Rosemaling itself is defined by its decorative use of flowers, spirals and acantus leaves. But rosemaling decorations can be used in conjunction with script and figurative depiction.

For these plates I used Steinar Iversens silk prints with motifs from Norwegian fairy tales. Most of the fairy tales illustrated here are from Asbjørnsen and Moe – the «Norwegian brothers Grimm», stories that are known to any Norwegian child. Asbjørnsen and Moe collected their fairy tales in the same era as rosemaling was recognized as an expression of Norwegian national identity.