LIFE-LONG LEARNING
From bookazine no. 2, which has long been sold out, I have put all the articles from this issue online. You can find the full-text articles here #bookazine2
March 2020
What is a folk high school?
The first folk high schools were established in Denmark during the 1830s as institutions of popular adult education (for men only) with the purpose of educating and enlightening the rural population. The courses were scheduled to match the annual cycles and seasons in agriculture, and soon the courses for male farmworkers, from November to March, were supplemented with courses for women, from May to June.
For the rural population, the folk high schools were an important development, giving the youth knowledge and confidence and enabling them to stand up for their own interests.
The movement was driven by the philosophical ideas of N. F. S. Grundtvig, Christen Kold and Christian Flor.
It gained momentum during the 1860s with the establishment of Askov, Testrup and Vallekilde folk high schools – schools that exist to this day. Later, other forms of folk high schools followed, including schools aimed at other target groups: workers’ folk high schools, sports folk high schools, schools affiliated with the Home Mission and schools dedicated to textile crafts.
The folk high schools as we know them today have moved on from their origins, to varying degrees. Folk high schools have changed, if only because our living conditions and education opportunities have changed. Some of them now have a very narrow thematic focus, some oven serving as prep schools for higher education, while others focus more on general culture and enlightenment. A common feature is that they offer a setting where people can develop friendships for life. All the schools offer both long courses, mainly attracting younger attendants, and week-long courses, targeted at particular groups or interest communities, for example young people, adults or elderly people, families or grandparents signing up with their grandchildren.
Folk high school stays are eligible for state subsidies, the level depending on the duration of the course and the student’s individual conditions.
Folk high school for design and textile crafts in the town of Skals
The first time I visited Skals – højskolen for design og håndarbejde (Skals – Folk High School for Design and Textile Crafts) was in the summer of 2019.
I had been invited to be a jury member in the competition related to the school’s annual summer presentation and had the honour of giving the opening address.
Even before this experience, I had an idea of the school and its importance. In particular, I had heard a great deal about its embroidery courses. I had also had an inspiring telephone conversation with the principal, Helle Mogensen, as I prepared to write my speech. It would revolve around that year’s theme, ‘TIME’, selected because the year marked the 60th anniversary of the founding of the school. I felt well prepared and ready for the situation, saying, among other things:
‘Dear friends, I am so excited to be here – she’s being a bit jovial, you might think, since we don’t actually know each other, or, not yet!
But I am sure we would be friends if we began to work with our hands, side by side.
If you had a chance to show me your skills and ideas, and I could show you some of mine.
Time would stand still, and we would be silent together while we worked, or maybe we would chat.
Age differences and differences in cultural background would be an inspiring twist to our interaction, not an obstacle.
Because I want to speak about the value of crafts, and because I assume that I am preaching to the choir here, I will simply remind you of something you already know:
With all my heart I want to point to the broader value to society of having people spend their time, in part or in whole, as a hobby or as a profession, on working with their hands.
On making products that we might rightfully call tomorrow’s heirlooms and legacy.
Let me put that into more contemporary terms:
Handwork is the path to sustainable, durable quality products.
The safest and most viable path to a sustainable lifestyle is about choosing quality.
Responsible choices require common sense. To possess common sense we need knowledge, learning from childhood and experience, including knowledge of and respect for materials and craftsmanship.
Once, knowledge and experience of materials and crafts were passed down from mother to daughter, from father to son. It was in the family we learned how to knit, sew, work in wood or cook. Back then, people did not always do these things because they were fun, inspiring or a continuation of cultural heritage. Sure, they were a continuation of cultural heritage, but that was not the point.
In recent years, the hand-over of craft-based experience in the family has been almost non-existent.
But to every action there is a reaction. Today, there are once again many who like knitting and embroidery and many who want to learn ceramics – for the love of the craft.
Hooray for that! Craft products are the way of the future.’
And so forth and so forth.
Interest in the event was huge, the car park was full; in fact, Skals was overflowing with cars and buses. People flocked to the event, from near and far. In particular, there were many former students, many of whom maintain a connection to the school. There were former students who had attended the school many years ago and students who had attended recently. The audience was 98% craft-interested women and 2% male drivers and partners.
I saw immediately that I had only grasped a sliver of what was going on. The school occupies a special place in the life of the former students, women who have never doubted the importance of crafts. They love their school and their craft, and that love is contagious.
