Project 1:

The Heritage Project

The museum received funding in 2024 to develop exhibitions and programming focused specifically on regional WWII heritage. One component of that effort was the creation of an educational pamphlet that outlined local impact on the Allied war effort, primarily the operation of Eldred’s National Munitions Company between 1941 and 1945. The museum provided me with the opportunity to not only design this piece, but to research and write the pamphlet’s contents. I was granted access to the museum’s collection to gather research material and photograph visual assets, plus examine various pieces of ordnance to create an illustration of National Munitions Company’s wartime products.

Project 2:

Mapping the Final Solution

Eldred’s staff dedicated much of 2023 to enhancing the museum’s Holocaust education programming and exhibit gallery. I was recruited to research and develop the defining visual asset for these efforts – a comprehensive map outlining the vast concentration camp network and transportation infrastructure of the Third Reich. This proved to be an intense and thought-provoking task.

I first compiled lists of major camps, ghettos, and smaller subcamps, then used modern digital methods to accurately plot these locations. Next, I gathered historical maps from the 1940’s to determine political borders, and numerous tourist maps from the late 1930’s to accurately trace the critical rail infrastructure of this region. The final layer was adding the major documented deportation routes, represented by arrows, showing the movement of people Eastward.

Presentation

I was honored with the invitation to return as the speaker for the museum’s 2024 International Holocaust Remembrance Day event. In front of a packed room, I presented the Holocaust as a spatial and geographic event, not only examining the map and the stories it tells, but how horrors of that event extend far beyond the map’s content and visual scope. I touched on personal stories of victims, perpetrators, and liberators, and also created a series of additional maps for the presentation to discuss how the events of the Holocaust developed further East.

Project 3:

Bomb Lady “Pin-Up” Illustration

It was common practice for wartime bomber crews and fighter pilots to paint “pin-up girls” on the noses of their aircraft. In the spirit of wartime “nose art,” the Museum commissioned me to create a custom pinup of their own as a tribute to local munitions plant workers and assembly line inspectors. This illustration is featured on several popular gift shop items including the iconic Zippo lighter, manufactured just miles away in Bradford, PA.