A Reason for Optimism: This artist collects trash from national parks — and then paints it: 'A zero-waste practice' | An Encouraging Development

A Reason for Optimism: This artist collects trash from national parks — and then paints it: 'A zero-waste practice' | An Encouraging Development

Why this story matters: This story offers a refreshing look at how practical solutions and human effort can create real, positive change. Quick summary: This story highlights recent developments related to national, showing how constructive action can lead to meaningful results. Classically trained as a landscape painter, Mariah Reading realized that using new canvases and materials was harming the environments she loved to depict in her work. Pivoting to a “zero-waste practice,” she started collecting litter during her cross-country travels to the country’s national parks. Reading during her time at Glacier Bay National Park. Photo courtesy of Mariah Reading/Instagram From discarded helmets and leather gloves to plastic boxes and even a folding chair, she uses found objects as her canvas, painting protected landscape environments on their surfaces and photographing them against their real-life references. As an Artist in Residence at Denali, Zion, Guadalupe Mountains, and Acadia National…