I saw at once that I would have to return to the school.
My second visit
In autumn that year I signed up for a day and a half at the school with the purpose of absorbing the atmosphere in general and, in particular, to see the embroidery classroom.
It is a beautiful old school. In many regards it remains (almost) as it was when the original owner and principal, Gunnild Gaardsdal, founded it in 1959.
The rooms are minimalist, with a bed, a chair and a table. When I arrive, one of the last roses of the season has thoughtfully been placed in a vase on the table.
Most students share the small rooms two and two, a few have single rooms. That is the arrangement for students who spend three to six months here as well as for those who come here for a week. Whether the students are 18 or 78 years of age. There are communal toilets and showers. Everything is as it should be, beautiful, calm and peaceful.
I join everybody else for dinner as my first activity after I have arrived. The food is excellent. The kitchen is run by a permanent staff, assisted by students who are here for the long courses.
While the rest of the school has wooden panels painted in dark colours, the dining hall is bright, and the only decoration is the curtains, which were made a few years ago by a group of seven invited craft makers. They all worked white-on-white, so that the design is only visible upon closer inspection. A neat idea.
After dinner, the students pick up their craft projects, and I pick up the computer – I have a deadline coming up.
Morning assembly
The school’s assembly hall, where I gave my speech on my first visit, is the setting for the common activities that span across long and short stays. As always, morning assembly features songs from the Folk High School Song Book, although it is hardly a roaring choir but more a murmur of scattered voices. The students are absorbed in their knitting.
On my first day, the next point on the morning assembly agenda is a presentation on young people and loneliness. The presenters invite participation, and the short-stay attendants in particular are active.
The next day, the morning presentation is about storytelling and language. This presentation too seems to appeal mainly to the short-stay students, or at least, they are the ones commenting and contributing.
Sometimes, the teachers explain, the morning presentations relate specifically to the school subjects.
For the remainder of the day and during the evening, the students focus on their respective courses and craft activities.
Among the students who are here on a week-long course, one group is taking a weaving course taught by the guest teacher Winnie Poulsen. She knows everything there is to know about yarn and weaving techniques. She is 71 years old, and in 2019 she spent more than 70 days on the road, teaching in Germany, Sweden and Denmark. The rest of the time she tends her house and her huge kitchen garden, she tells me during a break. Oh, and she weaves for her own household use, hand towels, tea towels and similar items.
Another of the week-long courses is an embroidery course taught by Amy Lyngaa. Amy is 58 years old and has taught at the school since 2008. The students, who are on the experienced side of 50 years of age, are skilled and hard-working. During the breaks they exchange experiences about many different types of textile craft. They all consider the week-long course at Skals a break from everyday life, either a busy working life or an active pensioner’s life. For many of them, a stay at Skals is an annual tradition. Strictly speaking, they do not need much help with techniques, but they are keen to be inspired and challenged, and they get what they came for.
Embroidery is also the theme of one of the long courses. The attendants here are younger women, including several Japanese participants. The group is very diverse, made up students with different backgrounds, different dreams, very different embroidery projects and different plans for what they are going to do after their stay at Skals.
Some form friendships, while others mainly enjoy the shared focus on embroidery. Sometimes, it is so quiet in the embroidery hall that one could literally hear a pin drop. Sometimes, lively chatter fills the room.
The teacher, Björk Ottosdottír Dietrichson, who is the same generation as her colleagues, has worked at Skals since 1993. She is patient and takes her time guiding the students, which is a necessary quality to possess. For many of them, embroidery is a new field. Björk has many reflections on techniques and methods. She respectfully meets the students at eye level.
Among others, I met Benedikte Randløv. She is 27 years old and has a bachelor’s degree in Digital Design and Interactive Technologies.
Benedikte is a student at Skals, she is sewing a hemstitch on a piece of white linen. She is going to use the cloth to cover the jar when she ferments vegetables in her flat in Copenhagen’s Nørrebro district, she explains.
She is taking a gap year before she embarks on her master’s degree. Or, rather, she is preparing for it. Benedikte would like to work as a programmer in the textile industry and may eventually help develop software that makes small-scale local production possible. To do that, she feels that she has to have some basic knowledge about textile.
