Viking Magazine - October 2010 - 38
F'6
BVhiZg 8gV[ihbVc
Egd[Zhhdg ZbZg^ijh! eVhidg VcY Vgi^hi =VgaZn GZ[hVa XVgkZh V c^X]Z [dg
]^bhZa[ ^c HXVcY^cVk^Vc " hinaZ É Vi " eaVcZ È \jgZ XVgk^c\# 7N B6M C:HI:G6@
H
arley Refsal has taught
on both sides of the
Atlantic for more than
25 years, and his woodcarving
has appeared in multiple exhibitions.
He recently retired as
professor of Scandinavian folk
art at Luther College in Decorah,
Iowa, where he worked
for 38 years. He is currently
working on a book titled " Little
Whittles " that will be published
in 2011. Viking caught up with
Refsal to learn more about his
love for Norwegian folk art and
his passion for teaching it.
K IZaa jh VWdji ndjg CdglZ\^Vc
]Zg^iV\Z#
;All my grandparents came
from Norway. I grew up near
Hoffman, Minn., on a farm
my mother's parents bought
when they came to this country.
Culturally, it was very much a
Norwegian community. Because
of my grandfather, who spoke
exclusively in Norwegian until
he died, I had a lot of exposure
to Norwegian language, culture
and handwork.
K L]Vi ^che^gZY ndj id hiVgi
lddYXVgk^c\4
;I always whittled on things
and worked with wood. I
can't remember a time when I
didn't do that. I can't say it was
the kind of carving I've been
focusing on for the last couple
decades, but when I was a boy,
I remember making things
out of wood because it was a
natural thing to do. It was in
our culture to do things with
our hands.
K 9^Y ndj ]VkZ [dgbVa igV^c^c\ ^c
lddYXVgk^c\4
;My own carving was
self-taught. I saw carving in
Norway when I traveled there
for the fi rst time in 1965 as
a member of the Augsburg
College Choir. We were on tour
in Norway for several weeks,
and I saw a style of fi gure
carving that grabbed me. It
was really love at fi rst sight. It's
become known in this country
as Scandinavian-style fl atplane
fi gure carving. I bought
a couple fi gures in Norway,
placed them in front of me and
just started in. There wasn't any
formal training available to me.
It was years and years of trial
and error.
K L]Vi Yd ndj Xdch^YZg
i]Z bdhi gZlVgY^c\ eVgi d[
ndjg XVgZZg4
;Teaching and encouraging students
has been very rewarding.
Many of my students at Luther
College have some Scandinavian
heritage, and there's a strong
interest in exploring those family
38 K>@>C< D8ID7:G '%&% hdchd[cdglVn#Xdb
traditions. But for
most people, that has
to be done in a way
that is non-language
dependent. Through
Scandinavian fi ne handcraft
classes and courses in fi gure
carving, spoon carving and
other Norwegian styles of
woodcarving, it's been a way
for students to connect with
their heritage.
K 6[iZg YZXVYZh d[ hijYn^c\
VcY iZVX]^c\ HXVcY^cVk^Vc Vgi!
aVc\jV\Z VcY XjaijgZ! l]Vi `ZZeh
ndj ZmX^iZY VWdji ndjg È ZaY4
;I'm excited about each new
piece that I start to carve on.
People often ask me what my
favorite piece is, and my stock
answer is " the next one. "
Name: =VgaZn GZ[hVa
Age: +*
Title: GZi^gZY Egd[Zhhdg
d[ HXVcY^cVk^Vc ;da` 6gi
Vi Aji]Zg 8daaZ\Z
Hometown:
=d[[bVc! B^cc#
Current City:
9ZXdgV]! >dlV
Recent
Accomplishment:
>c '%%.! BV^]Vj\Zc
BjhZjb ^c A^aaZ]Vb "
bZg! CdglVn! ]dhiZY V
È kZ " bdci] Zm]^W^i^dc
d[ GZ[hVa¿h ldg`#
up close
Viking Magazine - October 2010
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Viking Magazine - October 2010
Contents
Viking Magazine - October 2010 - Cover1
Viking Magazine - October 2010 - Cover2
Viking Magazine - October 2010 - Contents
Viking Magazine - October 2010 - 4
Viking Magazine - October 2010 - 5
Viking Magazine - October 2010 - 6
Viking Magazine - October 2010 - 7
Viking Magazine - October 2010 - 8
Viking Magazine - October 2010 - 9
Viking Magazine - October 2010 - 10
Viking Magazine - October 2010 - 11
Viking Magazine - October 2010 - 12
Viking Magazine - October 2010 - 13
Viking Magazine - October 2010 - 14
Viking Magazine - October 2010 - 15
Viking Magazine - October 2010 - 16
Viking Magazine - October 2010 - 17
Viking Magazine - October 2010 - 18
Viking Magazine - October 2010 - 19
Viking Magazine - October 2010 - 20
Viking Magazine - October 2010 - 21
Viking Magazine - October 2010 - 22
Viking Magazine - October 2010 - 23
Viking Magazine - October 2010 - 24
Viking Magazine - October 2010 - 25
Viking Magazine - October 2010 - 26
Viking Magazine - October 2010 - 27
Viking Magazine - October 2010 - 28
Viking Magazine - October 2010 - 29
Viking Magazine - October 2010 - 30
Viking Magazine - October 2010 - 31
Viking Magazine - October 2010 - 32
Viking Magazine - October 2010 - 33
Viking Magazine - October 2010 - 34
Viking Magazine - October 2010 - 35
Viking Magazine - October 2010 - 36
Viking Magazine - October 2010 - 37
Viking Magazine - October 2010 - 38
Viking Magazine - October 2010 - Cover3
Viking Magazine - October 2010 - Cover4
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