Join artist Ben Potter and guide Nancy Zane for a late winter exploration of the iconic North Maine woods. We will use snowshoes and skis to explore the mountains, trails, and frozen lakes of Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument and Baxter State Park.
The beauty and stillness of the Maine Woods in winter is simply stunning. The East Branch of the Penobscot River and views of Mount Katahdin will provide a beautiful backdrop for our trek into this wilderness area. The silence of the woods, animal tracks, geological wonders, and majestic mountain views will inspire us on our journey.
Inspiration from our adventures will inform our creative process. Based upon observaton of natural objects and phenomena we will make drawings in ink, graphite and charcoal. The drawings we produce will reflect a mixture of close observation and invention and we will explore how realism and abstraction can inform and enhance each other. Over the course of the weekend we will investigate how a field sketch can be developed into a finished work of art. All levels of artistic ability are welcome.
You will learn how to safely enjoy the winter environment through human-powered sports while experiencing the solitude offered by the largest tract of unspoiled wilderness in the eastern United States. The options for exploring this wondrous winter landscape are many. Our daily schedule will be determined by group interest and ability.
We will be staying in cabins with all the amenities. Trip includes nightly accommodations, meals, and snowshoes.
Ben Potter grew up in Sewanee, Tennesse. He attended Williams College, where he double-majored in Fine Arts and Biology. He also spent substantial time on the whitewater rivers of the Northeast. After an internship with the New York Zoological Society on St. Catherine’s Island in Georgia, he decided to pursue a degree in art at the California College of the Arts in Oakland CA. After this MFA, he taught college courses in Vermont and Wisconsin before landing at Unity College.