When she is not at Skals she works at Kunsthal Charlottenborg in Copenhagen as an exhibition host. After my visit to Skals I meet with Benedikte in Copenhagen, asking her what she took home from her stay and what she thinks of the format.
No sharp elbows
‘Skals is a wonderfully unpretentiøs place. A very honest place, a place with no sharp elbows,’ says Benedikte.
She explains that she comes from a family with a keen interest in textile crafts. Prior to her stay at Skals, she took an evening school course in weaving, but she was frustrated that the format meant she was constantly interrupted. Spending a few months at Skals with no interruptions sounded like a good idea, she thought, although she was slightly annoyed when she found that she could not pick a course that focused mainly on weaving but had to do cutting out, sewing and embroidery. ‘As it turned out, it made really good sense,’ she says, with the benefit of hindsight. ‘At least in relation to my goal.’
‘I know many who are enrolled in design schools; they’re great persons, but the environment is tough and competitive, and there is a constant focus on forming strategic alliances. That’s not the case at Skals. At Skals, people focus on their own projects. It was rewarding to have such a clear focus on the craft rather than intellectualizing the design aspects. We never really spoke about the context that we or our products are going to be a part of. Maybe that’s part of the reason why Skals is not the most sought-after school for people preparing to apply to one of the design schools.
I enjoyed the calm pace and the fact that we spent most of the time working on crafts. Not that we didn’t socialize; the consensus just seemed to be that that wasn’t the main focus, and that the social interactions revolved around our shared interest in the craft. It was an easy community.’
A life mission
During one of the breaks in between my visits to the workshops I talk to Helle Mogensen about her work as a folk high school principal.
Helle is 57 years old, and she and Skals go back a long way.
In her youth, she initially took basic clerical training, but she did not find work to be challenging or stimulating enough. So she took a sabbatical and went to Skals Håndarbejdsskole; this was in 1986, while Gunnild Gaardsdal was the principal.
Helle was inspired and decided to change course. She applied to Kolding Kunsthåndværkerskole (Kolding School of Arts and Crafts, now Design School Kolding) and trained as a clothing designer. After graduating she returned to the folk high school, initially as a temporary teacher in combination with other jobs, later as a full-time teacher, then in a joint leadership role and now, since 2004, as the principal.
‘Once I thought it just happened that way by chance,’ says Helle. ‘I no longer think so; it’s more like a calling, to convey the joy of crafts.’
We talk about working from a crafts perspective versus an academic one, and Helle says that with the current development in the design schools, where the practical subjects are being marginalized, Skals has a new potential role to play as a supplement to those wishing to delve into the craft and techniques.
Being a folk high school teacher and a folk high school principal is a way of life, says Helle, even if she prefers going back to Århus after work instead of living at the school, as principals have traditionally done. ‘I am also inspired by meeting people outside the folk high school environment, and that is good both for me and for the school,’ she explains and adds, ‘my head is always buzzing with ideas about content, course schedules and everything that keeps the school going and brings in new students, including new types of students.’
‘We have many former students who keep coming back. Some of them originally enrolled in one of the long courses, some of them while Gaardsdal was still in charge. Now they come back once or several times a year for short stays. They brings their friends and sisters, sometimes even their children and grandchildren. They know the concept, understand the premise, and they love it. We take good care of them.
Then there are the young ones. The ones who sign up for our long courses. Sometimes, that has been a bit uphill. Textile crafts have not been trendy, and we have had to work hard to get students to sign up. That has challenged our creativity. At other times, right now, for example, it is easier to recruit students, because textile crafts are super-trendy.
That does not make us any less creative, but it’s nice to be attractive, and as in the fashion industry I trained to be a part of, we always have to show due diligence. We have to have courses that match the demand, current and future. What is in demand right now, courses that match what is in demand tomorrow as well as a food share of classics.
We need to use our history respectfully, and we do, and we need to be innovative in the way we manage our legacy.’
To finish where we began:
One of the school’s outreach activities, in addition to its presence at various festivals, including the Roskilde Festival and Kulturmødet på Mors (the Cultural Summit at Mors), is the annual summer exhibition.
These exhibitions always have a theme and a carefully selected representation of talented craft makers and artisans who present and sell their products in the park and submit pieces for the annual competition. The programme includes presentations, artist talks, singing, music and workshops, and people flock to the event from near and far.
