Swedish Folk Painting: Fantastical Kurbits

Join art professor Alison Aune in a Swedish folk art workshop. Alison will lead participants in creating Dalecarlia Kurbit Dalmålning, also known as kurbits painting or Dala painting, which flourished in Sweden in the 18th and 19th centuries. The kurbit was a fantastical gourd plant commonly used in folk paintings in Dalarna Sweden, as a symbol of good luck. Participants will create their own creative interpretations as we revive the tradition using a contemporary color palette!

Registration Includes

Instruction and all supplies, including paints, brushes, paper, transfer paper, etc.

You should bring…

You are welcome to bring your own favorite painting supplies, but all required supplies will be provided for each student.

Skill Level

No prior experience needed.

Best for Ages…

7 years old and up.

During class, Alison Aune will also share her research on the cultural practice of Swedish folk painting. This will include adventures from her American-Scandinavian Foundation Folk Arts study trip to Sweden in May 2019, and she’ll present historic examples of sydsvenskt bonadasmåleri (narrative peasant paintings from southern Sweden) and dalmålning (floral kurbit painting from Dalarna) and her work with contemporary folk artists in Skåne, Småland, and Dalarna.

Alison will have many pictures and stories about her visits to studios, museums, and workshops where she learned from experts about the history, subject matter, and techniques of painting on canvas, wood, and paper using egg tempera, hand-made brushes, wooden stamps, and stencils. She will show examples of her new Swedish folk paintings inspired by the trip and information about her exhibition at the Nordic Center with folk painters Judith Kjenstad and Pieper Fleck Bloomquist in October 2019.