Part of the From War to Peace series — which sets wartime opportunity against postwar constraint — Frigid Air pairs archival images of women assembling bombers engineered for high-altitude, frigid conditions with a vintage refrigerator. Set into a palette of light periwinkle, blues, creams and gold, a small eagle pin belonging to the artist’s mother — who grew up during World War II — offers an understated emblem of service and family memory.

Quiet yet pointed, Frigid Air bridges women-in-WWII history, aviation imagery, and home-front narratives in a contemporary mixed media assemblage.

Materials: Garnet, Murano glass, freshwater pearls, dollhouse miniatures, art board, paper, ribbon, fabric, and public-domain WWII photographs from the National Archives

Framing: Archival museum glass in a deep black custom frame by Chevy Chase Art Gallery, Washington, DC.

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From War to Peace (Series)

A collection of miniature, historically grounded narratives tracing a cultural shift that still resonates today. During World War II, women stepped into expanded roles — cryptography, logistics, parachute rigging, radio repair, and more — only to be steered back toward narrowly defined domestic expectations as the war ended.

Drawing on period posters, archival photographs, and symbolic materials, each work juxtaposes wartime competence and leadership with postwar ideals of home and femininity. Intimate and research-driven, the series rewards careful viewing, restores these contributions to the historical record, and reasserts these women as clear role models for later generations.

Steeped in World War II women’s history, the series highlights the roles of both civilian and military women on the home front and beyond.