Stave Churches and Sphere #010

This weekend I had a chance of pursuing my interest for Norwegian folk art on location. I visited the Norsk Folkemuseum  (The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History) at Bygdø near Oslo. The primary task was to look at medieval decorations from the old wooden stave churches. The Gol stave church at Bygdø is presently undergoing restoration offering a unique opportunity to take a closer look at the roof from the outside.

Going inside was not possible and I settled for the museum store where I came upon a unique book. The book is part of a grand Scandinavian folk art project initiated by the Danish artist Asger Jorn. The series comprises 7 volumes. The books are available in English too. The book ‘Stavkirkene’ includes some 300 black and white photos taken by the French photographer Gérard Franceschi back in the 1960′s. He uses the natural lighting on location and obtains the most intriguing pictures. In particular I am fascinated by the complex swirling wood carvings. They do resemble the strips for sphere making!

Sphere #010 is like Sphere #001, however each piece has 10 strips only and the two pieces are not alike. Anna designed the strips so that in one piece the strips are very long and cross the equator in a flat angle, in the other the strips are short and the angle is steep. This makes the woven pattern formed rectangular.

Also the strips are not symmetrical, i.e. the north and the south poles are not the same. When you start by gluing the strips to a small circle you must look for the tiny cross at the point and only use that end.

The first row of strips is very annoying to make. The long strips constantly become entangled but soon it gets manageable. Be patient when you weave the last rows. Flatten the shape and push and pull gently using a pair of tweezers. Close the sphere using a circle in the size and colour you find makes the best fit.

And files for cutting: Sphere 010 cut 1 ; Sphere 010 cut 2

Sphere #009

Sphere #009 is the same sphere as Sphere #001 and you weave as described for that. I have reduced the size so that the ornament would better fit a  Christmas tree. To make it easier to start weaving I have collected 6 arms in one piece. You need 2 x two pieces to make a sphere. Just fix the pieces to form 2 full circles and weave as usual. If you want a simple chequered sphere use 2 colours. For the sphere in front I used 2 red pieces, one pink, and one yellow.  I cut up the pink and yellow pieces to individual arms and fixed alternating colours to the inner face of the full red circles centre.

This is a file for cutting: sphere 009 cut

Jar Box

If you can manage the Onion Dome Box, you can also make this Jar Box. The process is more or less the same.

I include the patterns. The pages are filled up with parts so that you may mix and match colours as you please when you work. For the lower part you need: 24 long double strips, 5 narrow 9 mm strips, 1 zigzag strip, 1 round piece with half circles and 1 without. For the lid you need: 1 circular piece with 12 arms, 12 single strips, 1 small round piece, 2 narrow 9 mm strips and 1 zigzag strip. I shall not include detailed instructions for weaving, only a few hints and some illustrations.

When gluing the long double strips to the bottom ring offset the strips so that a narrow strip is just above the one at the other side – and likewise the wider strip.

Form a ring overlapping the strips. Before you start weaving fold back every single stip.

Weave and line up. The pattern at the top edge should be the same as in the bottom. I made the top end of the strip a little longer to make up for the length you loose while weaving. Fold back the rectangular pieces and form a firm edge adding a 9 mm strip on both sides. The diametre is planned to be a little smaller than the bottom to make the box lid fit outside.

Make and add the bottom.

Form a second circular piece  for the the box lid from 12 loose strips by gluing alternating colours to a small circular form.

And files for cutting  jar cut a, jar cut b and jar cut c

Sphere #008

For this sphere the two sub-strips are completely split. Because they are different they are marked with one or two little notches at the top. When you fix the 16 strips to the ring piece you must alternate between the two types. For Sphere #008 I used two shades of pale yellow and two shades of red. Also alternating between colours I fixed the darker red and the darker yellow to one ring and the lighter colours to the other. When weaving the swirl pattern appears. See Sphere #005 for more instructions.

And a file for cutting sphere 008 cut

Sphere #007

For Sphere #007 the strips have been split in two equally wide sub-strips only connected at the top. I used four colours, two orange and two blue. When fixing the strips to the ring piece alternate between the two colours using e.g. dark orange and dark blue for one ring and the lighter colours for the other. When weaving the pattern appears. Otherwise the process is as described for Sphere #005. 

And a pattern for cutting sphere 007 cut

Sphere #006

Using the technique of Sphere #005 you may manage to do also more detailed patterns. This takes some time to weave though.

And a file for cutting sphere 006 cut

Sphere #005

If you find that weaving the poles of the closed form does not render your ornament just as crisp and regular as you would wish, this procedure may do the trick. Fix 8 strips close together to a ring piece making the curved shape at the end of the strip follow the inner edge. Gather and fix the ring. Prepare the other set of 8 strips in the same way taking care that the strips shall swirl in the opposite direction. Now place one above the other and weave. When the weaving is done fix the ends of the strips with glue. Then fix the other ring piece so that the edge forms a pattern identical to that at the other pole. Now add the small cones on top of the rings. If you want the ornament to hang remember to fit a piece of thread to the inside of a cone before you fix it to the ornament.

And a file for cutting: sphere 005 cut

Sphere #004

This form is made from the same strips as Sphere #001 and almost in the same way. However, only 2 times 8 strips are used instead of the 2 times 12. When you have glued the 8 strips to the small circle make a cut in the circle from the rim to the centre just along the last triangle. Form a “hat” making the first and last strip meet. When you make the other “hat” take care that the strips swirl in the other direction. Now you may weave. You close the form by gluing together the small triangles and finally apply a “hat” prepared from another of the small circles.

Sphere #003

This is a new application of Anna’s bubble pattern from Cone #009. I also used four colours, six strips of each.  Because of its open structure this sphere is much easier to weave than Sphere #002. You may even start using an alternative process – omitting the solid circles at the poles. First glue together the strips two by two fixing the small triangles forming the top pole in an exact fit. E.g. I made the pink and yellow strips meet. Then weave these double long strips together forming the star pattern simultaneously fixing the first woven row of small circles. Now you have a firm basis and may weave the rest of the sphere until you reach the other pole. Then fix the last row of spheres and finally the small triangles two by two.

This is a -.pdf file for cutting sphere003 cut

The small pictures show how you may start weaving. Picture 1: Make the arms by gluing together the strips two and two making the small triangles fit exactly. Picture 2: Take two arms, line up the trinagles, and fix the small yellow circle onto the red with glue. Picture 3: Add another arm and fix the smallest blue circle onto the pink. Picture 4: Add another arm fixing the smallest yellow circle onto the red. Etc. Etc.

Sphere #002

This is a gingerbread version of the sphere. You cut out and weave just as described for Sphere #001. Start at the pole with the flower. When you have weaved the sphere and fixed the small triangles two and two at the other pole with a little glue, pull the strips gently so that the pattern lines up and the hole (nearly) closes. Do not despair if the lower hemisphere is not quite as pretty as the upper. Lining up is difficult. Cover with a circle in the size that fits best. A pair of tweezers is nearly a must. Don’t attempt fixing the strips in the exact pattern as you go along, the sphere will be bulky and impossible to line up in the end.

This is a -.pdf file for cutting. sphere 002 pattern