#fixourparks

Mary Yaeger’s female merit badges helped me find the new direction I wanted to go in with my work. I am interested in how Yeager reframed the traditional boy scout merit badges through a feminist lens. Her merit badges depict female “rites of passage” and the manipulations females undergo in an effort to achieve an idealized beauty. Her work led me to create my own spin off of the national park patches and to create patches that show the negative effects of overcrowding of our national parks.

While the official national park patches celebrate the parks, mine show how too many park visitors are damaging to these beautiful parks. Unlike most patches that serve as merits, mine are demerits. Instead of an accomplishment, each one symbolizes a human failure to protect the places that we intended to protect. 

When creating my work, I reflect on how national parks face many threats, of which humankind is most imminent. Right now, new plans to open areas near Rocky Mountain National Park to oil and gas drilling is threatening the air quality of the park. Rocky Mountain National Park is the third most visited national park with a record 4.67 million visits in 2019[i]. Oil and gas production has already polluted the air at Rocky Mountain National Park and we cannot afford to make the air any unhealthier. Air pollution of natural areas is a problem of increasing importance in today’s world. We depend on open spaces to provide a safe place where people can exercise, connect with nature and enjoy a peaceful respite from our ever-changing and often stressful lives. Please join me in writing Colorado Governor Jared Polis to urge him to oppose any new oil and gas production near Rocky Mountain National Park. For more information, please visit https://www.npca.org/advocacy/91-air-pollution-in-colorado-our-lives-and-parks-at-risk.

Image credit: Demerit Badges | Clockwise from top left: Traffic Jam, Noise pollution, Off Trail, and Tree Carving, 2019 | Embroidery floss on fabric

“Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of human spirit, as vital to our lives as bread and water.” [1]  

Art has played an important role in the development of our National Park System. Thomas Moran’s work provided the first personal observations of Yellowstone, which influenced Congress’s decision to establish Yellowstone as the first national park in 1872. Albert Bierstadt’s landscape paintings also spurred interest in preserving national lands. Ansel Adams helped expand the National Park system through his persistent advocacy and photography. Continuing in the tradition of American Western art that calls for the protection and preservation of public lands, my work began with me capturing the beauty of nature to help others see the importance of protecting, preserving, and conserving natural areas.

In 2016, I traveled to Belgium and saw the oil painting that heralded in the Renaissance - The Ghent Altarpiece. After seeing it, I had a strong desire to create a triptych. As a Christian, I have always been interested in religious works of art and the deference they command. The triptych shows up in my work for the first time with my painting Grand Teton. Like the American Sublime landscape painters before me, I created an innocent and naive vision of national parks, an idyllic landscape painting of Grand Teton National Park. Completely void of any evidence of humans, the triptych elevates Grand Teton to a sacred place and suggests an altar piece that commands a holy reverence. 

I created this piece in 2017 when Bear’s Ears National Monument was dramatically reduced in size. This set a dangerous precedent that protected land is not necessarily protected. As a result, it seemed critical for me to create paintings that may lead to change. We had recently visited Grand Teton and I thought by depicting the majestic beauty of the mountains I may inspire interest in preservation of public lands. How is wilderness vital to your life?

Image credit: Grand Teton, 2017. Oil on canvas (three panels) 30x20 inches, 30x24 inches, 30x20 inches

Here’s another work-in-progress shot of my most recent painting. Featuring a rock with the words “eat pizza” written on it, this painting is based on a real rock that I came across when hiking in the Grand Canyon. While some people may find it funny, graffiti is costly to national parks. In fact, vandalism along with just normal wear and tear of so many park visitors has created an $11.9 billion in backlogged repairs according to the National Parks Conservation Association. Fortunately, Congress recently passed the Great American Outdoors Act, which will provide much needed funding to address our national parks’ many repair needs!

Here’s a work-in-progress shot of my latest painting. If you want to see the final product, be sure to join my artist talk and website launch party today! I will give a 15 min artist talk on my work and a short showing of my personal website. This is my final presentation of my MA Plus 30 coursework!

Cairn, 2020

Acrylic on papier-mâché, wood and newspaper, 14 x 5 x 4.5 inches

Inquire for price

Cairn building disrupts ecosystems and causes confusion for hikers who rely on cairns to show them the trail.

Don’t forget to come to tonight’s live reception to view more of my art and hear me speak!  

Here’s the link to the reception again.

https://zoom.us/j/96821745510?pwd=ODRXTmYwejVMRmRpcGE0TG9vY3dDdz09

Meeting ID: 968 2174 5510

Password: 3HtcCg

As an avid outdoor enthusiast, I am in love with Western national parks. The spotting of a moose on a trail, the sound of wolves in the distance, and the fear awakened by bear tracks in the snow are moments of time I hope to remember forever. I feel most alive when I encounter wildlife. The spaces that make these encounters possible are sacred to me. That's why I have devoted myself to creating art that explores the relationship between humans and nature, as well as promotes conservation of public lands.  

When creating my work, I reflect on how these places face many threats, of which humankind is most imminent. Visitors from all over the world are drawn to these wild places in search of adventure. As a result, park visitation has skyrocketed. According to the National Park Service, visitation to national parks reached a staggering 327.5 million visits in 2019, the fifth consecutive year where visits exceeded 300 million. Rocky Mountain National Park is the third most visited national park with a record 4.67 million visits in 2019[i]. As the popularity of national parks increases so do the negative effects of tourism and the backlog of repairs.

Funding of natural areas is a problem of increasing importance in today’s world. We depend on open spaces to provide a safe place where people can exercise, connect with nature and enjoy a peaceful respite from our ever-changing and often stressful lives. That’s why we need the Great American Outdoors Act to pass. It will provide much needed funding to address the growing backlog of repairs faced by our national parks. It’s already passed in the Senate. Now it’s time for the House of Representatives to pass the bill. Join me in taking action by emailing your representative!