When no Rauland Historielag publishes a book about craftsmen, it is after thorough discussion and assessment. We saw that the time had come to collect and write down information about craftsmen, as there were still many who had personal knowledge of many. The craft has had a strong position in the villages here, but times are changing rapidly, and our recent past is quickly being forgotten.
There will be many things to decide on, such as place and time, what and who. We have chosen the period from 1900 to the present day. Then it would mean that some were born in the 1800th century. Gradually I found out that the book should cover old Rauland municipality, that is to say Øyfjell, Møsstrond and Rauland parish. The subject was village crafts, but what is it? Along the way, it has probably gained a broad definition, but we have stuck to craftsmanship that gives a lasting result, i.e. not baking, for example! The craft encompasses four main groups: work with wood, textiles, metal and measuring, as well as leather and leather.
Who would be included in such a book? From the beginning, I thought perhaps best of the well-known and skilled craftsmen, but I soon realized that many people need to be involved. I still had to do some demarcation. We therefore have a requirement for the performers, that they must have exhibited or sold something. Most people in Rauland would otherwise have joined this book! We have adhered to this requirement and have not carried out any form of quality assessment. So here I find the recognized craftsman and the more hobby-based practitioner. Together, it gives a picture of quantity and diversity.
There has been a difficult boundary between art and craft. We have chosen to bring artists who spent their childhood and youth here, to show that from a rich craft environment, some rise up and become artists. We then have illustrations of their early work. Knut Skinnarland was once a woodcutter before he trained as a carver. Dyre Vaa and Reidar Kolbrek were both fully trained artists when they came to the village and are therefore not included.
