Kristin Kjorlaug

Author: Kristin Kjorlaug

  • Norwegian Cupboard #2

    Norwegian Cupboard #2

    In the old Norwegian homes they painted on every door frame and cupboard, making the mundane flourish for all who lived there.

    Watercolor and Ink. 8×12 inches. Available for rehoming at gallery840.

    Norwegian Cupboard

  • Norwegian Cupboard #1 [SOLD]

    Norwegian Cupboard #1 [SOLD]

    In the old Norwegian homes they painted on every door frame and cupboard, making the mundane flourish for all who lived there.

    Watercolor and Ink. 8×12 inches. Available for rehoming at gallery840 in Allentown, PA

    Norwegian Cupboard #1https://gallery840.square.site/product/norwegian-cupboard-1/935?cp=true&sa=true&sbp=false&q=false
  • Quilted Rosemaling [SOLD]

    Quilted Rosemaling [SOLD]

    The intertwining of two grandmothers — one Swedish seamstress & one Norwegian painter, the stitches and strokes of their lives quilted into mine.

    On display at the Square Halo Gallery, Lancaster, PA, for the Inklings Conference “Ordinary Saints.” For sale at gallery840 in Allentown, PA.

    Quilted Rosemaling
  • Brita [SOLD]

    Brita [SOLD]

    Brita Olsdatter was part of the farm community around Kjorlaug, Norway and one of the women in my family line that made a way for my existence. She was my great great great grandmother. Speaking her name with my art means she was not forgotten. I honor her existence and enjoyed imagining her story, gifting, and breath in Norway. —Kristin

    Brita
  • Lukris [SOLD]

    Lukris [SOLD]

    By Kristin Kjorlaug

    Watercolor and Ink – 4×4 inches

    Lukris Von Krog Pederadotter was part of the farm community around Kjorlaug, Norway and one of the women in my family line that made a way for my existence. She was my great great great grandmother. Speaking her name with my art means she was not forgotten. I honor her existence and enjoyed imagining her story, gifting, and breath in Norway. —Kristin

    For rehoming at gallery840 or purchase online at the gallery website.

    Lukris
  • Eliza [SOLD]

    Eliza [SOLD]

    By Kristin Kjorlaug

    Watercolor and Ink – 4×4 inches

    Eliza Torsen was part of the farm community around Kjorlaug, Norway and one of the women in my family line that made a way for my existence. She was my great great great grandmother. Speaking her name with my art means she was not forgotten. I honor her existence and enjoyed imagining her story, gifting, and breath in Norway. —Kristin

    This piece of artwork is being rehomed to a dear friend in PA, but if you’d like a 3” sticker of it, go to the gallery840 website.

    Eliza
  • Synneva [SOLD]

    Synneva [SOLD]

    By Kristin Kjorlaug

    Watercolor and Ink – 4×4 inches

    Synneva Pedersdotter was part of the farm community around Kjorlaug, Norway and one of the women in my family line that made a way for my existence. She was my great great great great grandmother. Speaking her name with my art means she was not forgotten. I honor her existence and enjoyed imagining her story, gifting, and breath in Norway. —Kristin

    For rehoming at gallery840 or purchase online at the gallery website.

    Synneva
  • Kristoffer Thomason Kjorlaug [SOLD]

    Kristoffer Thomason Kjorlaug [SOLD]

    reads about the palm trees

    What I see in this painting

    Palm trees were foreign to Norwegians in the Northern Tundra. Families learned of exotic places by reading together in their homes and with family. It was one way to pass the long nights in Norway. The first thing my grandmother would do when we came over was pick a book out to read a little of each day while we snuggled on the couch together. Whe she read, the stories took me places I had never been and remind me of being with her to this day. 

    My Norwegian ancestors lived on a farm in Norway in a small region called Kjorlaug. The 4 Rosemaling seed paintings are from bits and pieces of stories my Norwegian grandmother told.

    Norwegian Rosemaling is an ancient Norwegian folk art taught to me by my grandmother. 

    What is underneath this painting

    “The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, “The Lord is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.””

    Psalms 92:12-15 NIV

    The words in this Psalm were often read on a Sabbath. This rest means listening. Listen then when God describes you. He knows what you are like when you are with Him. You look like a tree when you follow Him—a straight palm reaching far upward, bearing fruit, flourishing beside Him. The date palm produces a fruit that would have been thoroughly enjoyed in Israel, and by Jesus when he walked there beside us. 

    This art series began on a rabbit trail I was trekking down to find trees in the Bible (there are so many!!!) I love trees, but four arrested my attention and became the subjects for this Rosemaling seed series. Trees are a picture God often uses to describe humans and these four—the date palm, the almond tree, the oak, and the mustard— are how God pictorally described the righteous (those who follow Him). Now when I look at these trees, I feel seen and described by my God. The trees were brought back to seed form in the creation of these pieces because spring was coming when I made them, and I was so looking forward to it. —Kristin

    Kristoffer Thomason Kjorlaug reads about the palm trees
    Watercolor and Ink – 8×10 inches

    This painting was sold at gallery840 in Allentown PA and lives in a little cabin north of here.

