Finished projects

I finished all three projects from my class in July. Now I have to wait until the paint on the blue plate is totally, completely, absolutely dry so I can erase the guide lines. Then they all get varnished.

After that it's on to the next project.

My new contraption

I call this my mini-easel-turntable. Some of my friends in Decorah had them, so I had to have one, too. It holds the work at a better angle and since it's higher off the table, I can sit up straight while I paint. Better for the back! Now let's see if it improves the painting.

The beautiful acanthus

Here's a picture of the beautiful acanthus plant. The leaves are quite large, over a foot long.

Here's the plate I just completed. The leaves are stylized but have the same feel and "flounce" as the real thing.

What I learned in Decorah

My class this summer was in the Gudbrandsdal style of rosemaling. It's based on wood carvings of the acanthus leaf. The acanathus doesn't grow in Norway but its use as a motif in art came north through Europe till it got to Norway--about as far as it could go.

The acanthus leaf has many lobes and folds, so these flowers and leaves have more depth than other types of rosemaling. It's fun to paint.

These are the practice boards I painted. Now I have to paint  some plates.

A new project

I finally finished the oval box I was painting to match the mitten box. Here it is.

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Now I've started a dark green tray. I'll attach handles on each end once it's painted. 

My hat

The hat is finished, and as you can see, it's reversible. It was fun to do and now that I know what I'm doing (I think) I'll knit another one, hopefully with fewer mistakes.

The next one will be red and gold.

Two new projects

After finishing the little black plate, I decided to paint a little red plate. As usual, I started with the plump "watermelon" leave. Now I'll work on the flowers.

I decided to upgrade my knitting skills, so I took a class is "brioche" knitting. After a one-hour lesson, several views on Youtube, reading the directions numerous times, another trip to the knit shop for refresher instructions and restarting the project six times, I think I finally got the hang of it. Let's hope so. This is a winter hat. Can I finish it by summer?

A new little plate

 I just finished this little plate. I found a picture of the yellow flower in an old Norwegian Rosemaling book, so I thought I'd give it a try. It doesn't look much like the picture, but I like it anyway.