Gallery: Monochrome linocuts

A handcrafted linocut print of Selkie in black and white — Selkie

A splash of grey flippers, the salty smell of sea kelp, and a fierce sense of belonging to an underwater world, are the beating heart of this beloved Irish, Icelandic and Scottish folktale about a seal-woman who loses her pelt to her lover, and how she finds it again. This story is about the loss of soul and resonates with those of us who sacrifice something vital to us, such as a dream or passion, with the false hope of receiving love in return. . .and how important it is to reclaim it.

Wolf Totem

In the heart of Mongolia wolves and sheep herders once lived in harmony with each other. Though wolves were regarded as an "enemy" and often killed the sheep these nomadic herders depended on for their livelihood, wolves also modeled strategies of survival that herders adopted enabling them to live for generations in the harsh landscape. The wolves were revered as a divine teachers, protective spirits of the grasslands, and the ultimate ones who carried human souls to the other world after death. . .a profound way practical survival and mythology work in tandem to weave together wolves and humans in this world and the next.

Fox Woman

Fox Woman, also known as *Kitsune* in Japanese folklore, is a shapeshifting trickster character who resembles the elusive, clever fox from the wild. Although this folktale comes in many different variations and her story is told in many tongues, what they all have in common is a trickster character who shifts between human and fox, living in multiple worlds, questioning the order of things through her mischief, playfulness, wit, deception, magic and defiance of authority. Fox Woman is almost always a tale of transformation and self-discovery, making visible the tension between the need for order, and its reinvention.

A handcrafted linocut print inspired by the Slavic folk heroine Baba Yaga including a falcon forest and hut on chicken legs — Baba Yaga & The Falcon

Inspired by the Slavic Folktale *Katrina and the Bright Falcon*, featuring Baba Yaga, the enduring powerful female wilderness creatrix from Russian folklore, beautifully described and redefined by Natalia Clarke in her book *Baba Yaga: Slavic Earth Goddess* which she writes from her own Siberian heritage. This folktale is about staying true to your heart, the transformation from innocence to experience, and the powerful role of the Crone (Baba Yaga) on this developmental journey. . . all represented through the main character (Katrina’s) pursuit of and relationship with a Falcon.

The Mitten

A folktale about the importance of generosity when faced with scarcity of resources that can be found in both Ukrainian and Abenaki folklore. In the Ukrainian version, woodland animals try to fit into a mitten for warmth though it is too small. In the Abenaki version they are all coerced into a bag to feed a hunter even though taking all of them exceeds the hunter’s needs. Myths and stories that reveal shared values despite having originated from different cultures and landscapes reveals an undercurrent of synchronicities that connects us all together.

The Weaver of the World

Like the concept of Yin and Yang, the folkloric archetype of opposing forces that create the cosmos, weaves its way into so many different landscapes and cultural traditions secretly behind a veil of different stories and visual motifs . . and here it is hidden in plain sight, in the White Mountain Apache folktale of The Old Woman Who Weaves Together the World and the Black Crow who pecks at the loose ends and unravels it again. Inspired by Michael Meade’s retelling of this story in his book *Why the World Doesn’t End: Tales of Renewal in Times of Loss*.

SkyWoman

Inspired by a Haudenosaunee Creation story retold by Robin Wall Kimmerer in her bestselling book Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants. Sky Woman is a story about an outsider, an immigrant, a celestial stranger who falls from the sky into the world of earthly creatures. Sky Woman shows us the power of reciprocity to bridge differences, and the abundance everyone receives when two worlds meet.

Handmade Vietnamese block print of dragon — Dragon & Crane

The love story between a dragon and a crane is one of many endearing folktales that make up Vietnam’s rich heritage of maritime folklore. The enduring wisdom of this story is about finding the hidden treasure that is birthed from unexpected connections, and when we choose to come together despite our differences. Retold by Thích Nhất Hạnh in his book *A Taste of Earth and Other Legends of Vietnam.*

East of the Sun & West of the Moon

The beloved Norwegian fairytale “East of the Sun West of the Moon” is a story about a great, white bear who asks for a poor woman’s hand in marriage. She agrees only to discover he is actually a prince held captive, disguised as a bear by a wicked spell. She resolves to undertake the extraordinary journey to rescue him from clutches of this spell, and in the end she discovers her own bravery, courage and inner power. . . truly a transformative journey of self-discovery.