In 2019, the theme was TIME, and the school’s history was a recurring topic.
History
The Folk High School for Design and Crafts resides in the former Skals Højskole (Skals Folk High School), which was founded in 1868. Skals Højskole opened in Solbakken, a small property in the centre of Skals.
From 1914 to 1945 Skals Højskole moved to the present main building, which was built for the purpose.
From 1945 to 1959 the school resided in Skals Håndværkerskole (Skals Technical School).
When Skals Håndværkerskole closed down, the buildings were closed by the then 33-year-old Gunnild Gaardsdal. Gaardsdal had ties to the folk high school scene on her mother’s side and had a passion for textile crafts, applied art and design and for communication and teaching. She founded Skals Håndarbejdsskole (Skals Textile Craft School) as a private school for girls. In 1979 the school was expanded with a teacher’s college.
The textile craft teacher’s college split off, with its own building and its own principal, in 1985. Gaardsdal remained the principal of the textile crafts school until 1993, when she sold it to a foundation that she had established in 1990. The independent institution Skals Håndarbejdsskole was affiliated with FAHH (Foreningen af Husholdnings- og Håndarbejdsskoler, the Association of Schools of Home Economics and Textile Crafts).
Since 2004 Helle Mogensen has been the principal.
In 2010 the school was renamed Skals – højskolen for design og håndarbejde and was affiliated with FFD (Foreningen af Folkehøjskoler i Danmark, the Association of Folk High Schools in Denmark).
The oldest of the existing buildings date from 1915. Since then, the school has been expanded several times, always with respect for the original architecture. Both the architecture and the interior design have references to the Arts and Crafts movement and to the Nordic variant, skønvirke.
Skals – højskolen for design og håndarbejde is a stronghold, a time capsule, a mecca and a hotbed.
On stage
In the garden behind the school, the scene is set for a presentation, one of the events that is part of the summer exhibitions. The neuroscientist, Professor Carsten Reides Bjarkam, who is the author of a textbook on neuroanatomy, among other publications, has been invited to discuss how restorative and soothing textile crafts are for the soul. The audience knows. I know. He has studied and documented the effect!
Tine Wessel also knows – read about her here
De første folkehøjskoler så dagens lys i 1830’ernes Danmark som rammen om folkelig oplysning for unge voksne (mænd) med det formål at hæve dannelsesniveauet i bondestanden. Kurserne blev lagt til rette efter årsrytmen og arbejdsbelastningen i landbruget, og snart var der ikke bare karlekursus fra november til marts, men også pigekurser i maj og juni.
For landbefolkningen blev højskolerne af stor betydning, de unge fik viden og selvtillid og blev bedre i stand til at varetage egne interesser.
Bag bevægelsen stod tænkerne N.F.S. Grundtvig, Christen Kold og Christian Flor.
Bevægelsen tog for alvor fart i 1860’erne med etableringen af Askov, Testrup og Vallekilde Højskole – skoler, som findes den dag i dag. Siden fulgte andre former for højskoler og skoler til andre målgrupper; arbejderhøjskoler, idrætshøjskoler, skoler med tilknytning til Indre Mission og skoler med fokus på håndarbejde.
Folkehøjskolerne, som vi kender dem i dag, er mere eller mindre forskellige fra deres oprindelse. Alene fordi vores livsvilkår og uddannelsesmuligheder er ændrede, har højskolelivet forandret sig. En del højskoler er nu meget fagspecifikke, nogle endda direkte forberedende til videregående uddannelser, andre er mere alment dannende. Fælles for dem er, at de tilbyder en ramme, hvor venskaber for livet kan udvikles. Alle skoler udbyder både lange kurser, som primært søges af unge og yngre mennesker, og ugekurser, som målrettes bestemte befolkningsgrupper eller interessefælleskaber, det være sig unge, voksne og ældre, familier og bedsteforældre med børnebørn.
Et ophold på en folkehøjskole er statsstøttet i større eller mindre grad afhængigt af opholdets længde og elevens individuelle forhold.
På højskole for design og håndarbejde i Skals
Første gang jeg besøgte ’Skals – højskolen for design og håndarbejde’ var i sommeren 2019.
Jeg var blevet bedt om at være dommer i den konkurrence, som hvert år knytter sig til skolens sommerudstilling, og jeg havde fået det ærefulde hverv at holde åbningstalen.
