Reviewing and Preparing

I am not a believer in resolutions. I believe if you are ready to make a change in your life you are already working towards making those changes happen every single day. No waiting for a special day to arrive. I do, however, like to look back how my year started off and ended. Did I put in the work towards the career I want in life? The beginning of 2010 certainly didn’t see the career of art conservator in the mix, but looking at 2011 that’s all I can fixate on. It’s certainly a different perspective on life when you have a career you’re passionate about. Many other activities I used to partake in now just seem like distractions to my goal. Interesting.

This month school begins, where I’ll be back learning all that gooey chemistry and Italian. I choose Italian as the language to learn for grad school because it felt more familiar with the Spanish I am most comfortable with. Not that they are related closely, but it seemed to fit with the time period I was most interested in art history.

February will also see the start of my first workshop with San Francisco Center of the Book. Once I take their six levels of bookbinding workshops I can work with the master bookbinders in the area. Very exciting! That will take a majority of the year to accomplish.

I also want to plan a trip back east to visit the three schools I’m interested in applying to. NYU is my first choice, but there is Buffalo State and Winterthur/University of Delaware, both amazing schools as well and all putting me outside of my comfort zone of living on the east coast. My only time spent on the east coast was Washington D.C. when I was 12 years old. I’m sure the lifestyle and my perspective are very different now. Money is super tight as I will be stepping down to part-time at my job to keep up with school and volunteering at the library and SFCB, but got to have priorities.

I really would like to take a few workshops in conservation. I’m hoping to attend some in Southern California, since UCLA has a conservation program. There’s also the Book Club of California in the bay area that has had lecturers speak of conservation for books in the past. That also means networking more and joining associations of conservators. The two I want to join this year are AIC and Bay Area Art Conservation Guild

There is also an internship and fellowship I wish to apply to, which the deadlines are in February and March. Lots to work on with personal statements and letters of recommendations! If I get one I’ll do back flips and summer school will probably have to be put off.

Work at the Sacramento Room is wonderful, where I got to view a John Sutter letter the other day. I’ll begin work on their graphic arts inventory soon, as I’m still in the process of pulling all original material from fine presses out of their Book Arts Collection. Here is another gem I've found in the inventory:



So here is to an exciting 2011 that is full of promise. I hope to meet many more conservators along the way!