In 2013, I had the honour of being chosen for the second time to participate in an Artist Residency at Playa in Eastern Oregon. Among the many wonderful, talented artists and writers I met there was Kristin Berger, a gentle, introspective poet from Portland, Oregon. A few years after our meeting, Kristin approached me about providing illustrations for a long poem she was writing entitled Changing Woman, Changing Man. It is filled with the unique character and sensations of Eastern Oregon and I was utterly taken by the poem from my first reading. We are continuing our collaboration to create an illustrated, published edition of her extraordinary poetic tale.

What follows are the 11 linocut illustrations I have created for Kristin. They are my interpretations of the dreamlike, rhythmic observations of her two iconic characters, Changing Woman and Changing Man and titled with excerpts from the text.

All are single color linocut prints created as Open Editions, meaning their production is not capped at a specific number of prints, as in a Limited Edition.

Image sizes are 4” x 6” on 8” x 10” white, acid free paper.

$45 for each original, unmatted print.

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1) The Trouble Shard

2) They restrung the clothesline but neglected the rest.

3) He steers his dreams with one hand.

4) Changing Woman’s quilt was pieced by other Changing Women.

5) Dust devils lap at juniper slats and sift through tin shingles.

6) Changing Man is a long walk.

7) She leans her ear into the wood.

8) Mason jars line the windowsills filled with combs suspended in honey.

9) He builds bonfires, he lights warning beacons.

10) She stokes the wood stove with birds’ nests.

11) Stars shift, burn free, score the deep, blue dawn.