“Region 2 Arts Council Grant brings Rosemaling Class to Area”

By Bonnie Kirchman

Thanks to an Arts Project Grant awarded by the Region 2 Arts Council, rosemaling teacher Trudy Peach was able to share her skills and expertise with local painters.

“Yes, I would love to come and teach your group,” was the response from Trudy Peach to a request from the Norda Gonvick Rosemalers this year. The group of painters had asked Trudy to come to Clearbrook to teach a class in the Os style of rosemaling.

 After months of corresponding, planning, and applying for a grant, the three-day Os class took place on June 24-26 at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Clearbrook.

“We need to rely on those teachers that have been to Norway or studied pieces that are in the Vesterheim Museum in Decorah, Iowa,” the Norda Gonvick Rosemalers stated in their grant application. 

The group wanted to learn more about Os rosemaling. This version of the art form originated in the west coastal region of Norway. Os is a different style from the others the local rosemalers usually paint, but they could not find any resources or books to help them learn more about it. They especially wanted to learn about the old Os rosemaling paintings and learn to paint authentic designs.

Trudy Peach, the teacher of the class, has studied old pieces of rosemaling in Norway and at the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum in Decorah, Iowa. She has traveled four times to Norway to study and photograph rosemaling pieces, bringing what she has learned back to use in her own work and share with her students.

Trudy Peach became interested in rosemaling at a young age. She has been rosemaling since 1969, when she took her first rosemaling class at the Milwaukee Vo-Tech in Wisconsin. Trudy has continued to study the Norwegian folk art since then, taking classes from many American and Norwegian rosemaling teachers. Trudy has also taught classes in rosemaling throughout the United States. She is also a judge for many rosemaling exhibitions, including the annual Vesterheim National Rosemaling Exhibition. Trudy has also judged local shows in Stoughton, Wisconsin and Illinois.

In 1986, Trudy became a Gold Medal winner at the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum’s nation-wide annual rosemaling competition. She has also been recognized in several publications including Norway in America, Norwegian Rosemaling in America, Rosemaling in the Upper Midwest, Norwegian Folk Art, and The Decorative Painter. In addition, her work has been featured as cover pages for the Rosemaler’s Cookbook and the Sons of Norway Viking Magazine.

Trudy’s work has been displayed in the United States and Norway. Two of her pieces are included in a permanent display at the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum. One of her pieces was entered at the Indiana Decorative Arts and is in permanent collection there. Another of Trudy’s rosemaling works was entered in the Decorative Arts Collection held in Washington, D.C. That piece is now in the permanent collection of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Kansas City.

Trudy specializes in Os as well as Old Rogaland and Vest Agder styles of rosemaling. Each style of rosemaling has unique characteristics. Os is different from other styles of rosemaling, most noticeably because of the brighter colors used. The designs are often painted on red or white backgrounds. Special features of the Os designs are geometric shapes such as squares or cubes. The flowers in the Os paintings style are usually grouped on stems, and include heavy line detail on the leaves. Trudy pointed out that the Os style uses many different flower designs that are not found in other types of rosemaling.

Fifteen students, the maximum for the class, signed up to learn more about Os rosemaling. They would be painting one of Trudy Peach’s designs on a large plate. Tim Montzka of Montzka Woodworking in Forest Lake agreed to make the custom plates according to Trudy’s specifications. A third-generation wood turner and wood carver, Tim was also awarded a gold medal from the Vesterheim, receiving his for woodcarving.

Numerous colors of oil paint, a variety of brushes, and many specialized painting techniques went into each project. The students watched, listened, recorded, and took notes and photographs so they could remember all the details of the lessons Trudy taught during the class. Although they were all following Trudy’s design, each student’s finished plate will be unique, due to individual painting styles and color choices.

The Norda Gonvick Rosemalers has been meeting for over thirty years. According to Ardella Lindberg who leads the group, they started painting in group members’ homes, then moved to Gonvick. Now they meet every Monday in Clearbrook at the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. Anyone who is interested in trying rosemaling is welcome to visit the group and learn more about the Norwegian art form. 

Even those in the community who aren’t rosemalers are supportive and interested in the work the Norda Gonvick Rosemalers do. Each year, many visit the group’s building at the Clearwater County fair. The rosemalers exhibit a variety of painting work they have done, representing the styles of rosemaling from the various regions of Norway. During the fair, the members also demonstrate their painting skills.

Thanks to the grant from the Region 2 Arts Council, the group was able to share a learning experience they might not have had otherwise. Additional community support came from the Clearwater Life Center who acted as the fiscal sponsor for the grant. Piper Inn in Clearbrook also supported the group’s effort by offering a discount for the teacher’s stay during the class.

“Not many of us could travel to the Vesterheim to take a class like this,” Connie Nelson said. Connie, a member of the Norda Gonvick Rosemalers, helped write the grant that brought Trudy Peach to the area. 

This activity was made possible, in part, by a grant provided by the Region 2 Arts Council through an appropriation from the Minnesota State Legislature with money from the State’s general fund.