Fort Peck Bison Range

The mapping of Porcupine Creeks, Milk and Missouri Rivers began for me sometime in the mid-1990s. It can take awhile to understand and listen and reflect that finds a way to a response. This response in the form of a map began to take shape in 2021 and is still working its way out onto paper; ink on paper.

Bearing witness in the Porcupine Creek(s) country in the eastern Milk River watershed, north-eastern Montana . . . homeland of the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes. This shortgrass prairie is at the southern extend of the glacial ice lobe, bordered just to the north of the Missouri River.


Layout for the edition was done on a registered mylar base.





For this map/edition there are three matrices, each made by hand.
1) The Township & Range sections uses a relief block and blind emboss with background inked in a varnish..


All those sections don’t stay the same size as you go further north! And check out the complex mishmash along the Missouri River.

Detail of blind embossing of the T&R matrix.


2) Porcupine Creeks, the Milk and Missouri Rivers and lesser watershed elements use a glue on plexiglass matrix.




Detail of blind embossing of the watershed matrix.

3) The watershed matrix is emphasized using a lithographic crayon drawing on aluminum litho plate. This matrix has not yet been proofed.



A sharp eye for layout will note that this matrix is wrong reading so as to print correctly whereas the relief matrices are: right reading (therefore print with the support on top) for the watershed and wrong reading for the T&R.
The lithographic matrix will need to be etched, proofed and then inks mixed for the edition.


Coming together :: The two relief matrices are shown proofed below.