The Saint and the Otters

Cuthbert lived from about 634 to 687. He started out as a shepherd, became Prior of Melrose, and ended his life as Bishop of Lindisfarne. People called him the Wonder-worker of Britain. Even as a bishop, he kept traveling on foot and on horseback into the remote corners of Northumbria, to people most of the world had forgotten. His life swung between long stretches of solitary prayer and hard, constant work for others. He also paid attention to animals. The otters are the story everyone remembers: he would stand waist-deep in the freezing sea to pray, and the otters came to warm him when he climbed out. He also set down protections for the eider ducks on the Farne Islands, and people there still call them Cuddy's ducks.

The Print

Each one is pulled by hand on an 1870s galley press. I print on Arnhem 1618, a paper from the Netherlands with a soft, velvety surface that drinks in the ink and still holds the fine lines. It's archival, so it won't yellow over the years. The ink is a high-pigment, rich black with a matte finish, which keeps the glare of a digital print off it. Because every sheet goes through the press by hand, the ink density shifts a little from print to print, and no two come out exactly alike. The print is a long 8x16 panoramic shape. I like it in a float frame, where the edges of the Arnhem paper stay visible. It ships flat in a reinforced mailer or rolled in a heavy tube. It's $40 with free shipping in the US, and you can find it in the shop or at the link below. 

https://jorymertens.com/listing/4452051726/saint-cuthbert-and-the-otters-hand