{{Short description|Swedish-New Zealand carver}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2015}} {{Use New Zealand English|date=February 2015}}
{{Infobox artist | name = Levi Borgstrom | image = | image_size = | alt = | caption = | birth_name = Levi Petrus Borgstrom | birth_date = {{Birth date|1919|11|07|df=y}} | birth_place = Lycksele, Sweden | death_date = {{Death date and age|2001|07|25|1919|11|07|df=y}} | death_place = Titirangi, New Zealand | known_for = Woodturning, carving | training = | movement = | notable_works = | patrons = | awards = | elected = | website = }} '''Levi Petrus Borgstrom''' (7 November 1919 – 25 July 2001) was a Swedish-New Zealand carver.
==Early life== Borgstrom was born in Lycksele, Sweden in 1919. As a teenager, he began using his father's tools to carve wooden cutlery and crockery and was strongly influenced by Saami and Norrland settler culture. His career was largely focused upon spoon carving.<ref name=BB>{{cite book|last1=Blumhardt|first1=Doreen|last2=Brake|first2=Brian|title=Craft New Zealand: The art of the craftsman|date=1981|publisher=A.H. & A.W. Reed|location=Auckland|isbn=0-589-01343-2|page=280|url=http://nlnzcat.natlib.govt.nz/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=467995|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20141130205447/http://nlnzcat.natlib.govt.nz/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=467995|archivedate=30 November 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
==Career== In 1951, he moved to New Zealand and began incorporating New Zealand resources into his Scandinavian-influenced works. He used New Zealand and introduced timbers in his works, including kōwhai, tānekaha, akeake, rewarewa, mānuka, macrocarpa, cherry wood, privet, mangrove, and silky oak.<ref name=LB>{{cite web|title=Levi Borgstrom|url=http://www.objectspace.org.nz/Exhibitions/Detail/Levi+Borgstrom|website=Objectspace|accessdate=10 December 2014}}</ref>
Borgstrom worked by drawing a design on a piece of wood and roughly creating the shape using a Scandinavian bow saw. He would then use knives and chisels to further refine the carving, followed by work with files and rasps. The final stages of creating a spoon included sanding, waxing and oiling.<ref name=LB/>
==Collections== His work is held in the collection of the Auckland War Memorial Museum and the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, Australia.<ref name=BB/><ref>{{cite web|title=92/1435 Spoon, wood, Levi Borgstrom, New Zealand, 1970-1979|url=http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/collection/database/?irn=121853|website=Powerhouse Museum|accessdate=10 December 2014}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Borgstrom, Levi}} Category:1919 births Category:2001 deaths Category:Swedish emigrants to New Zealand Category:New Zealand carvers Category:People from Lycksele Municipality
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