Jeg havde allerede inden da en idé om skolen og dens betydning, især havde jeg hørt meget om broderikurserne på Skals. Jeg havde desuden haft en inspirerende telefonsamtale med forstander Helle Mogensen for at blive klædt på til at skrive min åbningstale. Talen skulle kredse om årets tema, ’TID’, i anledning af 60-året for skolens etablering. Jeg følte mig godt klædt på og på omdrejningshøjde med situationen, og jeg sagde blandt andet:
”Kære venner, hvor er jeg glad for at være her – lidt jovialt tænker I måske, for vi kender jo faktisk ikke hinanden, ikke endnu da!
Men jeg er sikker på, at vi ville blive venner, hvis vi gik i gang med at lave håndens arbejde ved siden af hinanden.
Hvis I fik lejlighed til at vise mig, alt det I kan, og jeg så kvitterede med at vise lidt af det, jeg kan.
Så ville tiden stå stille, og vi ville tie sammen, mens vi arbejdede, eller snakken ville gå.
Aldersforskelle og forskelligartede kulturelle bagrunde ville blive til en inspirerende krølle på samværet, ikke til en forhindring.
Fordi jeg vil tale om værdien af at lave håndarbejde og håndværk, og fordi jeg antager, at jeg her holder prædiken for kirkekoret, så vil jeg holde mig til mest af alt at minde jer om noget, I allerede godt ved: Jeg vil med hele hånden pege på den samfundsgavnlige værdi af at bruge sin tid helt eller delvist på fritidsbasis eller professionelt på at arbejde med hænderne.
På at fremstille produkter, som vi passende kunne kalde morgendagens arvegods.
Lad mig oversætte det til nudansk:
Håndens arbejde er vejen til bæredygtige, langtidsholdbare kvalitetsprodukter.
Den sikreste og mest farbare vej til en bæredygtig livsstil handler om at vælge kvalitet.
At bære sig ansvarligt ad forudsætter, at man bruger sin sunde fornuft. For at besidde sund fornuft kræves viden, opdragelse og erfaring, herunder kendskab til og respekt for materialer og håndværk.
Engang gik viden om og erfaring med materialer og håndens arbejde fra mor til datter og fra far til søn. Det var i familien, vi lærte, hvordan man strikker, syr, arbejder i træ eller laver mad. Dengang var det ikke altid fordi det var sjovt, inspirerende eller kulturbærende. Eller kulturbærende var det nok, men det var ikke formålet.
I de senere år har familiær erfaringsoverlevering på håndværksområdet været næsten ikke-eksisterende.
Men tryk avler modtryk. Nu er der igen mange, som vil strikke og brodere, og mange, som gerne vil lære at arbejde med ler – helt for deres fornøjelses skyld.
Hurra for det. Håndværksprodukterne, de har fremtiden foran sig.”
Og så videre, og så videre.
Tilstrømningen var enorm, parkeringspladsen var fuld, ja, hele Skals var fyldt med biler og busser. Folk kom fra nær og fjern for at være med. Især var der stort fremmøde af tidligere elever, som for manges vedkommende opretholder en tilknytning til skolen. Der kom elever, som har gået på skolen for mange, mange år siden, og elever, som har gået på skolen for nylig. Publikum bestod af 98 % håndarbejdspassionerede kvinder og 2 % mandlige chauffører og ledsagere.
Jeg forstod med et, at jeg kun havde forstået en brøkdel af det hele. Skolen bor dybt i hjertet på de tidligere elever, der er tale om kvinder, som aldrig har tvivlet på betydningen af at lave håndarbejde. De er i en kærlighedsrelation til deres skole og til deres håndarbejde, og deres kærlighed er smittende.
Jeg vidste straks, at jeg måtte tilbage.
Andet besøg
Samme efterår indskrev jeg mig til 1½ døgn på højskolen med det formål at indsnuse stemningen i almindelighed og i særdelshed for at se med i broderilokalet.
Skolen er smuk og gammel. Meget står (næsten), som da den oprindelige ejer og forstander, Gunnild Gaardsdal, etablerede skolen i 1959.
Værelserne er minimalistisk indrettet med seng, stol og bord. Da jeg ankommer, er en af efterårets sidste roser omsorgsfuldt sat i vand i et glas på bordet.
