Change in the tide

For many of those who have followed this blog concerning art conservation, I thank you. At this point, I have taken a detour in life and am not currently pursuing graduate school for art conservation. I have learned so many amazing things concerning the field these past couple of years and I would still like to share my thoughts.

Please, as always email me with questions. I enjoy hearing from you!

Graduate School: Conservation Programs visited

As soon as I was done at AIC I had four days to get home, take my chemistry final, finish up my projects at the California State Library and then pack for a two week vacation and graduate school tour to the east coast. I had never been to New York before and was excited to see the environment of the different programs and talk with staff and students.

New book lab at Buffalo State

First stop was Buffalo, NY where I had arranged to meet with paper conservator instructor Judy Walsh. We toured the facilities including the new wing that will be completed this fall. It looks amazing! It was nice to learn about the type of people that  have come to learn there and the environment the students are immersed in. I got a good sense of the structure of the program and what to expect as a student there. Seven full time faculty members with adjunct members who come throughout the year. I was really pleased to hear about how well the first year of the Library Archives specialty went and got to see some of the books that had been worked on. Judy was wonderful to talk with and even had me pose for a picture in the furutre book lab. I enjoyed walking around the campus with its beautiful old brick buildings and the city was fun to explore. My mom and I were able to visit Niagara Falls and the Dean Martin Complex, which was wonderful.

Next we headed to Philadelphia where we stayed for five days. We drove down to the Winterthur Museum and met with current WUDPAC fellow Carrie McNeal. She showed us the different labs and projects that are being currently worked on and introduced various instructors and students along the way. She is also part of the Library Archives specialty, so it was nice to see what she has been working on and upcoming internships she will get to take on. The grounds were beautiful even with the rain drizzling all day. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about furniture conservation and the amazing craftsmanship that takes place there.  

Philadelphia Museum of Art paper conservation lab

During our stay in Philadelphia I was also able to visit the Philadelphia Museum of Art and tour the conservation labs. After meeting Scott Homolka, Stephanie Lussier and Elisa Spaulding at the AIC conference it was nice to be able to see them in their element. The labs were beautiful and storage areas amazing. After walking the labs, my mom and I were able to enjoy the galleries, which turned out to be one of best museums I have ever visited.

After taking the train to New York City and coming up from the bellows of Penn Station I walked up into a city that I have been aching to visit my entire life. The energy of the city had me awe struck and I was so excited to be walking the streets and hailing cabs.

Thaw Conservation Center at the Morgan Library

My first impression of conservation in NYC was meeting with Margaret Holben Ellis at the Thaw Conservation Center. I had the opportunity to introduce myself to her at the AIC conference before the tour so I didn't feel quite as nervous as I might have originally. It was such a beautiful space and Ms. Ellis was wonderful with all the information she provided about the lab and the conservation program at NYU’s Institute of Fine Arts. I felt very challenged by the questions she asked me and I walked away with a greater view of conservation than I originally had.

The next day I met with academic advisor, Kevin Martin, at the NYU Institute of Fine Arts, Conservation Center. It was the first time I had sat down with someone to go over admissions to a program and we talked about my transcripts, plus other requirements. I hadn’t realized how nervous I would be discussing my application and it was a great experience talking about why I wanted to be in conservation. After talking about the interview process and the type of students that come to study at NYU we headed up into the labs and talked more about how the curriculum is set up and what to expect as a student in the program. I got lots of good feedback about the Library Archival specialty after its first year has gone by.

I closed out my trip with enjoying the great city of New York and came home with a lot to think about. I think a lot of preprogram students have an idea of which program they would like to attend and I left the trip thinking what great programs all three were and how excited I would be to attend any one of them.

Family bonding

After I returned from my trip I had another four days to pack everything I owned and move to Los Angeles to begin my summer fellowship at the Huntington Library. Now that a couple months have passed and the excitement has settle somewhat I am glad to have this perspective on the training of the conservation field and what each program focuses on. One thing is certain, I am very excited to be applying this coming winter!

40th Annual AIC Conference

The 40^th Annual AIC Conference was back in May (I thought I posted this article back then, but apparently I didn't hit the submit button. Oops!) and I have had plenty of time to think about what I’ve learned and feel the influence of all the talks I attended. I had a spectacular time and enjoyed meeting a variety of new people. It was great to see what the entire world of conservation looks like when people from all over come together to talk shop. So what did I learn from my first time at AIC?

