Revisit RCWR’s 2020-2021 webinar series, Hands On! Practical Conservation for the Collections Professional, featuring hands-on demonstrations by professional conservators of basic conservation skills that you can put to use with your own collection.

Hands On! Practical Conservation for the Collections Professional
Care and Cleaning of Taxidermy
January 20, 2022 @ 10:00am Pacific

Fran Ritchie, objects conservator for the National Park Service (NPS) Harpers Ferry Center, will share her knowledge and advice on the care and basic cleaning of mounted taxidermy. The presentation will include proper handling, safety protocols, how to vacuum, and tips for storage housing. To tailor the talk to the audience, specific questions will be solicited prior to the webinar. If you have any lingering questions, now is the time to ask!

Fran works on a wide variety of decorative arts, social history, and natural history collections across park sites. Prior to the NPS, she developed a specialty in natural history conservation by working at the American Museum of Natural History, Draper Museum of Natural History, and several small and private collections across the United States. Fran has co-taught graduate student courses on conservation of natural science collections at New York University, and guest lectured on the topic at Buffalo State College. She is a Professional Associate of the American Institute for Conservation and an active member of the Society for Preservation of Natural History Collections.

This webinar was sponsored by our Tier 1 Sponsor, U.S. Art – thank you for your support!

 

Hands On! Practical Conservation for the Collections Professional
Hazardous Materials
December 16, 2021 @ 10:00am Pacific

Since her internship at the National Museum of the American Indian, Özge Gençay Üstün has been intrigued by the testing of heavy metals pesticides especially on organic artifacts. This has led her master’s thesis at UCLA/Getty Conservation of Cultural Heritage program and later on as her profession at the Autry Museum of the American West. One of many hats Özge wore there was safety handling of cultural heritage materials possibly contaminated with these nasty chemicals. Aside from testing she felt responsible for informing handlers of these cultural materials, especially the communities that some items would be repatriated to. For this she held in-museum workshops to inform professionals and created some protocols of safety handling and housing of these artifacts. Özge is very excited to be presenting this information to the Registrars Committee -Western Region, this time online.

The Pandemic has changed so much in her professional life, but she never stopped being an advocate for cultural heritage and conservation. Since 2013 she has been in the team for the Alalakh/Tell Atchana excavation, a middle Bronze Age archaeological site and loves to share her conservation and preservation skills in a multidisciplinary setting. She is interested in preventive conservation, specifically Oddy testing for creating safe enclosures for housed/exhibited objects, environmental monitoring and Integrated Pest Management. Özge is always curious solving conservation related problems using analytical tools. Be it self-improvement or sharing her expertise, education is always her passion. She is always happy to provide workshops and tutorials on conservation matters to the public at any age as well as professionals.

 

This webinar was sponsored by our Tier 1 Sponsor, Gander & White – thank you for your support!

 

Hands On! Practical Conservation for the Collections Professional
Practical Care of Ceramics
November 18, 2021 @ 10:00am Pacific

Join Samantha Springer, owner and principal of Art Solutions Lab, to get a refresher on the various types of ceramics typically found in collections and general care practices. She will discuss a variety of cleaning methods used on ceramics including current conservation techniques so you are familiar with them when working with a conservator. The majority of the presentation will focus on methods that can be carried out by collections care staff and volunteers. A live demonstration of the most useful cleaning practices will be given.

Samantha Springer established Art Solutions Lab, a cultural heritage and fine art conservation practice, in Portland, OR in 2020. She provides collections care, courier, display mount, and treatment services for sculpture and variable art to regional arts and culture organizations, museums, artists, and private collectors. Her practice grows from a foundation of work at institutions with broad fine art collections and organizations with anthropological collections from around the world ranging from the Cleveland Museum of Art to the Field Museum of Chicago and National Museum of the American Indian. While Samantha remains a generalist due to the nature of her job, she has a particular interest in preventive conservation, sustainability, and working with living artists and cultural representatives as a means towards preserving less tangible aspects of artwork, such as artist’s intent.

 

This webinar was sponsored by our Tier 1 Sponsor, Cooke’s Crating – thank you for your support!

 

Hands On! Practical Conservation for the Collections Professional
Thinking Inside & Outside The (Archival) Box: Some Tips for Storing 3D Costume
September 9,  2021 @ 10:00am PDT
References list prepared by Meg Geiss-Mooney available here

Margaret (Meg) Geiss-Mooney will share some tips and recommendations for storing 3D costume objects. Tailored costume objects from all ages can be some of the most challenging to safely store. She will discuss briefly issues to be considered when determining the most appropriate solutions.

