MFA Fashion Thesis
After a twelve-year journey toward completing a lifelong goal of earning an MFA in Fashion, I have begun my thesis process. This page documents the development of my research paper, the design of a contemporary women’s fashion collection, and preparation for the culminating exhibition at Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum.
Inspiration image created in Midjourney.
This inspiration video marks the beginning of my thesis research, rooted in an exploration of my Norwegian heritage. In 2018, I discovered that my great-grandmother, Anna, was a skilled dressmaker in Norway—a revelation that deepened my understanding of both her story and my own creative lineage.
Using Hans Dahl paintings, my family’s migration narrative, and early explorations of folk-art-inspired fashion, the video establishes the conceptual and emotional foundation of the project, introducing themes of preservation, adaptation, and cultural identity expressed through dress.
Building on this initial exploration, I used artificial intelligence as a conceptual tool to test and visualize possibilities for the thesis collection. I transformed a family photograph of my great-grandmother into an animated film depicting her dressmaking practice, using the medium to imagine a broader narrative of Norwegian artisans and the contemporary fashions that could be inspired by their work. Created through a combination of AI-based applications and refined using Adobe editing tools, the video allowed the project to move from abstract idea to tangible form.
Seeing the concept come to life affirmed the viability of the thesis direction and led directly to a research trip to Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum in Decorah, Iowa, where I participated in an embroidery course, attended Nordic Fest, and conducted museum and library research.
With the start of the Fall 2025 quarter, I formally began work on my thesis proposal. I assembled my thesis committee, developed a written prospectus, and presented the project for Candidacy Review. My project proposal was approved. With approval secured, I am now moving into the research phase of the thesis. A concise version of the proposal is available here.
While in Decorah, I was offered the opportunity to present my MFA thesis exhibition at Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum in the Commons. Serving as the backdrop for an innovative and contemporary fashion collection, the Commons will house the exhibition for approximately two months, beginning November 7, 2026.
Collaborating artisans, sponsors, family, and friends will be invited to a private preview on November 6, 2026, which will include my formal MFA thesis presentation and a celebratory gathering in advance of the public opening.
Save the Date card was created in Gemini, ChatGPT & Canva. Original fashion design by Tammie Pontsler
Collaborating Norwegian-American Artisans
Rachel Saum – Rosemaling
Rachael is a Taos-based studio potter whose work bridges her Midwestern Scandinavian heritage with the artistic vibrancy of New Mexico. Raised with Norwegian-American traditions passed down through her maternal grandparents, she developed an early love for rosemaling and folk art that later deepened while living in culturally rich Santa Fe. After two decades working as a social worker, Rachael returned to her artistic roots, blending wheel-thrown pottery with hand-painted and carved rosemaling motifs to create modern, functional ceramics. Inspired by nature, Scandinavian design, and the colors of the Southwest, her work reflects a belief in handmade craft, intention, and beauty woven into everyday life.
Lexi Burg – Quilting
Lexi’s love of sewing began with her Norwegian grandmother, whose quick-made sundresses sparked a lifelong passion for creating with fabric, needle, and thread. Inspired by her heritage—and treasures like her grandmother’s 1933 Singer and a photo of her great-grandmother in a Hallingdal bunad—she later visited Norway and lovingly recreated the family bunad herself. After years of sewing garments and home decor, she discovered quilting and has spent more than 30 years exploring new techniques, teaching in studios and guilds, and continually evolving as an artist. Her quilts have been juried into national exhibitions, including the AccuQuilt Let’s GO exhibit and Fly Me to the Moon, as well as a New York museum’s 9/11 memorial project. She continues to find joy and inspiration in every stitch.
Renee Thoreson – Hardanger Embroidery
Renee Thoreson is a folk artist specializing in Hardangersøm, the traditional Norwegian embroidery style known as Hardanger. Her love of handwork began in childhood and deepened after discovering antique family pieces and a long lineage of Scandinavian textile artists. While rooted in tradition, Renee brings a modern approach to Hardanger by incorporating colored fabrics, metallic threads, beads, Swarovski crystals, and contemporary motifs. A published designer with multiple copyrighted patterns, she has earned the highest Sons of Norway Cultural Skills Medal (Master Level), won top awards in international and district competitions, and exhibited her work in juried folk art shows at the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum.
Claire Boissevain-Crooke – Knitting
Three of Claire’s four grandparents were immigrants from the Netherlands, Ireland, and Norway, but it is her Norwegian grandmother—bold, determined, and deeply influential—who most shaped her creative and professional path. Her grandmother left Norway for New York City around 1916 to pursue nursing, cared for soldiers during WWI, married an Irish immigrant serving in the Royal Canadian Army, and eventually settled in the United States, later inspiring her granddaughter to enter the nursing profession. After first earning a degree in fine art and building a career in graphic design, she returned to school for nursing and worked in women’s healthcare until retirement. Taught to knit at age eleven during a long illness, she developed a lifelong love for fiber arts, eventually discovering her passion for Nordic stranded knitting after encountering Dale patterns and knitting her first steek. Today, she continues to explore the limitless interplay of color and motif in Scandinavian knitting, blending her creativity, heritage, and craftsmanship.
Carolyn Pieper Benforado – Embroidery
Carolyn is a fiber artist who uses natural and reclaimed materials to explore identity, emotion, and place, allowing earth elements and everyday objects to shape her forms and narratives. Raised in Stoughton, Wisconsin—deeply rooted in Norwegian folk arts—her early exposure to bunads and traditional craft strongly influenced her creative path. A descendant of Norwegian immigrants who carried language and customs across generations, Carolyn now continues this heritage through her work with the Stoughton High School Norwegian Dancers’ Bunad Committee. With degrees from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, she has built a lifelong career in sewing, design, and teaching, from custom clothing and study abroad in Norway to costuming children’s performances and contributing to historically inspired product development at American Girl. Passionate about sharing her craft, she has taught sewing and design in community programs, at Madison College, and at UW–Madison.
Social: Instagram instagram.com/cbenforado
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/carolyn-pieper-benforado-24304561
Shawn Sersland – Woodcarver
Shawn is a civil engineer and woodcarver. She grew up in Decorah, IA and has been active since she was a kid with Vesterheim: Norwegian American Museum where her mom worked. There, Shawn has been taking folk art classes since she was ten years old. For the last 11 years, she has been especially interested in chip carving, becoming a gold medalist in Vesterheim’s National Folk Art Exhibition in 2017. Shawn has Norwegian ancestry on both her mother and father’s sides of the family with great-great grandparents and great-great-great grandparents immigrating in the late 1800’s.
Sponsorship
You are invited to support the realization of Threads of Migration. Community sponsorships directly fund essential elements of the collection and exhibition, including mannequins, artisan collaborations, and research-related costs. The progress shown reflects current support toward these specific needs, and contributions at any level play a meaningful role in bringing the work to life.