Silver & Jewelry
Kim Bakken-Parr began her career as a high school chemistry teacher who loved to work in the lab. Her love of chemistry and teaching has continued as she shares her passion for the creative medium of Precious Metal Clay jewelry. Her husband, Lee Parr, has been involved in arts and crafts for years and they make a great teaching team. They are active in the White Bear Center for the Arts.
Marilyn Hanson lives on the South Dakota side of Big Stone Lake in western Minnesota. She has a passion for various art mediums and has been involved with MVAS for 19 years. Her father and sister, both former students of MVAS silver classes, introduced her to this fascinating art. Marilyn is semi-retired and is now able to offer 3 day classes this year. She is a veteran student of advanced silversmithing, silver spoons, bracelets, earrings and technique classes. She has been teaching silver classes since 2012. She enjoys teaching and sharing her knowledge. She is always amazed at the new ideas and designs that her students bring to her class. Her sister, Kathy Nardi, a talented silver and jewelry artist, often assists with beginner classes.
Norma Refsal became very interested and familiar with many of the Scandinavian folk arts while living with her family in Norway. She currently does work in metal, leather and wood, and her inspiration is closely tied to the Nordic folk art traditions. She lives in Decorah, Iowa with her husband, Harley, and they work together in their home studio.
Sue Roisen, a long time member of MVAS, studied Sami bracelets from Norma Refsal. Sue has a keen interest in Sami culture and traditions and is constantly creating new Sami bracelet patterns. When she is not making bracelets, Sue enjoys working in her Lac qui Parle Valley Vineyard near Dawson, MN.
Scandinavian
Karen Aakre is a fiber farmer that spins, weaves, and felts sheep wool. She travelled to Norway to learn this craft from Britt Solheim. She taught art for 15 years and has taught this craft since 2011. Karen is very involved in her Norwegian heritage and raises sheep llamas and goats.
Clarice Dieter was inspired by her interest in her Norwegian heritage to study rosemaling and has continued to study and teach rosemaling since 1977. Clarice is active in the Terrace Rosemaling Association, Terrace, MN, the Prairie Renaissance Cultural Alliance Art Gallery in Morris, MN and the Art of the Lakes Gallery in Battle Lake, MN. Clarice lives in Morris.
Karen Jenson of Milan, Minnesota has taught classes all over the United States for more than 30 years. Her gallery displays include the Vesterheim Museum, the Minneapolis Institute of Art and the Swedish Institute in Minneapolis, the Museum of American Folk Art in New York City, and the Folk Museum at Oslo, Norway. Her classes draw students from across the United States and her reputation as a rosemaler is known nationally.
Jon Roisen started making Norwegian knives with Gene Tokheim in 1995. Since then he’s fine tuned his knife making skills to become a Gold Medal winner at the Vesterheim. Jon has assisted Gene in teaching at MVAS for over 10 years and needs no introduction to returning Norwegian Knife Making students. Jon and his wife Sue own the Lac qui Parle Valley Vineyard and are board members of MVAS.
Gene Tokheim of Dawson, Minnesota has an arts degree from SSU. He has taught for over 20 years in the United States and in Norway. His work has been exhibited in shows at the University of Minnesota, the Folk Art Museum in New York City and the Hedmark Museum in Hammer, Norway. He has won the Gold Medal in knife making at the Vesterheim Museum. He is an accomplished potter, silversmith, and long-time supporter of the Milan Village Arts School.
Carving & Working with Wood
Bill Jaeger, Anoka, has been figure carving in the Scandinavian traditional style since 1992. The last six years he has taught regularly at the American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis as well as other carving venues. A draftsman by trade, Bill has since taken many folk arts and craft courses here and in Sweden. Bill won the 2009 Gold Medal for wood carving at the Vesterheim Museum in Decorah, Iowa and demonstrated carving at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts’ Nordic oil painting exhibition.
Paul Linden is a sculptor and maker of things who lives in Minneapolis and works in the Art Department of the University of Minnesota. He has taught courses and workshops in sculptural woodworking, metal fabrication and metal-casting as well as traditional craft techniques. Paul has almost never met a tool that he didn’t like, and proves this by his ever-expanding collection. He takes great satisfaction from using self-made tools and is constantly modifying, remaking, and learning the use of old and new hand tools. Paul tries hard to spend all of his extra time either in the wood or metal shop, or outside with his kids.
Fred Livesay discovered his woodworking abilities at age 7 and later trained as a wheelwright and carriage builder. In college, he went on to study Scandinavian folk art and decorative arts. Fred is a restoration carpenter who also builds and repairs fine furniture, turns bowls, & weaves baskets. Fred is a founder of North House Folk School, has been a Slöjd instructor at the Waldorf schools in the cities, has studied hand craft extensively in Sweden and is a frequent and highly regarded instructor at Spoonfest held each year in England.
