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Michigan Heritage Awards
Arts Nomination Form
Community Leadership Nomination Form
^ MHA Awardees List ^
Adell Beatrice Raisanen
2002 awardee, Hartland (Livingston County), rag-rug weaver
Adell Raisanen, known as Bea, is a master rag weaver in the
Finnish American tradition. She was born in 1917 and grew up
in a Finnish American community in Minnesota where rag rugs
were used in homes and weaving was a skill brought by immigrants
from Finland. Bea's mother taught her to weave, but like most
women of her generation, it was many years before she returned
to this tradition. In the interim, Bea moved to Detroit where
she held several jobs, including a position in an aircraft factory
during World War II, and she raised a family. In 1958 she purchased
her first rug loom, and since then she has been recycling old
clothes, blankets, sheets, towels, etc., into beautiful, highly
coveted rugs for her home, gifts, and occasional sales.
Bea's technical perfection and use of breathtaking colors are
the result of many decades of weaving. Fellow weaver Doris Allen
refers to Bea's loom as "the canvas of a great artist [and]
There is no suggestion of randomness in her choice of materials;
everything is integrated into a complete picture." (1)
With her mother's instructions, occasional reference to books
and other weavers, visits to Finland where rag weaving is also
highly prized, and her husband, Arnold, who keeps her loom in
top working order, Bea continues to excel in her art and to
attract admiration and praise.
She has taught her weaving skills and techniques to apprentices
through the Michigan Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program
(1994, 1996, 1998-2000), infecting her apprentices with the
love of weaving and reinforcing the tradition in the greater
Detroit area. Bea is an active member of FinnWeavers, a group
affiliated with the Finnish Center Association in Farmington
Hills. She has also displayed her work at the national FinnFest,
demonstrated weaving at the National Folk Festival, and has
received awards from the Michigan League of Handweavers and
at the Michigan State Fair. Despite all the attention, Bea continues
to give generously of her time to help weavers with their problems
and to teach her "tricks of the trade."
(1) Allen, Doris V. Letter of recommendation to panelists.
November 2000.
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