Artist Paints National Parks on Trash She Finds There

A landscape painter stood in America's most beautiful national parks and realized something uncomfortable: her art was harming the very nature she loved to paint.

Mariah Reading made a radical change. Instead of buying new canvases and materials, she started collecting trash during visits to places like Denali, Zion, and Acadia National Parks.

Now she paints protected landscapes on the surfaces of discarded objects. A flip-flop becomes a canvas for Zion's red rocks. A leather glove showcases Acadia's coastline. Even a folding chair transforms into art.

Reading photographs each finished piece against its real-life backdrop. The results are striking: nature's beauty reclaimed on the very items that marred it.

As an Artist in Residence at four national parks, she's expanded this zero-waste practice across thousands of miles. She also volunteers as an Arts in the Parks coordinator, teaching conservation workshops to students of all ages.

The supply of materials never runs out, Reading told People Magazine. "There's a lifetime of work to be done," she said.

Her artist statement makes her mission clear: "It is now more critical than ever to leave no trace. My practice revolves around ways I can lessen my footprint upon Earth and leave it better than I found it."

The Ripple Effect

Reading's work gained new urgency recently when park rangers received instructions to remove educational materials about climate change and Indigenous history. She responded by sharing her artwork with renewed purpose.

She posted about a piece she'd painted on a discarded glove, originally titled "Lend a Hand" during Covid. The title now carries deeper meaning as she encourages others to "continue to teach and share science, continue to protect the public lands nearest you."

Her art does double duty: cleaning parks while creating powerful reminders of what we're protecting. Each painted piece of trash becomes both environmental action and advocacy.

Reading proves that creative solutions can address real problems while inspiring others to care for wild places.