Gray Wolf and Full Moon Wall Decals

Wild Flourishing

Mixed Fabric Wall Hanging with surrounding Wall Decals, 80in x 56in, 2026

My original drawing of a Gray Wolf howling began in January 2016 after stumbling upon a video entitled How Wolves Changed Rivers (a link to watch the short film on YouTube is included below). I was so moved by the revelations narrated within describing how the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park in 1995 impacted the other creatures and physical landscape of the park. It was one of a handful of moments in my life that a deep sense of wonder and resonance filled my mind and heart. Until this moment I think my relationship to wolves was one of both awe and fear but this video opened the opportunity to see them differently, to appreciate their intrinsic value as a keystone species. I felt compelled to honor this experience through drawing despite my lack of understanding or personal encounter with wolves and through the act of observing and drawing a connection began to develop. I started on a 20”x 30” piece of Stonehenge drawing paper developing the wolf’s head raised in a howl and torso but quickly ran out of space. My unintentional default is drawing larger so I increased the drawing surface by adding a second sheet of Stonehenge, which led to drawing being closer to life size. If you look closely at the original drawing collaged into the work, Our Similarities Outnumber Our Differences, you can see the straight edge of the paper just near the top of the wolf’s legs.

I tend to wake in the early morning before hours before sunrise to work in my studio. Over the days the drawing was developing I was entranced by both the process and subject. I also noticed the moon ripening to full and another revelation followed. I discovered for the first time that the January full moon is also known as the Wolf Moon. The joy that flooded my mind and body, overwhelming the part of me that is in constant search for validation that I’m on the right track, left me throughly elated in the synchronicity of it all.