Örlandet is, I daresay a big word, one of the wonders: barest painting country in the world. The climate and thus the colors change from minute to minute, everything is life and movement. Hans was born there and even when he was the oldest son on a farm, he was aware since childhood that he wanted to be a painter. He loved the colors above all, the brush was like a stroke for the fiddler. As the great person he was, he wanted to be self-sufficient in everything and worked on many things. He thought it was funny to invent things, especially to help me. How could I weave without the magnificent loom that he found and carved himself? He built up the old house that was a «rønna» so it became cozy and warm. But of all a thousand things, grinding was his life. It was the last thing he did on the last night he lived.

Hannah Ryggen