Modern Indigeny – Part 1 with Marcus Reynerson, Chris Salisbury and John Potter

For the first in our series of conversations about ‘modern indigeny’ we talk with wild specialists and trackers, Marcus Reynerson and Chris Salisbury about the place of humans in the more-than-human world. Marcus and Chris are joined by artist John Potter through who’s eyes we may ” gain an appreciation for the quiet dignity to be found in the Wild”.

Marcus Reynerson – Wilderness Awareness School

Marcus’s earliest memories include hunting and fishing in the muggy marshes and pine forests of south Louisiana and the gulf coast of south Texas. Thanks to a childhood of time spent outdoors, Marcus got an early start working in the environmental education field earning a degree in Environmental Studies from Miami University in 2002. He went on to serve as a conservation programs director for Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico and then as a lead naturalist at an outdoor education center in California. Marcus leads the Anake year program for the Wilderness Awareness School (founded by Jon Young) and is also lead Instructor on their Wolf Tracking Expedition course.

He is certified as a Track and Sign Specialist through Cybertracker Conservation by scoring 100% on their internationally standardized evaluation process.

Chris Salisbury – WildWise

Chris founded and currently directs WildWise, an outdoor education and training organisation in 1999, after many years working as an education officer for Devon Wildlife Trust. With a professional background in the theatre, a qualification in drama-therapy and a career in environmental education he uses every creative means at his disposal to encourage people to enjoy and value the natural world on courses he facilitates in the UK and abroad. He has worked with and been profoundly influenced by Ray Mears, Bill Plotkin, Joanna Macy, David Whyte amongst very many others. He is a course facilitator at Schumacher College, Devon, where he also directs the Call of the Wild Foundation year-programme. He is also known as a professional storyteller (aka ‘Spindle Wayfarer’), and is the co-founder and Artistic Director for both the Westcountry and Oxford Storytelling Festivals. He is also a theatre ensemble teacher for the International Schools Theatre Association.

Chris is married with 4 children and lives in enchantment on the edge of the Dartington’s forest with his astonishing dog ‘Dexter’…..

John Potter

Artist John Potter was raised in the Upper Great Lakes country – on and off the Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe Indian Reservation in northern Wisconsin – where he grew up with an abiding love for the Natural World in the forests of the Great Northwoods.

Drawn to the Arts from childhood, John went on to graduate from Utah State University, earning Degrees in Painting and Illustration. He then spent twenty years as an award-winning illustrator before committing his attention to painting full time in 2002.

Of his work, Potter says, “Painting for me is a form of communication with our Creator, and of gratitude as well; for the life and beauty brought forth on this Earth, especially in our remaining wild places. Because of this, I feel a sense of responsibility for the privilege of painting, for the gift of the craft. Many painters are out there trying to be heard – I paint to listen.”

Often painting en plein air, John brings his small outdoor studies home, where they are then used as reference to create his larger studio works. Working directly from Nature, he firmly believes in the all-pervading Divinity found in the Natural World, and is always striving for an honest expression of light and color. John spends many hours in the field, observing and studying light, mood, atmosphere, the land and sky. He carries paints and a sketchbook whenever possible, travelling extensively – but his favorite subjects remain the rugged mountain scenery of the American West.

“When I step outside to paint, my intent is to observe and to borrow from Nature, in order to orchestrate a moment of light, color, and my own emotional and intellectual responses to these on canvas,” states John. “My hope is that the viewer may see the world through my eyes for a moment, and gain an appreciation for the quiet dignity to be found in the Wild, and hopefully, then, share a desire to help preserve this good Earth that belongs to us all, and to our children’s children.”

Potter is represented by Mountain Trails Gallery in Jackson, WY; Creighton Block Gallery in Big Sky, MT; Mountain Trails Fine Art in Santa Fe, NM; Depot Gallery in Red Lodge, MT; and Bighorn Galleries in Cody, WY.

John is a member of the Northwest Rendezvous Group, Society of Animal Artists, The Salmagundi Club, Honorary Member of the Putney Painters, and a Signature Member of the Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters (RMPAP).

Potter has participated in shows and exhibitions throughout the U.S. and abroad, and his work hangs in private collections across the country and around the world.

John maintains his home and studio in Red Lodge, Montana. www.johnpotterstudio.com