by Lee

Created on: June 10, 2009

Admittedly, you do not have to travel all the way to Sweden to learn how to fashion spoons, bowls, and furniture from the branches in your backyard. In fact, you don't even have to go to Sweden to study with Jgge Sundqvist, Sweden's premier wood-carver, who brought wood turning and carving back into vogue. Sundqvist gives regular workshops right here in North America at such spots as the Folk Art Center in Asheville, North Carolina; the Furniture Society's annual convention; and Country Workshops, a small crafts school in Madison County, North Carolina, that even sells do-it-yourself DVDs of Sundqvist's carving techniques.

But if you really want to experience the renaissance of Swedish woodworking (along with Sweden's other heritage crafts), plan a trip to Sterglntan College of Handicrafts, which offers short courses (up to 11 days) with Sundqvist and other Swedish craftsmen, as well as one- and two-year programs in carpentry, weaving, blacksmithing, and sewing.

The school, owned by the Swedish Handicrafts Organization, is beautifully situated on the hillside of Knippboberget, high above the village of Insjn in Dalarna, the heart of Sweden's age-old crafts traditions. During the 18th and 19thcenturies, craftspeople from Dalarna trekked throughout the Swedish countryside finding markets for their chip baskets, weaver's reeds, carved wooden horses, handmade bobbin lace, and brooches made of human hair. With its centuries-old traditions, colorful costumes, midsummer festivals, and rolling landscape dotted with red-painted houses, pristine lakes, and rich forests, Dalarna represents Sweden at its quintessential best.

In Sundqvist's classes, you'll learn about such hand tools as axes, adzes, and gouges. You'll learn how to gather materials, green and straight from the forests, about the importance of your medium's color and texture, and how to carve your family mark (and if you don't have one, you'll learn how to create one) into your signature pieces. From Sterglntan, you'll also take study trips to crafters' homes, village halls, museums, and a Fbod, a traditional mountain dairy farm.

Sterglntan meals, made fresh daily from locally grown food, are served, needless to say, in beautiful handcrafted bowls and are eaten with equally beautiful wooden spoons made by the area's craftspeople.

Although instruction is typically offered in Swedish, all instructors speak fluent English and are happy to provide English notes.

The price for the courses range $300 for a five-day course to $410 for two weeks. Bed and board ranges from $440 for a five-day double room to $729 for a two-week double; there's a supplementary fee for singles.

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