Second Year — MIDWEST TEXTILE CONSERVATION

WUDPAC Second-Year

My second-year at the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation (WUDPAC) was dedicated to further exploring textile conservation through treatment, a technical study, an independent study, and a preventive project. In addition to these projects, I partook in several seminars, details of which can be found below.

Please note that these projects took place during the COVID-19 pandemic before and during the first round of vaccinations. Projects were coordinated so that everyone would be safe.

Second-Year Graduate School Seminars

Mannequins and Garments Seminar (Spring 2021)

One half-day seminar directed by Laura Mina and Kate Sahmel covering a range of mannequins used in museums, when they may or may not be appropriate, garment construction, and pattern making.
Image credit: Annabelle Camp 2021
Textile Structure Identification Seminar (Spring 2021)

A half-day seminar directed by Laura Mina and Kate Sahmel focused on expanding participants’ ability to describe woven and lace structures using technical terminology.
Leather Seminar (Spring 2021)

A three-day intensive seminar directed by Lara Kaplen and Dr. Melissa Tedone. This seminar covered identification, casting custom repairs, and adhesive mends.
Image credit: Image credit: A Dictionary of Descriptive Terminology by Matt T. Roberts and Don Etherington. Drawings by Margaret R. Brown.
Textile Wet Cleaning Seminar (Fall 2020)

A two-day intensive seminar directed by Laura Mina and Kate Sahmel on wet cleaning techniques in textile conservation. The first day covered immersion cleaning. The second day covered localized cleaning techniques such as gels and the suction plate, as well as bleaching.
Adhesives in Textile Conservation Seminar (Fall 2020)

A day-long seminar directed by Laura Mina and Kate Sahmel covering the ethics, adhesive types, substrates, application/casting methods, and reactivation methods.
Image credit: Laura Mina & Kate Sahmel Textile Adhesive Seminar 2020
Dyeing Seminar (Fall 2020)

Description goes hereA half-day seminar directed by Laura Mina and Kate Sahmel in which participants dyed a sample of nylon net using Lanaset/Sabraset dyes. Discussion took place during the different waiting periods of the dyeing process in which we talked about the effects of pH, temperature, time, and certain calculations on the dyeing process.
Introduction to Cleaning and Adhesives with Plastics Seminar (Fall 2020)

A day-long intensive seminar directed by Lara Kaplan, Object Conservator at Winterthur & Professor at WUDPAC, and Caitlin Richeson, Assistant Conservator at American Museum of Natural History, in which participants spend the morning discussing the ethics and challenges when conserving modern and contemporary art and materials. In the afternoon, participants took part in the practical exercises of filling PMMA and adhering different plastics using a range of materials.
Diagrams, tables, and CAD Seminar (Fall 2020)

A day-long seminar directed by Nancy Britton, Upholstery Conservator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art & Katya Roelse, UD professor in fashion and apparel studies. Participants learned how to utilize Word tables, Illustrator, and Photoshop in order to document, organize, and convey aspects of complexly constructed objects.
Image: Exploded view of mount designed for Ann Plato’s Needlework; Winterthur Museum, Library & Gardens; 2018.0029A