Playing with Wolves

 

Wolves and ravens have been observed together in what could only be described as social situations. A hiker friend spent an afternoon observing a wolf family in a mountain valley.  The mom and dad posted themselves on the hillside above, while the four young wolves played with a raven friend. Teased and egged on by the raven who perched on a rock, the wolves wagged their tails. Then, pretending to lose interest in their playmate, they would sneak back, as if stalking the raven.

 

When the sun was ready to set, the older wolves, still on the mountainside above, got up and headed into thick woods. The pups abandoned their game to follow mom and dad.  [I climbed the mountain the next day, but only sighted the adult wolves.]

 

Bravery is considered to be a trait of the raven. Hunger and courtship seem like obvious reasons for displays of bravery. But sometimes ravens, usually known for their cautious approach to things, take risks for no evident reason at all.

Hand-painted linocut

13 x 9.5 inches

Edition of 200

 

Sizes listed are of the linocut images themselves; I leave an additional white border of paper on all sides.

My linocuts are printed on cotton rag paper the old-fashioned way: I carve with knives and gouges to create my imagery in slabs of linoleum. Then I roll ink over the surface, lay cotton paper on top, and crank the block through my etching press. I repeat this process for each impression in the edition, which means: If an image is in an edition of 40, I do this 40 times! After the prints dry, I generally hand-paint them, often with many layers of color, making each print a unique work of art.