Mette Gårdvik
Helgeland, Norway / Rovaniemi, Finland / Helsinki, Finland / Syktyvkar, Komi Republic, Russia

If the video above isn't showing, change your privacy settings here and allow "statistics". 

Fishermen’s mittens have long been an important part of the work clothes of fishermen along the  Norwegian coast. The mittens were made of wool and protected the hands from water, cold, fish  and tools during the hard work at sea in cold and raw climates. With its special properties, wool is  a unique natural material that is heat insulating and warm even when it’s wet. Wool from the Old  Norwegian Short Tail Landrace breed, has good heat properties, and has been considered the best wool for the mittens. It consists of soft bottom wool and long, straight coat hair. The long, smooth cover hairs are water-repellent, and the garment is strong at the same time as it retains heat.

The women produced the mittens from scratch and knew all about the long process of how to  feed the sheep and cut and sort the wool before tearing and carding. It was an art to spin the yarn  correctly as it should have a long spin and at the same time it should be thick and soft. The mittens were knitted in double size and felted. The mitten makers embodied knowledge made them aware of how good the mittens should be felted to be waterproof and not too hard for proper use. 

As dwellers in the arctic landscape we are all connected through our memories related to cold  hands and a warming pair of mittens. This Community Art project is an invitation to cross borders by the art of knitting a pair of Fishermen’s mittens. The participants were given an opportunity to wander from the coast of Helgeland Norway, into the memory of the Fishermen’s struggling life, through their own experiences of knitting, felting and making a pair of mittens.

Mette Gårdvik with

Virva Kanerva , Sandra Bencomo , Maikki Salmivaara , Elina Härkönen , Mirja Hiltunen , Victoriya Lihachewa , Lida Kostareva , Yulia Vakushkina, Svetlana Litvintceva, Irina Zemtsova, Anelia Lyantsevich, Anne Mette Bjørnvik Rosø, Wenche Sørmo, Karin Stoll, Gary Hoffman