 Take it slow. There’s a lot going on and there are a lot of people to meet. Look over the program, but don’t feel you have to rush and see everything. It can be overwhelming, especially if you have never been to a conference before.


Go to the receptions. After everyone has been in talks and discussions all day it’s nice to sit back and get to know your fellow conservators. The beautiful Albuquerque evenings were a nice way to end the day.


 Don’t be afraid to go up and introduce yourself. Sometimes you recognize someone, either from the Internet or a photo, but you’ve never had the opportunity to meet them. If you see him or her, don’t interrupt if they are in a conservation of course, but don’t be shy in going up in saying hi. Everyone is so friendly and polite.


Visit all different types of specialty talks. I was very exciting to see all the book and paper talks, but there is so much more than the specialty you may be interested in. The second day I ventured over to the Photographic Material talks, which I absolutely loved. 


Take time to see some of the city you’re in. By the end of the day I was completely exhausted and just crashed into bed. I did miss out in seeing the city of Albuquerque, which I heard from many others  attendees what a nice place it was to walk around.

Book and Paper Group Reception

For those that are new to a conference I thought a really great set up was the ECPN’s Happy Hour the night before the conference began. For those coming to the conference who may not know anyone, it gave us all a chance to meet new people and see each other face-to-face after all the communication being done through email and Facebook.  I felt like I could walk around the conference and always run into a familiar face, which seemed to make the entire event a little less stressful. As I’ve worked through my fellowship this summer I feel that I have a much broader sense about the entire world of conservation. I look forward to next year!

Travelling, Moving and Interviewing!

A little over a week ago, I was able to attend my first AIC conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico. What was most exciting about the trip was being able to meet the many ECPN members that I have only interacted with online. I have a full write-up coming, but I am currently traveling back east (visiting the three grad programs!) and then I have four days to pack my stuff up, say good-bye to friends, family and my adorable mutt and move to L.A. where I'll be spending the summer as the Huntington Library's Mellon Fellow. 

Until I can write up a more detailed summary of the AIC conference and my great experience visiting Buffalo, Winterthur and NYU, I'll leave you with an interview I did for the ECPN on outreach in conservation.

Creative Endeavors and Expressive Ideas: Emerging Conservators Engaging through Outreach and Public Scholarship - Emerging Conservators Connect through Social Media

Quality time with Rylee

Glass plate fun

Delaminated emulsion being flatten and sealed in glass

Status Update

I’m alive and kicking! The end of last semester had me completely overwhelmed and I had to hide myself away to kick butt in my studies. With a new year comes my second semester of general chemistry, which I’m completely fascinated with, as well as a new internship at the Legion of Honor museum in San Francisco.

Sometime last year a wooden box of glass plate negatives was discovered in the de Young basement with no record of how they came to be there. Even more interesting is that they are housed in the original envelopes with notes from the photographers. My job is to clean, re-house in acid free envelopes, construct proper mats for the broken negatives, preserve the original envelope without further damaging the emulsion on the plates and photograph the glass plates for the museum database. Plus, uncovering more about these mysterious photographs!

The research part has put me in touch with some of San Francisco’s well known historians who are filling in the pieces of the photographers. I am compiling all evidence and will be summarizing my entire experience soon on the FAMSF blog for all to enjoy. Working with Debra Evans and Victoria Binder has been such a treat and wonderful learning experience.

Last year I wanted to become more involved with local conservation efforts and I joined the Bay Area Art Conservation Guild, which has put great effort into organizing local lectures. Our upcoming event is going to be held on February 25 at San Francisco State University on textile treatments from Joyce Hulbert and Elise Yvonne Rousseau. All are welcome to attend!

I also wanted to become more involved with the AIC’s Emerging Conservators Professionals Network and have volunteered to be the ECPN liaison for Northern California. I am excited to start working closer with locals to organize and support conservation events and really find out what pre-program students are doing on the quest to grad school. I hope to bring this experience with me to the ECPN’s committee meeting at AIC’s 40^th annual meeting, which I just booked! Very excited indeed!

If you would like to be involved with local conservation efforts of Northern California, have ideas for networking and want to contribute please feel free to email me anytime. 

Last, but not least, things at the California State Library are wonderful. Since my return from UCLA last summer I have gained enough experience to begin working on some of the rare books from our collection. Here's some of the recent books that had to be resewn and rebacked. 

Looking forward to the year. Less than a year until I apply to grad programs!

Survival