About
My name is Diem Dangers and I am a linocut printmaker, and blogger with a passion for folktales from around the world that are woven together through their shared honoring of women who nurture, steward, and live in intimacy with the wild or who are creaturely themselves.
I am deeply inspired by the creative work of Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Jungian analyst and Cantadora (keeper of the old stories in the Hispanic tradition) who identifies the Wild Woman Archetype in her renowned book Women Who Run With The Wolves. Dr Estés identifies this Wild Woman as La Mujer Grande (the Great Woman), and La Loba (Wolf Woman), and La Huesera (Bone Woman). In Hungarian (the heritage of her adopted family) Wild Woman is named Ö Erdöben (She of the Woods), or Rozsomak (The Wolverine). She goes on to describe how this Wild Woman shows up in so many cultural traditions. Among the Navajo she is Na'ashjé'ii Asdzáá (Spider Grandmother), and in Guatemala she is Humana del Niebla (The Mist Being). In Japan she is Amaterasu Omikami (The Numina who brings all light and consciousness), and in Tibet she is Dakini (the dancing force which produces clear-sight within women). . .and the list goes on. My work is a humble honoring and celebration of these Wild Women who show up again and again in folklore around the world as wild goddesses, plant medicine keepers, priestesses, dream weavers, feral females, wild witches, magical creatures, maidens, mothers and crones. I believe folktales of the Wild Woman have the power to not only restore and enliven our sense of enchantment with the earth, but by remembering the similarities and synchronicities in these folktales that honor women and the wild, we revive our collectively shared ancient honoring of the sacred feminine, and rekindle the lost and buried connections we have with each other.
Printing Bird Woman in my studio
I am a self-taught visual artist with a background in anthropology and a personal interest in folklore. My inspiration to begin printmaking came from discovering the Đông Hồ folk art block prints depicting the natural environment and folktales from my mother’s native Vietnam. I find it deeply meaningful to be carrying on the age-old technique of hand-carving and hand-printing, an artistic legacy with roots in the East, that follows a cross-cultural cross-continental journey to the West through history that is somewhat parallel to my own life trajectory. I have lived in several countries in the Asia-Pacific region, all of which has nurtured my interest and love for folktales from a diverse variety of cultures and landscapes.
Carving Wolf Woman / Running With the Wolves in my studio
Although I focus primarily on creating prints for sale in my online shops, I have participated in a few exhibits both in the U.S. and internationally some of which include: "Fairytales & Folktales," La Luna Gallery, Chiang Mai, Thailand (2005); “East West Fest”, East West Center, Honolulu, HI (2000); "Foundation[s]: In The Raw," with Boston Progress Asian American Artists’ Collective, East Meets West Bookstore, Cambridge, MA (2006); "Environmental Arts & Education," Lesley University, MA (2009), and “Entwined: Visual & Textual Narratives” at the Mosesian Center for the Arts, MA (2024).
When I am not in my studio you can find me hiking through the many wildlife sanctuaries scattered throughout the state of Massachusetts where I live, from which I draw so much inspiration for my work and am so grateful for.
I truly believe planetary ecological restoration is a relational job (in addition to conservation efforts and technological advancement) and for this reason, there is a vital need to re-story our human relationship with the wild. In sharing these folktales that have been cherished and honored for hundreds of years through oral tradition, I bring old world story medicine into our modern lives in hopes that it might transform us too.
I currently live with my partner and son, and work from my home studio in the Greater Boston Area.
Short Video on my Creative Process:
Follow me on Instagram to learn more about my artistic process, along with the beloved folktales, wild landscapes and seasonal cycles that inspire each piece:
