Phillip Odden is a professional woodcarver and Vesterheim Gold Medalist. He trained at the Hjerleid School in Dovre, Norway, and he and his wife, Else Bigton, have a workshop near Barronett, Wisconsin. Together, they authored the books Treskjærer Kunsten (The Art of Woodcarving) and Laerebok i Treskjaering (Textbook in Woodcarving).

Learn more: Watch this video, Contemporary Folk Art at Disney’s Norway Pavilion, where master woodworkers Phil Odden and Else Bigton and master rosemaler Patti Goke joined Vesterheim to discuss their work on the Frozen attraction in the Norway Pavillion at Disney’s Epcot Center in Florida.

And read this article from Phil about the benefits of handwork.