my trip.
It’s not easy to realize, when looking at two woven transparencies, that you might be looking at the same pattern. The color choices made by the weavers can make them look completely different.
A few days later I was opening the treasure chests — or archival boxes — of early 1900s Husfliden patterns at the Norsk Folkemuseum. There was the design, twice! It was created by Titti Karsten. I’m not sure I would even have recognized the pattern as a design for the open warp technique if I hadn’t seen it woven already.
There is a complicated basket pattern in the three center sections. In the Karsten piece owned by Ingeborg Fredriksen the center basket is simplified. The basket shown in the fuzzy photo from the Jubileeumsutstillingen looks larger and closer to the complicated pattern shown in the pattern. All in all, the pattern looks a little complex to weave in wool transparency technique with as much detail as the pattern shows.
Ingeborg had a second transparency with her, one that she had been given by Annemor Sundbø. It’s the squirrel one, Annemor said. What? As we looked down at it on the table, we were not seeing the squirrel. But once you look at the photo, perhaps there is a squirrel.
This transparency is unlike many I’ve seen, in that it is mostly fully woven, with just a bit of open warp around the central images. I don’t recognize the pattern, nor do I know who designed or wove it. (Do you?)
There were so many wonderful beds with coverlets at the Marnadal Museum. Here are most of them.
This fun morning museum experience with Nanne and Ingeborg was on the morning of day one of my 12-day Norway trip, after having breakfast with Annemor at this table.
I’ll share more soon.