Brenda Lodermeier has been carving & working in pyrography for the past 7 years. She is an active member of the Central MN Woodcarvers Association and Show Chair for the 2015 Beneath the Bark – Wood carvers, Along with many other awards she was the 2015 Best of Show Intermediate Winner at the Wisconsin River Woodcarving Show. She also teaches at Midland, Evart & Floyd Fest in Michigan, CarveFest in Faribault, MN and numerous classes is Mission, Texas.
Steve Mullins began his woodworking career more than 30 years ago after earning a degree in carpentry and woodworking from Alexandria TCC. He started Mullins Woodworks in 1985 and specializes in turning wooden bowls and wood art on the lathe. His work has been sold across the country and around the world. Steve is a lifelong resident of west central Minnesota and lives in New Prairie township near Cyrus.
Harley Refsal has taught Scandinavian-style figure carving throughout the U.S. as well as in Norway, Sweden and Iceland. A professor of Scandinavian Folk Art at Luther College in Decorah, Harley regularly demonstrates and gives presentations on Norwegian folk art and traditions, and has authored several books and numerous articles on Scandinavian figure carving.
Hans Sandom, born in Norway but now residing in Minnetonka, Minnesota, is a gifted wood carver. Hans has over 39 years of carving experience in Acanthus and Rococo styles and specializes in furniture. Hans has won the Gold Medal in National Competition for Excellence at the Vesterheim Museum in Decorah, IA and received first prize in acanthus carving from the International Wood Carvers’ Congress in Davenport IA. He was commissioned to carve a memorial box to King Olav V which was presented to King Harald V.
Ty Thornock has been kolrosing intensively for the past two years. He has written a book on kolrosing available for free download and currently has work on display in the Vesterheim Museum (The National Norwegian American Heritage Center and Museum).
Framing & Photography
Gene Stukel A trip with a National Geographic photographer to the Boundary Waters in the 1970’s was the beginning of a serious interest in the landscape. During the last ten years I’ve had opportunities to more seriously pursue landscape photography, and share my photographs via the Granite Falls Area Arts Council, Southwest Minnesota Arts Council events, and Meander Art Crawl. I believe it is important to document the landscape as a reminder of what people need to protect for future generations.
Brian Wolf began picture framing as a part time job as a student at Iowa State University. In his shop he developed the decorative matting techniques that he has been teaching to other picture framers around the world since 1979. In 2002 Brian started work with Wizard International where he works with the computerized mat cutter and continues to contribute articles on framing design to industry publications.
Fiber Arts
Celeste Suter. Creative expression is part of fiber artist Celeste Suter’s life objective. The colors, textures and promise of endless combinations of fibers to create her works of art brings her heart joy. Celeste designs knitting and crochet patterns. She also spins yarn, is a dyer, weaver and felter, and enjoys locker hooking and needle tatting. She utilizes a wide range of fibers including wool, alpaca, llama, silk, camel, bamboo and soy silks, and mohair and wool & cotton fabrics. So that she could share her joy of fiber with others, she opened a studio in Montevideo in Fall 2007. Her studio was relocated to Milan, Minnesota in October of 2012.
Prairie Living
Maureen Hark lives with her family on a small urban farm in St. Paul, MN, where she specializes in growing garlic and a variety of peppers. She teaches at and is the cofounder of Growing West Side, an organization that promotes building community connections through a shared interest in gardening. Maureen has been baking her whole life with a particular fondness for breads both yeast and quick.
Robin Moore lives in Lac qui Parle County were she grows organic flowers and is a practicing blacksmith. She learned to tie brooms from North House Folk School instructor Dennis Chicolte and sells her wares at billy maple tree’s on Main Street, Milan.
Claire Swanson My basket weaving began as a quest for a unique Easter basket for my daughter in 1981. I had taken a class to make an egg basket, and from there my desire to learn more took root. Since then, I have taught myself through trial and error , and a class here and there, to weave many numerous styles of baskets. I keep striving to be a better weaver, and to help others to learn the craft.
Painting & Stained Glass
Katia Andreeva is a highly regarded artist formally from Granite Falls. She took courses at the Academy of Art and Design in St. Petersburg, Russia and is currently a freelance artist. Katia’s projects include book illustrations as well as watercolor. Her work has earned numerous awards with its exquisite detail and masterful use of color.
Kim Bakken-Parr began her career as a high school chemistry teacher who loved to work in the lab. Her love of chemistry and teaching has continued as she shares her passion for the creative medium of Precious Metal Clay jewelry. Her husband, Lee Parr, has been involved in arts and crafts for years and they make a great teaching team. They are active in the White Bear Center for the Arts.
Jill Blom has a BA in art education and is currently teaching K-6 art at Lac qui Parle Valley schools. Before teaching full time, she sold her artwork locally and taught artist residencies and workshops in area schools. She has been involved in several community arts projects including working with the community to depict the history of Milan in mural form in downtown Milan. Jill has previously been a Meander artist and has taught classes for the MVAS for years.