De fleste bor to og to på de små værelser, nogle få har eneværelse. Sådan er det for de kursister, som er på skolen i 3 eller 6 måneder, sådan er det for de, som kommer på ugekursus. Sådan er det, om du er 18 eller 78 år gammel. Toilet og bad findes på gangen og deles af flere kursister. Alt er, som det skal være, smukt, trygt og roligt.
Jeg deltager i aftensmåltidet som min første aktivitet efter at være ankommet. Man spiser godt på skolen. Driften af køkkenet varetages af fast personale, desuden har de kursister, som er på lange kurser, køkkentjans nu og da.
Hvor resten af skolen har malede paneler i tunge farver, så er spisesalen lys, og eneste dekoration er gardinerne, som for nogle år siden blev lavet af 7 indbudte kunsthåndværkere. Alle har de arbejdet hvidt i hvidt, og først ved nærmere eftersyn åbenbares deres værk. Fint tænkt.
Efter aftensmaden kaster højskoleleverne sig over deres håndarbejde, jeg kaster mig over en artikel, som skal skrives færdig.
Morgensamlingen
Skolens sal, hvor jeg holdt tale under mit første besøg, er omdrejningspunkt for de fælles aktiviteter, som går på tværs af lange og korte kurser. Som altid består morgensamling med sange fra højskolesangbogen, der er ingenlunde tale om et rungede kor, men om spredt fægtning. Eleverne er mest opslugte af deres medbragte strikketøj.
Første dag efterfølges morgensangen af et oplæg om unge og ensomhed, foredragsholderne appellerer til samtale, og især ugekursisterne er aktive.
Den næste dag er der historiefortælling om sprog. Også denne forelæsning appellerer mest til ugekursisterne, eller i hvert fald er det dem, som kommenterer og bidrager.
Andre gange, fortæller lærerne mig, knytter morgenforelæsningen an til skolens faglige emner.
Resten af dagen og aftenen med er eleverne fordybet i deres respektive fag og i andre håndarbejdsaktiviteter.
For ugekursisternes vedkommende er der et hold, som er på vævekursus hos gæstelærer Winnie Poulsen. Hun ved alt, hvad der er værd at vide om garn og væveteknikker. Hun er 71 år gammel, sidste år rejste hun flere end 70 dage for at undervise både i Tyskland, Sverige og Danmark. Resten af tiden passer hun sit hus og sin enorme køkkenhave, fortæller hun mig i en pause. Ja, og så væver hun til husbehov, håndklæder, viskestykker og den slags.
Andre ugekursister er på broderikursus hos Amy Lyngaa. Amy er 58 og har undervist på skolen siden 2008. Kursisterne, som er på den erfarne side af 50 år, er dygtige og myreflittige. I spisepauserne udveksler de erfaringer om mange slags håndarbejde. For alle er ugekurset på Skals et pusterum fra hverdagen, som enten er fyldt op med arbejde eller med et aktivt pensionistliv. For mange af dem er det en årligt tilbagevendende tradition at komme til Skals. Strengt taget behøver de ikke meget hjælp til teknikken, men de vil gerne inspireres og skubbes til, og det bliver de.
Der er også broderi på programmet på et ene af de lange kurser. Her er der tale om unge og yngre kvinder herunder flere japanske elever. Kursisterne er vidt forskellige. De har forskellig baggrund, forskellige drømme, syr på meget forskellige projekter, og de skal hver sin vej efter højskoleopholdet.
Nogle etablerer bånd, mens andre finder størst glæde ved at fordybe sig i det faglige. Iblandt er der så stille i broderisalen, at man kan høre en nål falde til jorden, iblandt går snakken.
Læreren, Björk Ottosdottír Dietrichson, som er jævnaldrende med sine kolleger, har været ansat på Skals håndarbejdsskole siden 1993. Hun har god tid til at guide og til at vise til rette, og det behøves. For mange er broderi et nyt stofområde. Björk gør sig mange overvejelser både om teknik og metode. Hun møder eleverne respektfuldt, hvor de er.
Jeg mødte blandet andet Benedikte Randløv. Hun er 27 år og har en bachelor i Digital Design og Interaktive Teknologier.
Benedikte er elev på Skals, hun broderer hulsøm på et hvidt stykke lærred. Stoffet skal bruges til at lægge over glasset, når hun fermenterer grøntsager i lejligheden på Nørrebro i København, fortæller hun.
