Wolverine Scroll
Tracking the wolverine is a window into awareness of the entire ecosystem. Hiking across a high pass in the North Cascades in the summer of 2020, I saw a set of winding tracks in the sun cupped snow. Bending down, I could begin to identify them and traces of many other living things. Even at the crown of the Cascades, my experience is mingled with insects, birds, mammals, plants and rock. In the alpine, I’m aware that recreation and climate change affect wolverines and many of their neighbors. Following gulo-gulo through her denning season exposes complex connections between humans, the environment, and the behavior of alpine wildlife. Through printmaking and collage, I uncover this story as it plays out upon an alpine backdrop of snow, ice, whitebark pine and skagit gneiss. – Claire Waichler
Wolverine Scroll. 30x22 inches, relief woodcut, relief acrylic, colored pencil, collage and chine-collé on paper, 2021.
Art for a Cause
This print was inspired by personal experiences in the North Cascades and conversations with field biologist Steph Williams. In September 2020, the piece was auctioned off to benefit the CWP and the continued study of wolverines in the North Cascades.
A rare snow obligate weasel…
tells an intricate tale of climate change and the impact of backcountry users on wildlife. With only 30 remaining wolverines in the North Cascades of Washington State, disturbances from humans and human caused climate change pose a serious threat to this impressive, fierce and mysterious animal. Denning is the most vulnerable period of the wolverine’s life cycle. The hidden story of a wolverine mother and her kits is imagined in my piece.