This is a handmade originally designed linocut print inspired by “East of the Sun and West of the Moon”, a beloved Norwegian fairytale featuring a heroine who falls in love with a bear and her courageous quest to save him from an evil spell. It is filled with classic fairytale magic and enchantment, villainous trolls, wicked witches, and mischievous giants and was originally published in Old Tales from the North - a collection of legends and stories written by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in 1840.

PRINT SIZE: 12" x 18"

PAPER SIZE: 15" x 22"

MATERIALS: This artwork is hand carved and hand printed with archival quality Cranfield safewash (non-toxic) ink on two different archival paper options:

1) Arnhem 1618® Printmaking Paper which is 100% cotton, acid-free, pH neutral archival heavy weight printmaking paper with vellum finish. It is manufactured by Schut Papier, a paper mill that has been in production for 400 years near the city of Arnhem, Netherlands;

2) Strathmore Printmaking Paper. Strathmore Paper Mills are located in Massachusetts where my studio is. Strathmore is a smooth, bright white, lighter feeling modern looking paper made of 100% cotton acid-free fiber.

There is no difference in the quality or color of the print on each of these papers, the main difference is the weight of the paper and the subtle difference in white color of the papers. Arnhem paper is a card stock weight with a very subtle warm white tone, and Strathmore is a lighter weight paper with a bright white color. It was very difficult to capture the color difference in a photo because the colors are almost the same. If the paper matters to you, please indicate your choice in the note to seller.

COLOR: It is printed in Prussian blue ink. You may also request a custom color ink, it will take 7-10 days to print and dry before shipping.

STORY DETAILS: In this story a poor young woman falls in love with a giant bear who promises her family riches only to discover after her wedding he is actually a prince held captive and disguised as a bear by a wicked spell. She resolves to undertake the extraordinary journey traversing formidable landscapes and braving the North, South, East and West winds to rescue him from clutches of this spell. Although she undergoes the challenges to keep her prince along with the protection and power that a relationship with royalty would offer her, in the end she discovers her own bravery, courage and inner power. . . truly a transformative journey of self-discovery. It is also a story about overcoming great challenges for the sake of true love.

GIFT IDEAS: This would make a wonderful piece of art for a children's bedroom or nursery room, or a heirloom artwork for a family room or children's section of a library. It would also be a wonderful gift for folktale and fairytale lovers, anyone who loves bears or the wild, or gifted in celebration of a recipient's courage and resilience in the face of adversity. It would also be a wonderful gift for a lover or spouse.

ECO-PACKAGING: This print will be carefully rolled in Kraft paper, packed in a recycled clear bag and shipped in a recycled cylindrical tube. FeathersandFolktales uses eco-friendly packaging supplies from EcoEnclose and YazooMills. A one-page insert including a description of the folktale is included with the print.

Feathers & Folktales is a woman-owned, Massachusetts-based art shop offering handcrafted linocut prints of timeless folktales from around the world that remind us of our ancient kinship with the wild. These archival quality linocut prints are a labor of love: they are 100% conceived, designed, carved, inked, pulled and packaged by hand for you from a small home studio. Featuring animals and magical creatures from folklore alongside wide variety of botanical elements, each piece contains a precious offering from the past, a mythos, that can enliven our sense of enchantment with the natural world.

Please note that the copyright of this work is retained by the artist.