Projects

Twelve 14”x14” woodblock prints of Montana native trees. Carved, printed and painted by hand.

Exploring themes of vitality, resilience, transformation, letting go, and dying have been a core part of my artistic practice. Thus, being asked to create 12 woodblock prints for the dying and their families was a great honor. After some conversation, we decided to create one image per bedroom for the new hospice building in Missoula, Montana. A singular hand-carved woodblock rests at the threshold of each bedroom on the wall. The framed woodblock print from that same block hangs inside each bedroom. So, as family and loved ones pass from threshold to sanctuary, an image encompassing the hard work and beauty of living, loving, and letting go is there to welcome them.

Conservation and art belong together. Since time immemorial, fine handcraft and art both have played central roles in creating meaning and direction in cultures around the world. One of the important issues of our time is conservation of wild and working landscapes. Both provide us humans with the food, clean water, and clean air that we must have to live.

Wild and working landscapes are HOME, shelter and sustenance to our animal and plant companions on this earth.

This year, for my 2026 Vitality Calendar, I created woodcuts that highlight aspects of Vital Ground’s mission, all while speaking to the wild and wondrous animals and plants with whom we share this earth home. One family. One home.

vitality noun: I. energy and strength. II. capacity to live, grow and develop. III. vigor, dynamism.

“Nature is not a place to visit. It is home.”

Gary Snyder, American poet and philosopher

Ten selected 6”x8” and 8”x10” woodblock prints enlarged for wall installation, as the highlight of an alumni artist.

This small poem conveys the axis around which my life and artistic practice turn: curiosity, awe, empathy, and simple true connections in unexpected places.

Hopefully, we can find that connection today with another human being, and then with a standing tree, a flying bird, or a twisting leaf on its way to the ground. When we can find this, and feel it, we are family. We are inextricably bound. The flower and I, the tree and I, the soil, the sky, the water and I. We are connected. One family. One home.

A person looks.
The blossom looks back.
Plain heart sees into plain heart.

Sun Bu-er, 12th century Zen poet

This series focuses on natural and cultural features found in or near the Many Glacier Valley in Northwest Montana. Glacier National Park commissioned Claire to make these prints for the Many Glacier Lodge historical renovation completed in 2017. The three were designed to hang together in the lodge bedrooms.

Each original woodblock print is handmade in every step of the process. Each image is meticulously researched, designed, hand-carved, printed and hand-painted in the old way: using the good old fashioned human hand, mind, and heart. I visited Many Glacier Valley and surrounding areas several times in November 2016. I met with biologists, plant ecologists, cultural anthropologists, historians and tribal members to hear their ideas on important natural and cultural stories to highlight in the area, which are worked into my final compositions.