Meg is a conservator in private practice specializing in fibre-based media (such as textile and costume; costume accessories; basketry), based in Northern California since 1979. She is a Professional Associate of the American Institute for Conservation (AIC). She has served in a variety of capacities for the AIC Textiles Specialty Group and the Costume Society of America. Meg provides a full range of services including assessments; treatment; integrated pest management; disaster preparedness and response; preparation of custom supports, hangers and boxes for storage, display and/or loan and training (on-site and on line). Past on-site work includes conventional (i.e. accredited museum and heritage agencies) locations as well as unconventional (i.e. Scout hut, cruise ship, department store, winery), regionally and internationally.

This webinar was sponsored by our Tier 1 Sponsor, Art Work FAS – thank you for your support!

 

Hands On! Practical Conservation for the Collections Professional
Preventing Corrosion on Composite Leather Objects
August 19,  2021 @ 10:00am PDT

That metal corrodes is common knowledge, but the interaction of metals with leather and textiles is not as often considered when storing and exhibiting composite objects and costumes. A simple solution of placing archival materials between the metals and the other object can prevent irreversible damage. We will discuss some of these interactions and materials to be considered as barriers.

Rachel Waters is a conservator living in Estes Park, Colorado specializing in composite objects and costume collections. She became a Professional Associate with the American Institute for Conservation in 2010, and has spent the subsequent years working in the Western United States.

This webinar was sponsored by our Tier 1 Sponsor, Crozier Fine Arts – thank you for your support!

 

Hands On! Practical Conservation for the Collections Professional
Mold in Our Collections!
July 22,  2021 @ 10:00am PDT

Corine Landrieu will be sharing some of her knowledge about mold, and the different ways to identify it in our collections. She will also discuss protective measures to limit its spread and to avoid contamination to individuals.

Corine is an objects and sculpture conservator in private practice, working in Seattle. She offers conservation services for the cleaning, repair and treatment of a broad range of sculpture and objects, from the monumental to miniatures, to museums, local and regional institutions and governmental agencies, and private and corporate clients. Other services include condition and treatment documentation, collection assessments, environmental assessments, and consultation.

This webinar was sponsored by our Tier 1 Sponsor, U.S. Art – thank you for your support!

 

Hands On! Practical Conservation for the Collections Professional
Rust Never Sleeps!
June 17,  2021 @ 10:00am PDT
List of Resources and Supplies prepared by Francis Lukezic available here

“Rust never sleeps!” Join Francis Lukezic to learn about types of metals commonly encountered in collections, why they corrode, what the corrosion looks like for different metals, and strategies for handling and storing corroded metal objects. The presentation will include preventive conservation techniques, pitfalls to avoid, and when to contact a conservator.

Francis Lukezic is an objects conservator at the Naval History & Heritage Command, Conservation Branch, in Richmond, VA. She received a BA in Art Conservation from the University of Delaware and a MSc in Conservation Practice from Cardiff University in the United Kingdom. Francis is a professional associate of the American Institute for Conservation.

This webinar was sponsored by our Tier 1 Sponsor, Gander & White – thank you for your support!

 

Hands On! Practical Conservation for the Collections Professional
The Care and Cleaning of Baskets
May 20,  2021 @ 10:00am PDT
Resources for the Care of Basketry prepared by Gina Watkinson available here

Join Gina Watkinson to learn about the care of basketry. She will introduce the factors that can cause deterioration and will cover how to handle, rehouse, clean, and mount these objects properly. Gina will provide innovative solutions by sharing examples and her experience caring for basketry at the Arizona State Museum.

Gina is the conservation laboratory manager at the Arizona State Museum (ASM), University of Arizona where she has worked since 2007. She received a BA from the University of Delaware Art Conservation Department in 2007, a MA in American Indian Studies with a graduate certificate in Heritage Conservation from the University of Arizona in 2013 and is currently a doctoral candidate in the School of Anthropology at the University of Arizona. Gina is a professional associate of the American Institute for Conservation (AIC) and the co-chair for the AIC Archaeological Discussion Group.

This webinar was sponsored by our Tier 1 Sponsor, Cooke’s Crating – thank you for your support!

