Public Carving Events
The Smith Studio and Gallery is the exclusive full time shop displaying and selling my works in the Quad Cities area. The Smith Gallery and Studio is an exciting studio for showing, demonstrating and teaching arts in Geneseo, IL. I am very pleased with my association with David Smith and his wife Dale. They are a driving force for the growing art community in Geneseo. Their shop is located downtown at 124 South State Street, Geneseo, IL. Geneseo is a 20 minute drive from the Quad Cities off I-80...you can see the twin wind mill generators for miles away.
Geneseo is having their yearly Artwalk on Saturday, April 29th, 10 AM to 2PM. Downtown State Street will be closed off so that artists can set up their booths to show and sell their creations. Many of the businesses have opened their stores to allow artists to show their wares. Life out side of carving has been very busy for me so that my stock of finished carvings is not such that I could justify renting a space. I will be carving and displaying my carvings at the Village Florist...just a few doors down from the Smith Gallery and Studio (where much of my work is available).
My work is now available at the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum in Decorah, IA. It is a little greater than three hours North from the Quad-Cities but the beautiful drive and beautiful town make it worth the trip. Vesterheim is a destination for many Scandinavians...okay, more Norwegians than Swedes but a destination anyway. Decorah is also home to Luther College which helps give it a bit of a college town flavor. I have been taking classes at the Folk Art school at Vesterheim for several years to improve my painting skills and learn more of the traditional Scandinavian arts.
Bishop Hill has been increasingly a larger part of my creative life. Bishop Hill started as a colony in Illinois for Swedish emigrants around the 1850's. By chance, my woodcarving club's booth at the Festival of Trees in Davenport was next to a booth celebrating the Swedish Christmas traditions. Many of the decorations came from Bishop Hill Heritage Foundation. I had a conversation with Todd DeDecker, the Foundation's administrator about my Dala horse carvings and paintings. After losing their source for Dala horse blanks for their Dala painting classes, Todd reached out to me ti see if I knew of a new resource for them. I volunteered to give it a shot and found it to be a good fit. I have honed my skills in carving the traditional Swedish horse and supplied the Foundation with a way to continue their painting lessons. in 2022, expanded to Dala roosters and this year it will be Dala pigs. These farm creatures are not as famous as the horse, but still part of the Swedish tradition..
The Prairie Arts Center in Bishop Hill now has Swedish only offerings of my Swedish carvings.
Jordbruksdagarna 2023 will be September 23-24. It is easier to say Agriculture Days. For the last few years I have been volunteering as a demonstrator of traditional arts from the days of the colony. OK, most of my work is not traditional, but I also display my kuksa cups, wooden spoons and kohlrosing. This year I am hoping to have enough carvings available to be a vendor which means my carvings will be available for sale. I still have 15 Dala pigs to carve so I better get busy..
This year I will teaching a beginner's carving Class on Saturday, October 21, 9AM-5PM at the Dairy Building at the Bishop Hill colony. This year we will be carving my new design of a Tomte, a Swedish elf. For more information, call the Bishop Hill Heritage Foundation at 309-927-3899 or email [email protected]
Geneseo is having their yearly Artwalk on Saturday, April 29th, 10 AM to 2PM. Downtown State Street will be closed off so that artists can set up their booths to show and sell their creations. Many of the businesses have opened their stores to allow artists to show their wares. Life out side of carving has been very busy for me so that my stock of finished carvings is not such that I could justify renting a space. I will be carving and displaying my carvings at the Village Florist...just a few doors down from the Smith Gallery and Studio (where much of my work is available).
My work is now available at the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum in Decorah, IA. It is a little greater than three hours North from the Quad-Cities but the beautiful drive and beautiful town make it worth the trip. Vesterheim is a destination for many Scandinavians...okay, more Norwegians than Swedes but a destination anyway. Decorah is also home to Luther College which helps give it a bit of a college town flavor. I have been taking classes at the Folk Art school at Vesterheim for several years to improve my painting skills and learn more of the traditional Scandinavian arts.
Bishop Hill has been increasingly a larger part of my creative life. Bishop Hill started as a colony in Illinois for Swedish emigrants around the 1850's. By chance, my woodcarving club's booth at the Festival of Trees in Davenport was next to a booth celebrating the Swedish Christmas traditions. Many of the decorations came from Bishop Hill Heritage Foundation. I had a conversation with Todd DeDecker, the Foundation's administrator about my Dala horse carvings and paintings. After losing their source for Dala horse blanks for their Dala painting classes, Todd reached out to me ti see if I knew of a new resource for them. I volunteered to give it a shot and found it to be a good fit. I have honed my skills in carving the traditional Swedish horse and supplied the Foundation with a way to continue their painting lessons. in 2022, expanded to Dala roosters and this year it will be Dala pigs. These farm creatures are not as famous as the horse, but still part of the Swedish tradition..
The Prairie Arts Center in Bishop Hill now has Swedish only offerings of my Swedish carvings.
Jordbruksdagarna 2023 will be September 23-24. It is easier to say Agriculture Days. For the last few years I have been volunteering as a demonstrator of traditional arts from the days of the colony. OK, most of my work is not traditional, but I also display my kuksa cups, wooden spoons and kohlrosing. This year I am hoping to have enough carvings available to be a vendor which means my carvings will be available for sale. I still have 15 Dala pigs to carve so I better get busy..
This year I will teaching a beginner's carving Class on Saturday, October 21, 9AM-5PM at the Dairy Building at the Bishop Hill colony. This year we will be carving my new design of a Tomte, a Swedish elf. For more information, call the Bishop Hill Heritage Foundation at 309-927-3899 or email [email protected]