Gifts for the Fam

I would have loved to give one of these carvings to each of my Dad's 12 cousins still living in Norway, but I ran out of time. I got pooped out preparing for the other parts of my trip.

So, my hosts, and the female cousins all got a carving from me. These are called "Nisse" (niss-eh). They are little guys that go up and down the hills looking for ways to earn their keep, helping farmers chop wood or do other tasks. By nature, they don't let the grass grow under their feet. They're on the move. I guess you could call them "Wandering Norwegians!"

It was important to me to give them. What the recipients thought of them, now that's another story. Possibly varied responses, but my family has some quiet members so it's not fair for me to judge too quickly.

The style is called "flat plane carving", which is particularly Scandinavian. The artists who really do this well are people who are able to get the angles just right, so the shadows can play on the surface of the carving. Angled carving leaves some work for the imagination too, which I think is a good thing.

I'd like to keep carving and see if it can possibly be a lifelong pastime.

These are carved from basswood, and their staffs are made from myrtlewood which is unique to the coast of Oregon and northern California. The paints are acrylic, and the antiquing is a walnut stain mixed into boiled linseed oil.