Hun holder studiepause, inden hun skal i gang med sin kandidatuddannelse. Eller rettere hun forbereder sig, Benedikte vil gerne beskæftige sig med programmering til tekstilbranchen og måske i fremtiden være med til at udvikle software, som muliggør små lokale produktioner. Derfor må hun vide noget mere elementært om tekstil, synes hun.
Når hun ikke er på kursus, arbejder hun i Kunsthal Charlottenborg i København som udstillingsvært. Siden har jeg mødt Benedikte i København og talt med hende om, hvad hun fik ud af sit ophold, og hvad hun tænkte om formen.
Uden skarpe albuer
”Skals er en befriende uprætentiøs ramme. Et meget ærligt sted, et sted uden albuer,” indleder Benedikte vores samtale.
Hun fortæller, at hun kommer fra en familie, hvor der bliver lavet meget håndarbejde, og at hun allerede inden sit ophold på Skals har taget et aftenskolekursus i vævning, men at det frustrerede hende, at aftenskolerammen betød, at hun hele tiden skulle afbryde, lige når hun var kommet i gang. Nogle måneder på Skals uden afbrydelser lød derfor som en virkelig god idé, og noget irriterende var det da også, da det viste sig, at man ikke kunne vælge primært at væve, men også skulle have tilskæring og syning og broderi. ”Men det endte bare med at give virkelig god mening,” siger hun i bagklogskabens klare lys. ”I hvert fald i forhold til det, jeg gerne vil opnå.”
”Jeg kender mange, som går på designskole, de er dejlige mennesker, men miljøet er hårdt og konkurrencepræget, og der er hele tiden fokus på, hvem det er strategisk at alliere sig med. Sådan er det ikke på Skals. På Skals fordyber man sig og har fokus på sit eget. Det var givende at have håndværket så meget i fokus frem for at intellektualisere omkring designet. Vi talte faktisk ikke om den sammenhæng, vi eller vores ting efterfølgende skal indgå i. Det er måske også derfor, at Skals ikke er den mest søgte skole, hvis man vil forberede sig til at søge optagelse på en af designskolerne.
Jeg kunne godt lide, at alting gik i så roligt et tempo, og at det meste af døgnet var optaget af at lave håndarbejde. Ikke sådan at forstå, at vi ikke havde noget socialt liv, der syntes bare at være enighed om, at det ikke var det væsentlige, og enighed om, at det sociale udsprang af det faglige. Det var et nemt fælleskab.”
En livsopgave
I en af pauserne mellem mine besøg på værkstederne taler jeg med Helle Mogensen om hendes virke som højskoleforstander.
Helle er 57 år, og hun har en lang historie med Skals.
Først tog hun som purung en kontoruddannelse, men at arbejde på kontor hverken udfordrede eller stimulerede hende. Derfor tog hun orlov og tog på Skals Håndarbejdsskole, vi skriver 1986. Det var under forstander Gunnild Gaardsdal.
Helle fik blod på tanden og besluttede at skifte livsbane. Hun søgte på Kolding Kunsthåndværkerskole (Designskolen Kolding) og uddannede sig til beklædningsformgiver. Da hun var færdig med sin uddannelse, vendte hun tilbage til højskolen, først som timelærer i en vekselvirkning med andre jobs, siden som lærer, så i et delt lederskab og nu siden 2004 som forstander.
”Engang troede jeg, at det tilfældigvis blev sådan,” fortæller Helle. ”Det tror jeg ikke længere, det er nærmest et kald at arbejde med at formidle glæden ved håndværket.”
Vi taler om at være håndværks versus akademisk forankret, og Helle siger, at med den udvikling, som man ser på designskolerne, hvor værkstedsfagene nedprioriteres, så har Skals en mulig ny rolle at spille som supplement for de, som vil fordybe sig i håndværk og teknik.
At være højskolelærer og at være højskoleforstander er en livsstil fortæller Helle, også selvom hun foretrækker at køre hjem til Århus efter arbejde og ikke som den traditionelle højskoleforstander, at bo på skolen. ”Jeg bliver inspireret af også at møde mennesker uden for højskolemiljøet, og det gavner både mig og skolen,” forklarer hun og fortsætter, ”det summer altid i hovedet, både med ideer til indholdet, kursusplanen og til alt det, som holder liv i skolen, og som rekrutterer nye elever og nye typer af elever.”
