Denali
All paintings were created on Native Tanana Land
I was drawn to Denali National Park because of its vast Wilderness and close connection to the Subaru/ NPCA Zero Landfill Initiative. Of the three parks involved in the pilot program of the initiative (Yosemite, Grand Tetons, and Denali) Denali is the only park with an Artist in Residence Program.
I wanted to explore the efforts being taken to mitigate waste and sort recycling in such a remote Alaskan location- and display those efforts through the lens of my Recycled Landscapes eco art. Because I anticipated not finding much trash out and about, before heading two hours into the backcountry of the park, I visited with Ranger Bill at the Denali Recycling Center and literally went dumpster diving for canvases.
Stony Dome Camp Stove Lid
Acrylic on camp stove lid found on Stony Dome by a Camp Denali guide. 2019
Hands, Touching Hands
Acrylic on old personal painting materials, sculpted and painted to form Toklat River. 2019
Wonder Lake Expectation vs. Reality
Acrylic on Denali Tranist busdriver's smooshed Hydroflask waterbottle. 2019
Rainbow Twinkle Headless Horse
Acrylic on headless pony found on the side of the road headed towards Fairbanks. 2019
Jr. Ranger Badge
Acrylic on Jr. Ranger badge. 2019
Unit 9 Snapshot
Acrylic on personal old phone case. 2019
Throwing Shade: Denali
Acrylic on sunglasses. 2019
Kayaking and Gum Chewing
Acrylic on Trident gum sleeve, painted while kayaking on Wonder Lake. 2019
Fire and Fireweed
Acrylic on outdated map. 2019
Painted this old map on the trail that got renamed when the fires/ fireweed were in full bloom this summer. Life moves so fast I wasn’t able to get an aligned photo of the proper season and then the entire area closed due to bear activity. Placeholder till next season!
Horseshoe Lake Shoe
Acrylic on sneaker. 2019
Sneaker found in Andrew Molera State Park, CA and transported/ painted in Denali National Park, AK to display the journey it took to get from one job to the next.
Painted Fireweed
Acrylic on old yellow ocre paint tube. 2019
Lone Can
Acrylic on PBR can (the ONLY piece of trash I found during my 10-day residency at the Upper Toklat River Cabin, Denali National Park). 2018.
Fireweed Keyboard
Acrylic on keyboard found in the Denali Recycling Center E-waste section. View from the Denali Recycling Center. 2018
Stony Dome Hubcap
Acrylic on hubcap found on the Park Road by Headquarters of Denali. 2018
Landscapes not Landfills: Alpenglow
Acrylic on recycling and trash accumulated during the 10-day stay at the Upper Toklat River Cabin during the Denali National Park Residency. 2018
Denali Fireweed Altoid
Oil on canvas paper on Altoid Tin. 2018
Toklat Sunrise Sign
Acrylic on dismantled NPS sign that refers to Denali as “Mount McKinley.” 2018
Toklat Sign
Eielson Snapshot
Acrylic on old Lifeproof iPhone case. 2018.
Smoke on the River
Acrylic on smoke detector (found in the Denali Recycling Center). Toklat River. 2018.
Most every morning when I cooked eggs over the propane stove of the one room cabin the smoke detector would start going off and I would have to fan the door vigorously to make it stop. If you look closely, I painted in the flagpole marking where my cabin was nestled amongst the trees.
Eielson Snapshot II
Acrylic on digital camera (found in the Denali Recycling Center E-waste pile). Eielson Visitor Center. 2018
Baby Steps
Acrylic on baby sandal (found in Girdwood, AK). Alpine Hike, Eielson. 2018
I found this shoe at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center as I was heading to Denali. Most people who visit the park come from all around and travel long distances. That is why I chose to paint a sandal in the snow at the top of a mountain.
Maple Syrup River
Acrylic on glass maple syrup container (found in the Denali Recycling Center). Toklat River. 2018
Tiny Tim
Acrylic on tiny baby boot left behind at the Eielson Visitor Center. 2018.
Sad Teddy Tin
Oil on canvas paper on mint tin. 2018
Fireweed Tin
Oil on canvas paper on mint tin. 2018
Denali
All paintings were created on Native Tanana Land
I was drawn to Denali National Park because of its vast Wilderness and close connection to the Subaru/ NPCA Zero Landfill Initiative. Of the three parks involved in the pilot program of the initiative (Yosemite, Grand Tetons, and Denali) Denali is the only park with an Artist in Residence Program.
I wanted to explore the efforts being taken to mitigate waste and sort recycling in such a remote Alaskan location- and display those efforts through the lens of my Recycled Landscapes eco art. Because I anticipated not finding much trash out and about, before heading two hours into the backcountry of the park, I visited with Ranger Bill at the Denali Recycling Center and literally went dumpster diving for canvases.
Ranger Bill shared the cyclical nature of waste management, specifically how day after day he gets trash bags filled with disposable coffee cups. It is one thing to drink a cup of coffee, throw it away, and never have to think about it again… But his JOB is sorting and dealing with the messes that we make! His job is a never ending process and unless we take serious strides to limit our single-use plastic intake, he will continue to witness these coffee cups being thrown away.
After sifting through the center and finding some interesting canvases, I headed to my cabin on the Toklat River. The Denali residency is only 10 days long, so right from the start I had this panicked feeling that I needed to squeeze as much as possible into this precious and rare time I was granted. My first few days, I cranked out multiple finished paintings and continued to feel frantic. After a little while longer I connected my behavior to that of the recycling center’s- ongoing and never an end in sight.
This body of work is here to highlight the incredible ways Denali National Park IS leaving no trace. However, it is also here to share the intense, intricate, and expensive methods necessary in order to sort, ship, and process waste and recycling- methods that largely go unnoticed by the public.