Salon this year was a special one for me. It was me and Evan’s first international trip and to a place where I’ve always wanted to visit. It was hosted in Bergen, Norway by Salon member Inge Visnes. I’ve never traveled to Norway, let alone Scandinavia, and this would be my opportunity to immerse myself in the culture and customs of this beautiful place. After Salon, we were able to spend a few days in Stockholm, Sweden. My paternal grandfather’s parents are both Swedish and my great grandmother emigrated in the early 1900’s so this was a very special trip for me. To learn more about salon and my previous experiences, click here or here.

After a whirlwind layover in Frankfurt we made our connection to Bergen by the skin of our teeth. When we arrived it was cool and cloudy but the sun made an appearance later in the afternoon and for most of our time there. We lucked out on the weather considering Bergen is the rainiest city in Europe being located on the west coast of Norway. The landscape is very similar to the Pacific Northwest.

After acclimating to the time change and getting our bearings of the city with a walking tour, and a trip up to the Floyban, we started to see fellow members arrive as we got closer to the start of Salon. We had the fortune of experiencing Constitution Day which is the day Norway celebrates their independence from Denmark in 1814. There were lots of parades, music, and revelry and Norwegians don their traditional attire for the occasion. People young and old alike dress up and if they don’t have a traditional outfit they wear their Sunday best. It was quite the sight!

As we were enjoying the festivities, we were alerted to the fact that Inge and his whole family had come down with Covid. So Inge’s brother came to the rescue all the way from Oslo to help facilitate the event. Everyone came together to build all of the display and demonstration kiosks as well as the mural wall. Evan and I had been asked to lead the common mural for this year. Inge left the design up to us but requested that it be an underwater scene. The completed mural would be donated to a local children’s hospital.

The first day we got to work tacking up the canvas, printing off imagery, and preparing the backdrop for the sea life menagerie. Once we had the backdrop laid out we encouraged volunteers to come up and paint in whatever they chose. Watching the mural come together over the four days was so much fun. We had help from students from a decorative painting school in the Netherlands. Everyone was eager to add their little touch. I painted in a blue crab to represent Maryland. My friend Annie LeMarie had the idea to have Inge’s brother Jan and Inge’s assistant Jon, who both had never held a paintbrush before, contribute to the mural. I guided them on how to paint sea shells in the sand. We were all quite impressed with the discovery of their new talent!

The days were filled with painting, demonstrating and learning from each other, catching up with old friends and making new ones, and eating lots of salmon! On the last day we were treated to the most incredible closing dinner, and Inge’s family were there! Closing dinner is a tradition in Salon where the current host passes the “torch” which is a scroll that each hosting member signs. Since 1990 Salon has been held each year with the exception of 2020 when Covid cancelled it when it was to be held in Shanghai. Traditional songs are sung and everyone dresses up for the occasion. This year it was held in Hakons Hall. Håkon’s Hall was built between 1247 and 1261 by Håkon Håkonsson. It was the largest of the royal residency in the 13th-century when Bergen was the political centre of Norway. An a cappella choir performed Norwegian folk music and the sound brought tears to my eyes. It was a sublime experience.

The next day most everyone made their departure and we headed to the train station where we were to take a train through the interior to Oslo. We weren’t the only ones with that idea, we ran into two other artists, Patricia Swanson and Theresa Cheek. When we first entered the train station, I saw a woman with her cat on a leash! She was adorable, and as luck would have it she sat across from us on the train! The trip through the countryside was breathtaking. We travelled along fjords and up into the snow before heading back down into Oslo. We flew to Stockholm the next morning which was a quick one hour flight. I had found a hotel in the heart of “Gamla Stan” which means “Old Town” in Swedish. The island is the oldest part of Stockholm and has much of the original architecture dating back to the 1500’s. Prior to that time fires were sadly common. We scheduled another walking tour that turned out to be quite informative. We visited the Vasa museum which was just epic! I was speechless much of the time learning about how this massive ship sank in the harbor on its maiden voyage killing many on board. The ship was discovered in the 1950’s and painstakingly brought back to the surface and pieced together. Skeletons were identified and much of their life could be learned through the bones and teeth as well as artifacts found on or near them. We also went to the “Viking Museum” nearby but after the Vasa nothing compared. Its was a long day and we slept well that night.

Our other adventures included the National Art Museum, the Royal Palace, and discovering an antique shop chock full of Swedish copper, Dala Horses, and other Swedish antiques. The sweet old lady who ran it was full of knowledge. We ran into some friends who had the same idea to come to Stockholm after salon!

While at Salon, longtime Salon members and good friends of Evan’s, Mats and Angeta Carlsson, invited us to spend the day at their home. We took the train to Norrkoping and had a wonderful home cooked meal. We saw some of Mats work in town and checked out his studio and I fell in love with their cats.

By the time it was time to go home we were ready. Evan spent a day with me before going home to LA. We had cowboy dinners over the fire in the backyard. Finally, a bluebird day in Maryland that we could enjoy outside!

Scandinavia was quite the experience. One evening while having dinner at an outdoor cafe, I had a moment where I saw my mom in everyone that walked by. I wish she could have experienced this trip with me and seen so many people that looked like us. She had always been a little self conscious about her stature but there she would have fit right in, maybe even felt short! I am so grateful to have been able to visit such a spectacular part of the world.

Next year Salon will be hosted in San Francisco and in 2024 it will be held in Ireland!! You KNOW I’ll be there!

Since being back I’ve been working on some finishes in a new hotel opening in Mt. Vernon Baltimore. The hotel is called “Ulysses” and is taking an old Latrobe apartment building that was originally built in 1911 as bachelor apartments and turning it into a boutique hotel. I’ve been posting updates on my instagram, @lenehanstudios. Hope you get the chance to visit when it opens. I’m also working on several other fun projects and recently completed this ceiling mural for a client of Hall & Co.