Judy Tweeten shares (her) love of Rosemaling

“As long as there’s an interest, I’m going to go right on teaching it,” says Hartland resident Judy Tweeten about the art style of Rosemaling. “It’s part of a tradition that should be appreciated and enjoyed.”

 

Rosemaling, she explains, is often seen decorating useful items such as a bread board or serving tray. Its designs consist of symmetrical patterns created with curves and circles, all painted with either an “s” or “c” stroke.

 

The art form comes from northern Europe: Tweeten’s connection is through her roots as a Peterson. Her ancestors came to the United States from Norway in the 1830s. Thanks to a sister who is interested in genealogical research, Tweeten can show family roots all the way back to the fifth century which include regional royalty, among them King Ingjald the Wicked Onunndson and King Olaf the Woodcutter.

 

Tweeten’s great-grandfather Nils Brandstad came to America in 1882, bringing his family which included his daughter, Tweeten’s Grandmother Bridt, who was just 17 at the time. They brought their belongings in a wooden trunk which has the date of 1836 painted on it along with designs in the Valdres style of Rosemaling.

 

Despite her strong connections, Tweeten says she was an adult before she learned the art form. She has been a resident of Hartland since marrying Arlo in 1967, and mentions that many residents of the town and surrounding area come from Norwegian ancestry–so much so that even in the 1960s, some families were still speaking Norwegian at home and among themselves.

 

Judy remembers being delighted when she and a few other Hartland ladies were invited to join a small kitchen-table class put together in 1982 by Betty Rechnor, who was well known for her rosemal artwork. “Pretty much everyone in town owned something Betty had painted,” Judy recalls.

 

Since that beginning, she has gone on to learn much more about the art form, becoming acquainted with various styles, all of which are rosemaling, but make use of different color combinations or other elements. The “c” and “s” strokes, she mentions, are consistent across all of them.

 

Judy became a teacher thanks to a string of coincidences. She works at the NRHEG Secondary school as a paraprofessional, and so became acquainted with Macy Whiteside, the district’s community education director. Casual conversation led to the idea of offering a class in 2014 “just to see” what level of interest there might be. Registration filled up, and Judy began what has become a fairly consistent stream of classes. She has now taught a number in Albert Lea and recently taught for the first time at the Waseca Art Center.

 

Classes are usually a single session up to four hours in length. Registration is typically limited to 12 or so students, allowing for lots of personal attention, and often fill up rather quickly. 

 

Judy finds this gratifying.

 

“There are lots of reasons to learn rosemaling,” she says. “For many of us, it’s connected to our history. It’s also a beautiful, simple art form that’s easy to learn, partly because it follows clear rules.”

 

She points out that, for any students who want to continue building their skills, an important exercise is building muscle memory for the two types of curves.

 

“I tell them if they’re going to doodle, they should doodle with “c” and “s” curves,” she says.

As she continues to offer classes, she says she plans to expand offerings in a number of ways. Since all materials are supplied, she will select different “useful items” to be decorated. Along with that, she will introduce students to some of the various “schools” of style.

 

“We always have fun together,” she says of her classes and students. “It’s really nice that we can share art and share each other’s company.”