This log cabin ”Raulandstua” was built in 1238 and is the oldest preserved wooden house in the world. Remarkably well maintained both inside and out, it gives the impression that it will last forever. Raulandstua is in an unobtrusive location at Norsk Folkemuseum and could be easily overlooked. Once you crouch down to pass through its low door, however, you will be overwhelmed. The large room inside has a high ceiling with a sky light, beautiful timber walls and a long table resting on a dry earth floor. Here people have lived through the ages. They have eaten, loved and slept, given birth and breathed their last. And I can feel their human presence under the soles of my feet. While painting Bloodlines I focused on the cracks in the dirt floor and I thought of the words: «Of earth have you come, of earth you shall be, of earth you shall rise again.»