T.B. Scott Free Library features Norwegian rosemaling in latest ArtShare exhibit

The T.B. Scott Free Library will showcase Norwegian Rosemaling artwork by local artist Peter Engel in its Beyond Books Community ArtShare exhibition during the months of November and December.
Engel, who was raised in the Merrill area, discovered his passion for rosemaling while attending UW-Stevens Point. During his college years, he rented a room from a landlady who owned a plate created by one of America’s first rosemalers, sparking his immediate interest in the traditional Norwegian decorative painting technique.
Coming from Scandinavian and German ancestry, Engel grew up surrounded by art. His mother and sister are both artists, and his Norwegian grandmother owned a rosemaled chest. He studied the craft through a book by Margaret Miller and Sigmund Aarseth, which became a source of inspiration for his work.
Engel particularly favors the Telemark style of rosemaling. According to Rosemaling Coast to Coast, Telemark is “known as the national rosemaling style of Norway” and is “one of the most recognizable and popular styles.” The source notes that Telemark rosemaling, which originated in central southern Norway, is “known for its graceful, flowing, asymmetrical design made of scrolls and fantasy flowers.”
The exhibit is located in the library’s historical Carnegie Wing and is free and open to the public during regular library hours.