December 8, 2021
Preserving her Swedish heritage through art
Bloomquist discusses her decorative folk painting
BY TYSON SMEDSTAD
Many in the upper Midwest have grown up with these types of Swedish decorative pieces around our parent’s or grandparent’s homes or have seen them in gift shops. The
designs are familiar, but you just don’t know exactly what you are looking at. Pieper Fleck Bloomquist, a contemporary folk artist based in Grand Forks, held a workshop and art display of her work this past weekend at Fort Stevenson State Park during the second weekend of the Dickens Village Festival. She has been painting in this traditional Scandinavian style since 1993. She learned the art form at an art school in Milan, Minnesota, with a small group of students.
