The art of safety

Dan Harman, Air Force Safety Center graphic artist and designer, prepares the background for a mural to cover 153 square feet in the Ground Safety Division conference room. Harman, who will retire April 30 with 23 years of federal service, was asked to create the mural as a visual reminder that ground safety impacts everyone, on and off duty. (U.S. Air Force photo by Lt. Col. Cindi Feldwisch)

The art of safety

Dan Harman, Air Force Safety Center graphic artist and designer, uses a red LED headlamp to trace one of several projected images for a 153-square-foot mural in the Ground Safety Division conference room. Harman, who will retire April 30 with 23 years of federal service, was asked to create the mural as a visual reminder that ground safety impacts everyone, on and off duty. (U.S. Air Force photo by Lt. Col. Cindi Feldwisch)

The art of safety

Dan Harman, Air Force Safety Center graphic artist and designer, details a silhouette to be further refined on a second coat as part of a mural to cover 153 square feet in the Ground Safety Division conference room. Harman, who will retire April 30 with 23 years of federal service, was asked to create the mural as a visual reminder that ground safety impacts everyone, on and off duty. (U.S. Air Force photo by Lt. Col. Cindi Feldwisch)

The art of safety

The mural in the conference room of the Ground Safety Division, Air Force Safety Center, was recently created as a visual reminder that ground safety impacts everyone, on and off duty. The 153-square-foot mural was painted by Dan Harman, graphic artist and designer, who will retire April 30 with 23 years of federal service. (U.S. Air Force photo by Dan Harman)

The art of safety

Dan Harman, left, Air Force Safety Center graphic artist and designer, shares the satisfaction of a job well done with Air Force Chief of Ground Safety Bill “Top” Parsons. Harman, who will retire April 30 with 23 years of federal service, was asked to create the mural as a visual reminder that ground safety impacts everyone, on and off duty. (U.S. Air Force photo by Lt. Col. Cindi Feldwisch)

The art of safety

Published April 2, 2012
By Lt. Col. Cindi Feldwisch
Air Force Safety Center

KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- Sixty-one years after Gen. Douglas MacArthur addressed Congress announcing his retirement from the Army, he left an indelible impression by quoting a popular barrack ballad which proclaimed, "Old soldiers never die; they just fade away."

Some federal employees do more than just fade away when they retire; they leave a lasting impression. Dan Harman has done exactly that by creating an Air Force ground safety mural.

Harman has worked as a graphic artist and designer for the Air Force Safety Center for more than 10 of his 23 years in federal service. In his distinguished career, he's earned more than 20 national and international awards while producing and publishing AFSEC magazines to include Flying Safety Magazine, Road and Rec and Wingman, reaching and teaching Airmen around the world the art of safety.

As Harman prepares to retire on April 30, Bill Parsons, Air Force chief of ground safety, learned of his artistic talents and asked him to paint a mural in the ground division's conference room depicting ground safety in action. The mural will serve as a visual reminder to everyone within and outside AFSEC that ground safety impacts everyone, on and off duty.

When video teleconferences are conducted, the ground safety mural will communicate the AFSEC message without words.

"Dan brings a talent that only an artist can convey when communicating the scope of ground safety," Parsons said. "As the field operating agency for Air Force safety, the message we send must make an impact and that is exactly what Dan's mural will do time and time again."

The mural covers one entire wall, 153 square feet, in the AFSEC Ground Safety Conference Room.

The safety images portrayed in the mural came from Harman's portfolio of digital pictures that he's amassed over the years. Harman's process to create the mural started by selecting the images then recreating only the outline before placing the silhouettes in a collage to be projected on the conference room wall.

This labor of love to conceptualize, design, create and obtain approval from ground safety professionals took more than three weeks. The painting alone took two weeks, working 6 hours a day, to complete, just before Harman fades into the sunset.

Harman's impact will not fade away when he retires, for he will pursue his next career as a full-time freelance artist. "I will finally be able to do what I was born to do; create works of art," Harman said.

How will you be remembered when the sun sets on your career?

To learn more about the AFSEC mission, visit the website at http://www.afsec.af.mil.