Norwegian Wood 2006

Sverres Borg Trondelag Folkemuseum consists of old buildings and houses collected from this region of Norway set on the grounds, as well as an exhibit of artifacts and objects from Norwegian daily life from the 1700´s to present. The stave church here had these big bulb shapes at the bottoms of the staves. There was some influence from Russia being blended with the building style. Inside the houses were the typical Norwegian objects including mangles and small chairs made grom natural curved wood. Most objects as well as the carving and painting in a house would have been done by the farmer himself. Most of the timber buildings are small, one or two rooms and often serving single functions so that the farm consists of a dozen small buildings. One of the houses was from a wealthy farmer who liked to entertain, and the ceilings were richly painted by hired artisans. I really liked one table in this house. Its 2 drop leaves fold down so that the table becomes about the size of a sawhorse. Perhaps it is not uniquely Norwegian, but clever. Inside the exhibit, there were several Empire sleds like the ones I saw back in Lillehammer.
The Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrialmuseum collection includes historical examples of material culture and decorative arts, as well as contemporary crafts, including some Wegner chairs and a piece (not pictured) by the late Peter Voulkas (whose wife and son are my neighbors and landlords). There was a special exhibit of crowns from around the world. They ranged from standard Burger King looking German crowns to very exotic headdresses from South America. The typical Norwegian bridal crown is made of very thin metal, and I would like to make one from all of the different beer cans from Norway. Queen of Beers.