The Wolf Project – My Story
Decades ago, I was living for a season in a remote corner of Maine, immersed in a commission that demanded solitude. During my walks through the forest, I noticed a very large, curious raven watching me. Over time he became my companion. I named him Clark. He had a way of calling me by many names, depending on his mood and my many distractions. Together, we wandered the dirt roads and surrounding woods, Clark flying ahead and guiding me along unseen paths.
As our bond grew, I delved into the mysteries of his species. I learned that ravens could solve complex problems, remember and respond to human encounters, honor their dead, and form profound partnerships with wolves. This last revelation ignited something within me: a fascination with the intricate web of life that connects species across time.
My curiosity led me to Yellowstone, through documentaries and the books of Rick McIntyre, who chronicled the reintroduction of wolves to the park. I watched how their return restored balance to an ecosystem on the brink of collapse, how the land itself breathed again with life. Wolves became more than animals to me; they became symbols of resilience, intelligence, and the fragile harmony of the natural world.
But this golden era was fleeting. Human greed and fear returned, bringing persecution and slaughter. Despite this, there are organizations and individuals committed to the survival of the species and sanctuaries that provide refuge such as the Earthfire Institute in Driggs, Idaho and the Wolf Sanctuary in Julian, California. In 2023, I visited Julian and met wolves given a second chance at life, their presence accompanied by the distant calls of their raven companions - nature’s enduring duet of loyalty and survival.
During my visit, I learned that some ranchers protect their livestock not with bullets, but with flags that deter wolves, a small but powerful act of coexistence. Inspired, I began creating my own flags, not as tools, but as symbols. Each flag, sewn by hand with care and intention, is a prayer for awareness and a tribute to these magnificent beings who walked the earth long before humans. Through these offerings, I honor the wolves, the ravens, and the delicate balance that sustains all life.
Artist’s Purpose: My work on this Wolf Project seeks to illuminate the hidden connection between species and with all life, to inspire respect and compassion, and to advocate for the survival of creatures whose intelligence, loyalty, and resilience remind us of the interwoven beauty of the natural world.
Use of Materials in The Prayer Flag Series
Felt:
Felt is the basic material used in creating the Prayer Flags. It is one of the oldest known textiles, used by nomadic peoples in Central Asia over 2500 years ago for their dwellings, clothing, footwear, horse blankets and as a lining for their-tombs. There are some beautifully decorated pieces still in existence today. In The Prayer Flag Series I am using felt as a symbol of protection, warmth, survival, inspired by the artist Joseph Beuys and his description and use of felt. In his statement, the use of felt goes beyond symbolizing warmth and survival to mean spiritual warmth or ‘the beginning of an evolution.’ Note: There is the story of his rescue from a WWII plane crash where Beuys survived by being wrapped in felt to restore his body heat.
Garden Netting:
The netting is used as a protection for a garden from deer and other animals. In The Prayer Flag Series it symbolizes restriction, containment, power to control, loss of habitat. It is used as is or braided to resemble barbed wire.
Textiles:
Burlap, manipulated for different effects, fringes, patterns.
Personal scarves, socks and clothing items are chosen for pattern, color or texture.
Organza, for experimental burning techniques, fire and earth warming disasters creating the loss of habitat.
Embroidery thread. All stitching, thread patterning is done by hand.
Linen canvas used to create a patterned textile.
Faux fur
Other Materials:
Fishing bullet weights, some painted with oil paint.
Rubber stamps, inks, acrylic fabric paint for making patterned fabric.
Together, these materials form a language that speaks of protection and loss, of the fragile weave between human and animal, body and spirit, survival and surrender. The Prayer Flag Series is both offering and elegy, an invocation to remember what we are still bound to protect.
