Naomi Welde is part of a dedicated team of artists determined to preserve a little bit of Alaska history. The Muskeg Malers is a group of Norwegian rosemalers who paint storefronts and interiors around Petersburg. Petersburg, also known as "Little Norway," is on Mitkof Island in Southeast Alaska. In the 19th century, Norwegian immigrant Peter Buschmann was looking for new fishing opportunities in America and founded the town. The similarity in landscape, fish and berries, as well as nearby glacial ice to package and ship their catch, made it the perfect place for Norwegian fishermen to set up shop.
Welde married an Alaskan with Norwegian roots who moved to Petersburg from Kansas in the 1970s. She instantly fell in love with rosemaling and decorative tole painting and has been honing her craft ever since. Living in a fishing town, it was natural to attempt rosemaling on Alaska's ubiquitous fishing boot, the Xtratuf. While it transforms the boot from a functional piece a gear into a fragile fashion statement, the results are lovely and uniquely Alaskan.
To order your own hand-painted Norwegian rosemaled Xratufs, contact Naomi Welde.
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