Dala Horse Post Cards

   I was so happy today that my dala horse post cards came back from the printer! These cards feature two of my own paintings with a blue and white dala and a pink and red dala. They are now available in my etsy shop!

Happy Valentine's Day!

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May your day be filled with romance!

Glad Alla hjärtans dag!

Art on Display

  Hello there, my friends!~
   Just wanted to pop by and let you know that I have many pieces of my original art plus some prints now on display and ready to buy at Shades of Brown Coffee and Art in Tulsa, Okla. This includes many of my Scandinavian themed pieces such as The Norwegian Bride, Lars, and Deep in the Winter Wood. If you're in the area, I'd love for you to stop by! And get one of their amazing coffees while you're at it!

Dala Horse Art

I thought I'd share with you my little dala horse paintings! My plan is to make a card set out of these designs. I've had so much fun thinking up different ways of decorating the dalas, and the blue and white one was inspired by my love of blue and white dishes. I've always loved drawing and painting twisting vines, curly ques and graduating dots. I was so pleasantly surprised to discover that all of these motifs I've been doodling for years are all strong design elements in Scandinavian folk art.

I'll be sure to share here when I get the postcards made, and perhaps some prints. I think these dalas will be perfect for spring!~

Book Review: Carl and Karin Larsson, Creators of the Swedish Style

    Not long ago I ordered the book Carl and Karin Larsson: Creators of the Swedish Style through Amazon from a used book source. I was so excited to find a book about one of my favorite artists, Carl Larsson, and his wife Karin and their epic collaboration of their famous house, Lilla Hyttnas in the village of Sundborn, Sweden.

   This book is so fascinating because not only is it a book about their home-- it is a book about their life together, their creations and art, and how the making of their home and their family took on a unique role in Larsson's artwork and the image of Swedish design. For Swedes, the art of Carl Larsson in many ways depicted the ideal home life and encouraged an appreciation for warmth and family friendly rooms.

   I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I ordered the book online, but I was very happy with the heft and depth of the volume! There are hundreds of full color high quality photos and reproductions of Larsson's prints. I loved seeing photos of the actual real-life rooms set beside Larsson's illustrations of the same space. As an artist, seeing this gave me a deep appreciation of how Larsson was able to convey the essence of the room in in his watercolors, and how easily he created stories and movement with the figures he painted within them-- usually his family.

  It was also good to read more about Karin and her contributions to the vision of the home and her own artistry. When Carl and Karin met, she was also a painter. As a modern woman, mother and artist, it does make me sad to read that, once they started having children, Karin's painting came to an end.
   But looking at her home, and reading about the joy she took in designing everything from clothes to furniture to textiles, I think it's safe to assume that Karin didn't 'give up art', but found different outlets for her artistic talents, and those outlets were deeply rooted in and inspired by motherhood.

   Without a doubt, this book left me with an even deeper appreciation for this unbelievably artistic duo and their biggest work of art-- their home. I love all the detail that they put into each room-- painting on the walls, rooms filled with handmade things, and creating beautiful and inviting spaces in which they raised their children and also inspired their nation.
   Even today, the richly folk art and bright style of the Larsson home and Carl Larsson's paintings inspire decorators and home owners around the world and can be categorized as it's own unique style.
   I would definitely recommend this beautiful book to all lovers of Larsson, Swedish style and folk style in general. Especially on a dark winter's day-- whether you're in the frozen north or just the chilly suburbs, this is a warm and cozy read!

~Heather

Music: First Aid Kit

Today I wanted to share with you one of my favorite singing duos-- the sisters Johanna and Klara Soderberg from Sweden, known as First Aid Kit. Their close melodies and folk style are just beautiful and mesmerizing and they've been compared to another one of my favorite bands-- Fleet Foxes. In fact, it was a cover of a Fleet Foxes song posted on the internet that first gave the sisters international attention:



  And while this is an amazing cover, their original music is just as beautiful and lovely-- and it's also in English. First Aid Kit's latest album, The Lion's Roar, is a folky feast of bittersweet songs, that are shockingly mature for such a young pair, but their voices make it feel true and honest.

This is my favorite song from the album, called "Emmylou" it is remarkably 'Americana' and country sounding-- even featuring mentions of American legends 'Emmylou', 'June', 'Johnny' and 'Graham.'

I highly suggest giving them a listen and I look forward to many more future albums from these girls~
~H

My own Dala....

I've started working on a series of Dala Horse designs-- come check it out on my art blog-- Audrey Eclectic!

A Swedish Epiphany

  Happy Epiphany, dear readers! Hope you're having a wonderful Sunday. I thought I'd share with you this beautiful Swedish tapestry depicting the nativity with the three wise men by Anders Eriksson, 1802. Thanks to Aputsiaq at Nordic Thoughts for the source!

Also--- we have a winner for our book giveaway! Congrats to Nancy, for your win! And thanks so much to our author, Linda K. Hubalek for being so generous!

Til next time,
~Heather

Obsession: Scandinavian Box Beds

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There is something just so interesting and a bit romantic about box beds, and Scandinavia has some of the most beautiful varieties. Built into the wall, sometimes with a curtained off entrance or even an entrance with doors, I have loved these unique style of beds since I was a kid.
    The concept behind the box bed is to preserve heat and add privacy. They often times also included storage of some sort either beneath the bed or along the wooden sides.
   In the years when most people shared sleeping space with the whole family, having a private box bed was probably very ideal. Especially in the frigid winters of northern landscapes-- I can just imagine how warm and cozy these beds must be all piled up with blankets and furs, the curtains drawn and a good book in hand.
   I've been gathering some images of some particularly beautiful box beds for that 'some day' house of my dreams. I thought I'd share them with you here-- what do you think? Are you a fan? Or would you feel claustrophobic? I just love how beautifully and ornately some of the beds are decorated. They are many times a work of art in of themselves!

