Painting is a wonderful art form, but sometimes people can choose the wrong canvas on which to express themselves. Twenty-three-year old Casey Nocket chose the wrong canvas for her work, pleading guilty to defacing rocks at seven national parks on Monday.
According to a report by the Associated Press, Nocket (known online as "creepytings") was charged with "seven misdemeanors for the autumn 2014 painting spree at seven national parks including Yosemite in California and Zion in Utah," and "admitted to defacing rocks at Crater Lake National Park in Oregon and Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado."
I've heard of serial killers before, but serial painter is a new one.
The report went on to say that she "used Instagram and Tumblr to document her trip and her graffiti-like work, which led to broad outrage on social media."
Flaunting your vandalism of nature, let alone nature is a national park, probably isn't a great idea. Especially if you don't want to get caught by the authorities. Here's an example of Nocket's rock painting from her Instagram profile (note the caption):
Her actions not only covered up the natural beauty of the parks, but also forced the National Parks Service to make lasting alterations to that beauty. The AP report says, "The sandblasting and chemical stripping used to remove paint can cause even more damage to irreplaceable natural features. At two parks, Crater Lake and Death Valley in California, the cleaning has yet to be completed nearly two years later."
Nocket will serve two years' probation and do 200 hours of community service, and will pay an undetermined amount of restitution for the repair of the rocks. Hopefully during her sentence she can find a less destructive way to display her artistic talents.