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Hardanger artists’ work gets spotlight

Hardanger embroidery is a type of Norwegian needlecraft that is fairly rare and difficult to learn, though it produces beautiful and intricate pieces that anyone can appreciate.

A local group of ladies who do Hardanger embroidery are the featured artists of the month at Red Rock Center in Fairmont. The six members who have pieces on display are Joyce Kollasch, Renee St. John, Gladys Gerhardt, Elaine Krueger, Dorie Meyer and Mona Gaworski.

The exhibit will be open through Dec. 28. An artist meet-and-greet open house will be held 2-4 p.m. Sunday. Visitors can view the display, enjoy cider and holidays goods, and meet the artists.

The Fairmont Hardanger Club was started around the year 2000. St. John had been teaching a class and a woman there suggested they start a club.

“I think most of us find this very relaxing,” St. John said of Hardanger embroidery.

Right now, there are seven women who meet at Grace Lutheran Church in Fairmont on the fourth Tuesday of each month. They work on their own projects, help each other with difficult stitches and share patterns. Though the have had members come and go over the years, they welcome anyone interested in joining them.

While many people appreciate Hardanger embroidery because it produces beautiful pieces, it can be intimidating.

As Gladys Gerhardt said, “I’ve seen people look at a piece and say, ‘I could never do that.'”

Most of the women have been doing Hardanger for the past 20 to 30 years. It’s not something they grew up doing.

“I came from a family with 10 children so my mother would sew because she made all of our clothes,” explained St. John.

The special supplies needed to do Hardanger are not easy to find. Unfortunately, a store in Fargo many of the women went to for supplies, Nordic Needle, recently closed, forcing them to look at other places for fabric and materials.

There’s a woman from Blue Earth, Ruth Hanke, who some of the women go to for supplies. Hanke used to have a fabric shop years ago and still has some items available. Other than that, special items needed such as tapestry needles, Hardanger scissors, perle cotton thread and even count fabric is not easily found.

Some of the items that can be made by Hardanger include doilies, bellpulls, ornaments, table cloths, pillow tops and runners. Pieces are often framed and hung up on the wall as decoration.

There are about 100 pieces on display at Red Rock Center, though only a few are for sale.

“It’s hard to put a price on these,” admitted St. John, explaining that the work is time-consuming.

The women all agree that they no longer “watch” TV, but rather listen as they sit and focus on the needlework before them.

Kollasch said she was recently talking to someone who said that Hardanger is a dying art. While Kollasch acknowledges that this is somewhat true, she did add, “We’ll see what we can do about that!”

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