    Limited Edition Prints of all the seeds are available:

    High quality archival prints of Kristin Kjorlaug’s original Rosemaling seed series in watercolor and ink. 8×10 inch print. Ships within 2 weeks. 

    Prints are available for purchase through the gallery840 website.

    Norwegian Rosemaling Seed series

  • Emma Torsen [SOLD]

    Emma Torsen [SOLD]

    sprinkles almonds on the Kransekake

    What I see in this painting

    When my sister married, my Norwegian grandmother (the firey red headed one) went to the painstaking work of baking and decorating the rings of a Kransekake to put on the wedding cake table. It was a unique piece of edible art that I had never seen until then. But grandma told me that this was what the wedding cakes were like in Norway. I want to step back in time and see a Kjorlaug wedding in Norway. 

    My Norwegian ancestors lived on a farm in Norway in a small region called Kjorlaug. The 4 Rosemaling seed paintings are from bits and pieces of stories my Norwegian grandmother told. Emma was my great great grandmother.

    Norwegian Rosemaling is an ancient Norwegian folk art taught to me by my grandmother. 

    What is underneath this painting

    “The word of the Lord came to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?” “I see the branch of an almond tree,” I replied. The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled.”

    Jeremiah 1:11-12 NIV

    The word “almond” in Hebrew sounds almost the same as the word “watching” in Hebrew and God purposely played with the similar sounds for a picture that would remind us that He sees. The same message that Jeremiah heard God say was also etched into the metalwork of the temple, where almonds and almond blossoms are “watching” the movement and worship of the people there who followed God.  

    This art series began on a rabbit trail I was trekking down to find trees in the Bible (there are so many!!!) I love trees, but four arrested my attention and became the subjects for this Rosemaling seed series. Trees are a picture God often uses to describe humans and these four—the date palm, the almond tree, the oak, and the mustard— are how God pictorally described the righteous (those who follow Him). Now when I look at these trees, I feel seen and described by my God. The trees were brought back to seed form in the creation of these pieces because spring was coming when I made them, and I was so looking forward to it. —Kristin

    Emma Torsen sprinkles almonds on the Kransekake
    Watercolor and Ink – 8×10 inches

    This painting was sold at gallery840 in Allentown PA and lives in a little cabin north of here.

    Limited Edition Prints of all the seeds are available:

    High quality archival prints of Kristin Kjorlaug’s original Rosemaling seed series in watercolor and ink. 8×10 inch print. Ships within 2 weeks. 

    Prints are available for purchase through the gallery840 website.

    Norwegian Rosemaling Seed series

  • Kristoffer Nitter Kristofferson

    Kristoffer Nitter Kristofferson

    plants an acorn on the Kjorlaug farm

    What I see in this painting

    Kristoffer Nitter Kristofferson was my great great grandfather and the first Kjorlaug to come to America from Norway. I would have loved to see how he played as a boy on the Kjorlaug farm where he grew up. If he had planted an oak as a boy, it would be a 160 years old today and massive. If I ever get to visit the farm in Norway I will look for an oak that old and wonder

    My Norwegian ancestors lived on a farm in Norway in a small region called Kjorlaug. The 4 Rosemaling seed paintings are from bits and pieces of stories my Norwegian grandmother told. Kristoffer was my great great grandfather.

    Norwegian Rosemaling is an ancient Norwegian folk art taught to me by my grandmother. 

    What is underneath this painting

    “and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.”

    Isaiah 61:3 NIV

    God is planting oaks and singing. He sings in Isaiah’s ears of what is yet to come. Someday, those that follow Him will thrive like a grown oak—a picture more like a poem from God, a poem about me. I have seen some mighty oaks here under this sun, but never fully like God’s righteous oaks…what a forest that will be!

    This art series began on a rabbit trail I was trekking down to find trees in the Bible (there are so many!!!) I love trees, but four arrested my attention and became the subjects for this Rosemaling seed series. Trees are a picture God often uses to describe humans and these four—the date palm, the almond tree, the oak, and the mustard— are how God pictorally described the righteous (those who follow Him). Now when I look at these trees, I feel seen and described by my God. The trees were brought back to seed form in the creation of these pieces because spring was coming when I made them, and I was so looking forward to it. —Kristin

    Kristoffer Nitter Kristofferson plants an acorn on the Kjorlaug farm
    Watercolor and Ink – 8×10 inches – framed – $83

    This painting is for sale at gallery840 in Allentown PA.

    You can purchase the painting via the gallery website.

    Limited Edition Prints Also Available:

    High quality archival prints of Kristin Kjorlaug’s original Rosemaling seed series in watercolor and ink. 8×10 inch print. Ships within 2 weeks. 

    Prints are available for purchase through the gallery840 website.

    Norwegian Rosemaling Seed series