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Butter in the Well: A review, and interview and a giveaway!

   Earlier this year a friend of mine gave me some books, knowing that I am into all things prairie and Swedish and pioneering. 
In the pile of good reading was this slim volume by Kansas author Linda K. Hubalek, "Butter in the Well."
     I found this book very intriguing on many levels--- not only is it written in a diary style that covers 20 years of a Swedish immigrant woman's life on the Kansas prairie-- but the people and places are actually historically true. And in a twist of fate most intriguing, the author grew up on the same farm and in the very house that Kajsa Svensson Runeberg and her family built and lived in for many years. This unique and intimate connection to Kajsa's story and the very land she struggled to make into a home has made Linda's book all the more poignant and real.
    The story begins in 1868, when young Kajsa and her husband Carl Johan and their baby Anna Christina are journeying from Illinois (where they lived for a year after initially arriving from Sweden) to the rough and foreign terrain of central Kansas. The Svensson family tackle almost unimaginable obstacles-- living in a crude earthen dwell dug out of the ground, struggling with the climate, the wild animals (including snakes falling through the sod ceiling!) and building their lives and identities in a new land.
   Kajsa's quiet fortitude in the face of great joy and great sorrow is admirable, and also makes one realize how much our ancestors struggled with in order to survive and thrive in the New World.
   Kajsa's story is amazing in it's quiet simpleness, and I couldn't help but admire her for her fortitude, faith, and ability to keep on going when it seemed almost impossible to do so.
   Ultimately, Butter in the Well is a story that anyone with an interest in pioneering, prairie culture, and Scandinavian immigrants will enjoy. 
   The book is also filled with great family photos of Kajsa and her home and family, maps and even some recipes.
    It is also just the first in a series of books that the prolific author has written, and I can't wait to delve into her other books! 

    Not too long ago I had the pleasure of chatting with Linda K. Hubalek about her books, and she was kind enough to answer a few of my questions I had after reading Butter in the Well.
   I thought you might like to hear some of her great answers, and learn a little more about what went in to writing such a unique book:


    How did you first come to learn about Kajsa and the family that built your home and originally
settled your childhood farm? Was it part of your childhood, or something you researched as an
adult?

Linda: Kajsa’s (and her sibling’s) descendants lived around our farm, so I knew them growing up. Kajsa’s daughter Julia married the boy next farm over and was like a grandmother to me.
    Over the years Julia gave me things to play with or keep, and as I worked on Kajsa’s book I realized they had been a part of the first pioneer family’s life.
   Julia gave me an old paper tree to put in my playhouse. When I started working on the book I realized it was their ljus korna! (I still have a cluster of tiny glass bulbs that had been fastened to the tree.)
   A quilt she gave me was an 1890’s crazy quilt, sewn and quilted in the house I grew up in, and which Kajsa would have helped made.
    Kajsa’s youngest daughter Mabel had a camera in the early 1900’s and family members shared photos with me. Photos in the house and around the farm put their family in the same place I spent time, only in a different decade.
   So many little things like what I’ve mentioned have tied me to Kajsa and her family while I was growing up, and still do now fifty years later.

2. What inspired you to tell Kajsa's story in diary format?
     My mom gave me a diary for Christmas the year before I was married so I could record my wedding plans. I used it to write about my daily life, and have been doing it now for 36 years.
    When I first started working on the Butter in the Well book, I only have bits and pieces of
Kajsa’s life, so it was easy for me to write her story as diary entries.
  And I don’t like to write dialog- so I write my books more as an insight into the character’s
feelings instead of interacting with other people.

3. What was it about Kajsa as a historical figure and a character that made you want to tell this pioneering story through her perspective?
   I was researching my Swedish Johnson side of the family, but didn’t find much information on their journey to Kansas or their first years on their homestead.
   Then I realized I had a wealth of information on Kajsa because of me growing up on her
homestead, and the neighborhood connection. It just fell in place to write her story because I
could feel the ties and emotions we both had to the same place.

4. In your opinion, what abilities or attributes made Swedish (and Scandinavian settlers in general) succeed in taming the prairie?
    Our community was started by Swedish farmers coming for land, so they knew they were
starting from scratch, plus they had the knowledge to build their homesteads and grow crops.
    I’ve been to Sweden and seen where my ancestors first lived. The scenery happens to be very similar to our part of Kansas, but the weather, especially during the summer, would have been a major adjustment for them. Luckily the Swedes came to this area in groups, or came to join other family members or friends, so there was a network of support for each other.
   In most cases the Swedish immigrants spent all their money getting here, so were forced to make it work. We joke now that we’re “stubborn Swedes” but that was a trait that helped the first Swedes in the area to survive and thrive on the Kansas prairie.

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  I have great news for you now, my readers! Not only is Linda's book available to purchase online, but she has generously donated a FREE Kindle eBook edition of her book Butter in the Well to a lucky reader here at Scandinavian Folk! All you need to do is a leave a comment here on this post. And if you share the review and giveaway info on your own blog or facebook, feel free to post here again to let me know and increase your chances of winning! This giveaway will be open through JANUARY 5, 2013! 

And of course---Thanks SO much to Linda as well for her generosity and the time she took to talk with me and such a great interview!

Happy a happy New Year! And thanks for stopping by!~
Heather