 

Hands On! Practical Conservation for the Collections Professional
Conservation Hinging for Works of Art on Paper
April 15,  2021 @ 10:00am PDT
Supplies List prepared by Emily Derse available here

Join Emily Derse, a paper conservator in private practice in the Seattle area, to discuss conservation hinging for works of art on paper.

Over decades of private practice and museum training, Emily has come across countless hinging disasters that could have been avoided with some basic conservation knowledge and careful hand skills. In this session, Emily will discuss the perils of adding adhesives to paper supports and we will learn about a few elegant hinge-free mounting solutions to have in your back pocket for storage, transport, and display.

This webinar was sponsored by our Tier 1 Sponsor, Art Work FAS – thank you for your support!

 

Hands On! Practical Conservation for the Collections Professional
Detection and Cleaning of Soot
March 18, 2021 @ 10:00am PDT

Join Rosa Lowinger to learn about techniques for the detection and cleaning of soot, a topic of growing importance with the rising prevalence of fires in certain areas. Rosa Lowinger is President and Chief Conservator of RLA Conservation of Art + Architecture, a firm with offices in Miami and L.A. A Fellow of the American Institute for Conservation and the Association for Preservation Technology, she has been a member of IIC since the 1980s and the 2008-09 Rome Prize Fellow in Conservation at the American Academy in Rome. In addition to practicing conservation, Rosa writes regularly about conservation for mainstream media and is the author of the nonfiction book Tropicana Nights: The Life and Times of the Legendary Cuban Nightclub (Harcourt, 2005).

This webinar was sponsored by our Tier 1 Sponsor, Crozier Fine Arts – thank you for your support!

 

Hands On! Practical Conservation for the Collections Professional
Stabilization: Handling and Storage Enclosures for Fragile Paper Objects
February 18, 2021 @ 10:00am PST

Join paper conservator Madison Brockman to learn how to safely handle works on paper and stabilize fragile objects through simple enclosures, without the need for conservation treatment. Madison is currently in her second year as Andrew W. Mellon Fellow in Paper Conservation at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. She graduated from the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation with a major in Paper Conservation and a minor in Library & Archives Conservation, and has experience working at many highly-regarded California institutions, including LACMA, the Legion of Honor, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Margaret Herrick Library, UCLA Library, and more.

This webinar was sponsored by our Tier 1 Sponsor, U.S. Art – thank you for your support!

 

Hands On! Practical Conservation for the Collections Professional
Choosing the Right Stitch
January 21, 2021 @ 10:00am PST
Reference document prepared by Kathleen Daly available here

Knowing the appropriate conservation stitch to use, and when to use it, is an important part of working with costume and textiles in your collection. The wrong stitch, or even the right stitch done incorrectly, can mean permanent damage to an object. Join Kathleen Daly Sligar as she provides instruction on a few stitch techniques that every collections professional should know. Then, learn how to use some of those stitches to properly mount a flat textile for display. With sixteen years of small museum experience and practical and academic work in textile conservation, Kathleen will share methods for not only saving money, but also avoiding costly mistakes.

This webinar was sponsored by our Tier 1 Sponsor, Gander & White – thank you for your support!

 

Hands On! Practical Conservation for the Collections Professional
Storage and Display Mounts For Your Book Collections
December 10, 2020 @ 10:00am PST
Resources List prepared by Carolina Veentra available here

Book conservator Carolina Veenstra will discuss book supports for exhibitions and will demonstrate how to make a few simple book cradles constructed with museum board. Throughout her four decades of experience as a conservator and artist, she has taught art and bookbinding to a wide range of students, across all kinds of media. Her direct and practical approach is process-oriented and highly customizable.

This webinar was sponsored by our Tier 1 Sponsor, Cooke’s Crating – thank you for your support!

 

Hands On! Practical Conservation for the Collections Professional
The Ins and Outs of Condition Surveys
November 19, 2020 @ 10:00am PST
Link to Google form mentioned in webinar available here

Samantha Springer, owner and principal of Art Solutions Lab, will discuss the benefits of using condition and conservation surveys to figure out where to start when caring for a cultural heritage collection. Speaking from her experience as a conservator at a range of museums across the country with broad ranging collections, Samantha will review different types of assessments and show you how to use widely available resources to get started on your own condition survey.

This webinar was sponsored by our Tier 1 Sponsor, Art Work FAS – thank you for your support!