Cloud Princess

This artwork is inspired by a folktale from Eswatini, Southern Africa, about a Cloud who falls in love with a poor yet generous farmer. A heartwarming tale about how generosity can weave and wed together different worlds.

Linnunraata

Inspired by a Finnish folk astronomy story that envisions the Milky Way as the migratory path of wintering birds, who are thought to be “soul carriers” at the moment of birth and when one dies. A folkloric way of meaningfully framing the relationship between humans and the wild as one of deep kinship. *Linnunraata* reminds us of our own belonging to the world, folding us back into the feathered wings of a universe that mothers us.

Sedna

Sedna is an Inuit folktale about how unimaginable pain can be transformed into our greatest gift to others. Though Sedna drowns at the hands of her father, she transforms from the role of victim, to the mighty goddess of the underworld who births all life.

Crescent Moon Bear

“Crescent Moon Bear” (referring to the crescent moon design on the chests of many Asiatic black bears) is a Japanese (indigenous Ainu) folktale about a young wife’s courageous effort to reconnect with her husband who has returned from war a changed and wild man. Under the guidance of a shaman, she undergoes a quest to pluck the whisker of a bear and discovers inside her the patience, resilience and courage she needs to find a way to reconcile with the man she loves. This story appears in Clarissa Pinkola Estes’ renowned book *Women Who Run With the Wolves*.

Handmade linocut featuring the Germanic folkloric heroine Frau Holle or Mother Goose — Mother Goose

The first flakes of snow usher in the beginning of winter, and are believed to be the feathers from the featherbeds of Old Mother Goose, also known as Frau Holle, according to old Germanic folklore. Frau Holle may have shapeshifted between an elderly woman and a snow goose, because in some versions of the story she has a one large foot, like that of a goose, perhaps a splayed foot from pressing the treadle of her spinning wheel, representing the cycle of life, death, and rebirth as well as this transitional time of the year: the Winter Solstice.

A handmade black and white linocut of a long-haired woman surrounded by birds including: cormorant, swan, goose, snowy owl and loon. — Bird Woman

Inspired by aerial women and bird women featured in folktales throughout the world. Whether it is the Norse Valkyries, or the Egyptian celestial goose mother of all Creation Gengen-Wer, or Hindu apsaras, there is an enduring and persistent relationship between birds and a sense of fierce and powerful womanhood and femininity. Inspired by the book *Women Who Fly: Goddesses, Witches, Mystics and other Airborne Females* by Serenity Young.

A handcrafted linocut of the Dreammakers from Scottish folklore, a deer herding elderly couple who make dreams from cheese — Makers of Dreams

“Makers of Dreams” is inspired by a heartwarming folktale from the Isle of Skye beautifully retold by Scottish Storyteller Daniel Allison in his book *Scottish Myths and Legends*. It is about a young girl who gets lost in the mountains and unexpectedly discovers The Dreammakers. . an elderly couple who make dreams out of deer cheese. It is the wild birds who carry these dreams to different landscapes where they nestle into the heads of those who sleep. Included in this piece are feathers of a snow goose, merlin, osprey, crow, snowy owl, bald eagle and peregrine falcon, a herd of deer, the dramatic spiky pinnacles of The Old Man of Storr, and the Makers of Dreams.

Athena

Inspired by Athena, the Greek Goddess of Wisdom and her Little Owl, along with a variety of forest elements representing the forest where this deep companionship originates. This story is about personal transformation and the wisdom that comes from pain.

