North House Folk School is honored to welcome Lara R. Domeneghetti, a highly accomplished woodcarver to teach for the first time in the US. Lara hails from an Italian multigenerational family of woodcarvers and gilders, but found her artistic home and passion in medieval Norwegian-style carving. Lara will offer two courses exploring the Tyldal Chair, a highly ornamented birch and pine chair from ~1150 AD Norway that has inspired centuries of imitation (see the Glencairn's Tyldal for Bryn Athyn Cathedral, a twentieth-century revival). The emphasis of these courses will be to work with a limited number of tools imitating the conditions in which the original chair was likely crafted. Participants will have the opportunity to test historically replicated tools from Viking-Age Scandinavia to reproduce the tool marks of the ornament.

This first course will focus on the “knot-animal” motif found on this iconic piece of furniture. These animals are the signature of the makers of the chair and give a true understanding of a medieval carver. Beginning wood carvers are welcome, but there will be plenty for more experienced carvers to learn as well.  

Required Tools

• There are no required tools for this course, just bring whatever you like to use to carve. The instructor will provide all necessary tools.