Bear Witness, wood engraving, 5" x 6.75", 2002
Bear Witness is an attempt by the artist to put a terrifying experience in perspective. During a trip to Itasca State park in MN, our camp was chosen as a nice place to spend the night by mama bear and her two cubs. Ignorance of black bear behavior, coupled with the fact that the site was a two mile hike through blown down trees from anywhere, led to a night of fear. We laid awake all night, trying our best not to move while listening to the bears communicate with their, what seemed to us to be, whale-like vocalizations. Apparently, our camp-site was also a good place to fish, as we could hear mama bear fishing in the lake (it sounded like someone was throwing large rocks into the water). Obviously, we made it out in one piece...
