Craft & the Fruitcake

Fred Livesay will present " Craft & the Fruitcake: The relevance and need for real craft and hand work in the age of the iPhone" at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17, 2017, in Goodnow Room 105.

Livesay will talk about his craft in general, and the Folk Art School where he teaches at Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum and Heritage Center in Decorah, Iowa. Livesay also helped start the North House Folk School on the shore of Lake Superior in Grand Marais, Minnesota.

​"Spoon carving has been called the gateway drug to woodworking," says Jon Andelson ’70, professor of anthropology. "Once you experience the satisfaction of crafting something beautiful and useful, you may never stop."

Livesay will also be offering a hands-on workshop, “Spoon Carving for Novices” from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017, in Bucksbaum Center for the Art, Room 23. Although registration for the workshop is full, spectators are welcome to stop in to observe the carving from 1 to 4 p.m.

Livesay learned his first woodworking skills at age 10. He later trained as a wheelwright and carriage-builder for seven summers, and then went on to study Scandinavian folk art, decorative arts, art history, and museum studies. He currently makes his living as a carpenter, but hopes to make teaching and craftwork his full-time job.

This event is free and open to the public. Minors under the age 18 attending the event need to be accompanied by an adult. Grinnell College is not responsible for supervision of minors on campus.