My name is J Jens Dahl.

I am a woodworker and a rosemaler.

I was exposed to rosemaling as a kid by my great aunt Ruth. Norwegian for "decorative painting", rosemaling is a folk art that flourished in Norway from roughly 1750 to 1850 and was inspired by the Baroque and Rococo art then filtering north from continental Europe. Thanks to Norway's rugged terrain, distinct regional styles developed. The most playful of these regional styles is Telemark rosemaling, typified by asymmetrical, free-flowing acanthus scrolls and flowers forms abstracted into pure fantasy. Telemark rosemaling is about movement, energy. ‍ ‍

Though I've made things from wood most my life, I didn't begin rosemaling until the pandemic. I had always appreciated functional design and simple forms, but I was looking for more from my woodworking than utility. Ornament is not a crime.

Amidst the isolation of the pandemic, I rediscovered the rosemaling I knew growing up. The energetic forms of Telemark rosemaling seemed an ideal design grammar to juxtapose the quiet grain patterns of the woods to which I was drawn.

I hope to craft useful, beautiful things with history via two juxtapositions:

Modern/Traditional and Linear/Organic. Clean, modern forms meeting authentic, traditional ornament; calm, linear wood grain meeting playful, organic paint.

I hope it might add some use and beauty to your life.