A handcrafted linocut of a fugitive community surrounded by enchanted birds, plants and roots in a forest — Pretty Pearl

Inspired by Virginia Hamilton’s book, *The Magical Adventures of Pretty Pearl*, filled with beloved characters from African American folklore and portrays the forest is a sanctuary for fugitives who hide from a world that would otherwise enslave them. The cast of real and imaginary characters are helped, nurtured and surrounded by wild birds of all kinds as well as folk magic and earth-centered wisdom. A story where an intimate and enchanted relationship with the wild offers a source of resilience and practical means of surviving one of the most horrifying periods in history.

Singebis

An ancient Ojibwe winter folktale about a beloved folk hero and wild grebe whose perseverance, courage, resilience, and loyalty in the face of Kabibona'kan, Winter Maker, shows us we can do the same in the face of adversity. This folktale reminds us we all have the capacity to tap into our inner Singebis, find our inner trickster, and remind ourselves that even a little wild bird can outsmart the Winter Maker!

A handmade linocut print of a hunter and tiger from Korean folklore in black and white — Woodcutter & Tiger Brother

Inspired by the ancient Korean folktale, retold by Nami Rhee, about a woodcutter who discovers that the tiger is his long lost brother. It is a story of transformation: from one of hunter and prey, to one of kinship characterized by interdependence, reciprocity and mutual respect.

Jade Rabbit

Inspired by the ancient Chinese folktale of the Jade Rabbit and the Lady on the Moon retold by author and storyteller Jennifer Cheng in her book *Moon: Letters, Maps, Poems*. In contrast to stories that glorify humans and relegate the natural world to the background, this folktale celebrates and heroizes a wild Rabbit who is given the powerful role as healer and Keeper of Medicines. It is a story that represents the Rabbit as omniscient, all-knowing, and humans as fallible and capable of knowing only partial truths. The artwork includes the Jade Rabbit, the Medicine Keeper, along with a variety of traditional Chinese medicinal flowering herbs including: Dong Quai, Astralagus, Ginger, Poppy & Licorice.

A handmade linocut of a polar bear and elderly woman in an embrace with fish and seals, full moon and galaxy of stars — Polar Bear Son

*Polar Bear Son* is a deeply moving Inuit folktale with themes of reciprocity and interdependence, ancient wisdom still relevant in contemporary times. An elderly woman raises an abandoned baby polar bear as her son. When she grows too old to care for herself, he hunts for food for her.

A handmade black and white linocut print of a great horned owl shapeshifting man with his lover and a night sky shaped like an owl's wing in the background with Milky Way stars — The owl Lover

An endearing love story about a rare white Great Horned Owl who falls in love with a human woman, retold by Joseph Bruchac in his book *Wabi: A Hero’s Journey*. This Abenaki folktale suggests that nature is courting us, that there is a romance taking place. . .a precious mythos from ancient times about the intimate and tender relationship between humans and the wild.

A handcrafted linocut print in teal blue of Corn Beans and Squash, the Three Sisters, characters in an indigenous North American folktale. Also included are black-eyed susans, wild rye, wild carrot, thistles, reed canary grass, and pea tendrils. — Three Sisters

Retold by Robin Wall Kimmerer in her bestselling book *Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants*, the North American indigenous folktale of the Three Sisters is celebrated from Mexico to Montana, and teaches the ancient agricultural technique of planting corn, beans and squash together because each provides some benefit to the others’ growth and health. The Three Sisters celebrates a sisterhood of mutual thriving where each sister’s uniqueness is celebrated and recognized as important to the health of the whole: ancient wisdom we can harvest and each year if we choose to listen and learn from the plants.

A handmade linocut of two barred owls perched in a tree who are also women shapeshifters alongside Spanish moss, and bromeliad flowers inspired by an African American folktale — Who Cooks For You?

*Who Cooks for You* is inspired by an African American folktale retold by Virginia Hamilton in her book *Her Stories, African American Folktales, Fairytales and True Tales.* The story is about three women who turn into owls with themes of freedom, transformation and rewilding the Self.