Spillum Steam Sawmill & Planing Mill
Spillum Steam Sawmill and Planing Mill was established in Namsos in 1884, at a time when the forestry industry was undergoing rapid development. This profitable mill was set up by timber merchant Peter Torkilsen in collaboration with forest owners to produce timber and prefabricated buildings, such as fishermen’s sheds and schools. Work at this fairly typical medium-sized mill was highly specialised and jobs were often passed down from father to son. Torkilsen took good care of his 20-45 employees and built a library and swimming pool which utilised hot water from the steam engine. The mill was gradually modernised after 1939 and started using electricity in 1947. Operations ceased in 1986, but were subsequently resumed when the Norwegian Sawmill Museum opened in 1991.
photo: Bård Løken
Minor; Hans Otto Minge and Eli Nordbø
Minor
Eli Nordbø is first and foremost a textile artist, educated at the SHKS (the Norwegian National Academy of Craft & Art Industry) in Oslo and the Polish Academy of Art. She has gradually developed her field of specialisation to include several different techniques and materials. During the last few years she had started using everyday textiles in order to become familiar with new contexts. Hans Otto Minge is a qualified painter and graphic artist whose work also covers a broad range of disciplines, including collages and material pictures. Minge and Nordbø live together and have been working together for many years. Their work has resulted in a cooperative project entitled "minor" which is exhibited every now and then following its debut at the Old Vicarage at Hå in 1996.
Minor has produced several wood carvings from Spillum which focus on people, products and the forest. These sculptures will be exhibited at the Nord-Trøndelag County Art Gallery throughout the month of August.
