Olive M. Nordby has drawn and painted all her life and enjoyed many art courses under Professor Arnold Flaten at St. Olaf College and various art schools later. But, since taking a course some years ago by a visiting Israeli printmaker, she has been working with woodcuts mostly.

A woodcut presents a challenge unlike other media. With a knife, you carve out lines and areas on a wood block to express forms and ideas that you then print on paper. After several trips to Norway, Olive was interested in using woodcuts to express the feeling of Norway - the rugged landscape, the wooden buildings, the people. Other everyday subjects of interesting pattern or contrast also make good subjects. Olive feels that woodcuts should show their connection with wood by using the grain whenever possible.

A detailed drawing is made, and then the drawing is transferred in reverse to a wooden block. All white areas are carved out with an assortment of different tools or gouges. When completed, oil base ink is rolled on the block, and rice paper is laid on top of the block. This is then rubbed with various tools called "barens." Olive uses a wooden door knob for the first rubbing, followed by a large tablespoon to get detail. The black and white print is dried and either left as black and white, or colored. Olive uses acrylic paint for painting the color. This is the old-fashioned way of making woodcuts. Each woodcut is an original because one cannot duplicate the process by hand and get an exact copy.

About the artist

Olive M. Nordby created the NAGC & NL special tree design as the perfect symbol to capture the mission of the Norwegian American Genealogical Center & Naeseth Library. A long-time benefactor of the NAGC & NL Center, Olive has been particularly generous in donating proceeds from the sale of her woodblock prints, which can be seen on display and purchased at the Naeseth Library.