Close to the Edge – Part 1

Tell Us Something

A mother and daughter in Belize work together to navigate the challenges of entering the country with an expired passport, a determined diver confronts the depths of the ocean swimming against sudden swells and learns some harrowing news the next day when she returns to the water. An artist wrestles with self-doubt and the meaning of success. And a woman on a wilderness adventure faces a grizzly bear encounter, wolves and swarming bees on her ordeal to get out and help with a family emergency.

In this episode of the Tell Us Something podcast, four storytellers share their true personal story on the theme “Close to the Edge”. Our stories today were recorded live in person in front of a packed house on March 26, 2024 at The George and Jane Dennison Theatre.

An expired passport throws mother-daughter vacation into chaos! Listen to their dramatic encounter with immigration and how they turned a mishap into an unforgettable experience. We call her story “The Trip of a Lifetime”.

Traci Sylte shares her story “The Trip of a Lifetime” 📷kmr studios

Traci Sylte is a civil engineer and hydrologist who has worked for the U.S. Forest Service for nearly 34 years and is currently the watershed program manager for the Lolo National Forest. She has a passion to maintain healthy watersheds, valley bottoms, rivers, streams, and wetlands. Traci is the product of two very loving parents. Her father taught her to operate a chainsaw and her mother facilitated dresses and piano lessons for her. The love of her life is her daughter, Becca, who is currently in her first year at the University of Washington. Traci continues to grow deeper in love with Missoula each year, because if one wants to learn to weave a basket with pink polka dots on a Tuesday, there’s someone probably doing it here. When Traci is not working, she is grounded by spending time with beloved family and friends, all things water, fly fishing, hiking, playing hockey with amazing Missoula women, fireside guitar serenades, sunrises, sunsets, all things music, and leaving things better than she found them.

Ren Parker embarks on what was supposed to be a relaxing dive off Catalina Island that takes a terrifying turn. After fighting for survival in a desperate ascent, Ren knows that she must get back into the water the next day, and is met with devastating news upon surfacing. Ren calls her story “Deep Blue”.

Ren Parker shares her story “Deep Blue” 📷kmr studios

Ren Parker is passionate about fostering a sense of community and brings that enthusiasm to all of her endeavors. Ren grew up in Hawaii and lived on sailboats that she restored on the Pacific Ocean for seven years. She gave up her nomadic ways and moved back to Missoula to be close to family and has been growing roots here ever since. Ren loves to dance and hike with her faithful dog, Poet, and spend time with her remarkable Missoula friends. She is a regular storyteller at the weekly storytelling event Word Dog, and hosts a weekly storytelling radio show on KFGM Community Radio where she is station manager. Her show is called Once Upon a Radio Wave.

Our next storyteller is Mark Matthews. Mark’s life takes a dramatic turn on a snowy night. He’s a struggling sculptor with seemingly nowhere to go. Listen to Mark’s story of passion, resilience, and rediscovery of the thing that he loves. Mark calls history “Thanks for This Wonderful Gift”.

Mark Matthews shares his story Thanks for This Wonderful Gift” 📷kmr studios

After earning a BA in literature in 1974 Mark began his artistic career as an aspiring writer and completed his first novel (unpublished) by 1981. During that period, Mark also became interested in sculpting and by that same year was devoting most of his time to making large wooden sculptures, mostly depicting dancers and musicians of all types. From 1982 to 1992 Mark exhibited his work in galleries in Maine, Washington, Montana, California and New Mexico.

In 1992 he stopped making art to concentrate on writing. After earning a Master’s degree in Journalism and an MFA in Creative Writing at the University of Montana, he worked as a freelance writer for scores of publications including The Washington Post, High Country News and Newsweek. He also wrote three nonfiction books published by the University of Oklahoma Press during that period.

In 2012 Mark returned to art full-time. Turning once again to sculpture he expanded his interest to include carving in stone, manipulating found metal objects as well as animal antlers. He also experimented with many different styles and techniques. Mark currently exhibits his newer work at the Roosevelt Arts Center in Red Lodge, MT and the Manifestations Gallery in Eureka, MT. Before moving from Missoula to Hysham in 2016 (because of high rents in western Montana) he regularly participated in showings at the E-3 Convergence Gallery on W. Main Street, and he also set up a sculpture walk at Shy Bear Farm in Arlee.

Mark returned to Missoula in 2022.

In 2018 he began to paint. His oil paintings are also currently on display at the aforementioned institutions in Red Lodge and Eureka. Being a creative writer and journalist, he tends to tell stories in his paintings, whether it be a memory of dancing in the past, a place where he has lived, an adventure he had experienced or of people he has known. Mark tends to work with vibrant colors in a representational style.

In the fall of 2023, he enrolled in the Golden College at the University of Montana to study painting with Kevin Bell and metal sculpture with Trey Hill. His first metal sculpture was displayed in front of the Art Building on the UM campus in April. He was also part of a student exhibit in the student gallery in the Art Building that same month. Next year Mark will be a volunteer worker for the Art Department and has been assigned a private studio on campus.

Although Mark has been living on the edge most of his life, he has continued to devote most of his time to making some kind of art. Even while experiencing two bouts of extended homelessness, he continued to make art. His motto has always been: “Artist make art; they don’t wait on tables.”

Mark also loves to dance. He has been a contra dance caller for the Missoula Folklore Society since 1991 and has traveled to schools across the state since 2009 introducing the magic of dancing to children of all ages as a presenter for Humanities Montana.

Listen to the epilogue of Mark’s story here:

https://www.tellussomething.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/03-Mark-Matthews-Epilogue.wav

Watch a short film showcasing some of Mark’s sculptures displayed in nature here:

In our final story, Kat Werner is stranded in Alaska, grizzly bears on one side, a father in crisis on the other. In the face of fear, and with the help of her hiking crew, a community rallied and shared burdens. Kat calls her story “The Arctic Pain Cave” Sensitive listeners be aware that Kat’s story discusses someone who has suicidal ideations. Please take care of yourselves.

Kat Werner shares her story “Arctic Pain Cave”.📷kmr studios

Kat Werner was a German high school exchange student in South Dakota — some of you might remember her last Tell Us Something story about that experience and meeting her husband there. She has called Missoula home for almost 15 years. Kat is a licensed clinical social worker and faculty member at the University of Montana School of Social Work. Things that fill her soul are: any outdoor or wilderness activity, traveling the world, genuine human connection, cooking and eating good food, and creating and checking off a good to-do list.