”Vi har rigtig mange gamle elever, som kommer igen og igen. En del af dem startede i sin tid på et længere kursus, nogle af dem tilbage i Gaardsdals tid. De vender nu tilbage en eller flere gange om året på kortere kurser. De tager deres veninder og søstre med og indimellem også børn og børnebørn. De kender konceptet, forstår præmissen, og de elsker det. Dem passer vi godt på.
Så er der de unge. Dem, som søger vores lange kurser. I nogle perioder har det været op ad bakke. Det har været umoderne at lave håndarbejde, og vi har skullet arbejde hårdt for at få elever. Det har udfordret os på kreativiteten. I andre perioder, nu fx, er det let at få elever, det er supermoderne at lave håndarbejde.
Det gør os ikke mindre kreative, men det er dejligt at være attraktiv, og ligesom i den modebranche, jeg er uddannet til at være en del af, så gælder det om rettidig omhu. Vi skal have kurser, som passer. Det, som efterspørges lige nu, og kurser, som matcher det, som bliver efterspurgt i morgen, og så skal der være en pæn portion klassikere.
Vi skal tage respektfuldt afsæt i vores historie, og det gør vi, og så skal vi forvalte arven innovativt.”
For at slutte, hvor vi begyndte:
En del af skolens udadvendte aktiviteter er, bortset fra deltagelse på diverse festivaler, herunder Roskildefestivalen og Kulturmødet på Mors, de årlige sommerudstillinger på højskolen.
Udstillingerne har altid et tema, der er altid udvalgt en portion dygtige håndværkere og kunsthåndværkere til at udstille og sælge produkter i parken og til at indsende værk til årets konkurrence. Der er foredrag, artist talks, sang, musik og workshops og tilstrømning fra nær og fjern.
I 2019 var temaet TID, og der blev talt meget om skolens historie.
Historien
Højskolen for design og håndarbejde drives i den tidligere Skals Højskole, der blev etableret i 1868. Skals højskole blev indrettet i Solbakken, en lille ejendom i Skals centrum.
Fra 1914-1945 fandtes Skals Højskole i den nuværende ’hovedbygning’, som er bygget til formålet.
Fra 1945-1959 var skolen i Skals Håndværkerskole.
Da Skals Håndværkerskole lukkede, blev bygningerne købt af den dengang 33-årige Gunnild Gaardsdal. Gaardsdal havde på mødrene side en tilknytning til højskolemiljøet og havde selv en brændende interesse for håndarbejde, kunstindustri og design og for at formidle. Hun etablerede Skals Håndarbejdsskole som privat håndarbejdsskole (pigeskole). Skolen blev i 1979 udvidet med et seminarium.
Håndarbejdsseminariet fik en egen bygning og en egen forstander i 1985. Gaardsdal forblev forstander for håndarbejdsskolen indtil 1993, hvor hun solgte den til en fond, som hun selv havde oprettet i 1990. Skals Håndarbejdsskole som selvejende institution var tilknyttet foreningen FAHH (Foreningen af Husholdnings- og Håndarbejdsskoler).
Siden 2004 har Helle Mogensen været forstander.
I 2010 ændrede skolen navn til Skals – højskolen for design og håndarbejde og blev tilknyttet FFD (Foreningen af Folkehøjskoler i Danmark).
Den ældste del af de eksisterende bygninger er fra 1915. Skolen er siden udvidet flere gange. Alle gange i respekt for den oprindelige arkitektur. Såvel arkitektur som indretning har referener til arts and crafts-bevægelsen og til den nordiske skønvirke-variant.
Skals – højskolen for design og håndarbejde er en højborg, en tidslomme, et mekka og et arnested.
På scenen
I haven bag Højskolen er scenen sat til foredrag, et af sommerudstillingens mange arrangementer. Hjerneforsker, professor Carsten Reides Bjarkam, som blandt andet har skrevet en lærebog i neuroanatomi, er inviteret til at tale om, at det at lave håndarbejde er nyttig balsam for sjælen. Tilhørerne ved det godt. Jeg ved det godt. Han har forsket i det og bevist det!
Tine Wessel ved det også, hende kan du læse mere om her
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