Stories Between Each Line
I was the pilot Artist-in-Residence for the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park - Seattle Unit and created a series of illustrations and data visualizations about the objects in the park's collections and the stories that they can tell. You can see the full project at Stories Between Each Line.
I began by combing through collections records, reading old letters and pondering some of the more unusual things that the park has. It was some of the most interesting research I have gotten to do!
Once I had an idea of what was in the collections, I started to brainstorm ways to present all of the information.
Finally, I refined everything and grouped the pieces into large grids (in a very long line!). In addition to an overview of the entire collection, I focused on the life of John F. Hielscher, who went to the Klondike during the gold rush in 1897 and ended up spending about 13 years of his life in Alaska while his wife and children stayed in Seattle. I was lucky that a good portion of the park’s collection came from Hielscher and included many letters back to his family.
John Hielscher wrote a total of 294 letters home. Choosing which ones to highlight might have been one of the hardest parts of the project.
If you’re interested in seeing more, you can see the full project on the park’s website.