Bonader, Dala and Painted furniture in Sweden ONLINE

Pam Rucinski is a well-known folk artist from Wisconsin. She paints in many ethnic traditions, most notably Rosmåling and Swedish Allmoge målning (peasant arts), all of which she teaches. She also paints Russian Zhostovo. Pam received her Vesterheim Gold Medal in 1995 and also received the Crystal Award for Dalmålning from Gammelgarden Museum in Minnesota. Pam continues to study these folk arts and takes every opportunity to learn more about them, their cultural history as well as honing her painting skills.

In 2019 she, along with artist Carol Bender, received an American Scandinavian Fellowship to study for 3 weeks in Sweden, concentrating on Dalmålning, Bonadsmålning and Drickamålning. They were allowed special access in Museums and learned to use the traditional materials common in the 17th and 18th centuries during the height of folk art popularity.

Pam will use this opportunity to share with us the cultural history of some of our Collection’s artifacts connecting them with what she learned during her Fellowship, specifically our Bonader, Dala and Painted furniture. She will teach us to recognize each type of folk art, what makes them unique and a brief history of how they were painted.