Studio Six Art Conservation Has A New Website

We've moved all our latest updates to a new website, and it looks fabulous. 

Here's the link www.StudioSixArtConservation.com

There's lots of new conservation projects to look at and we have expanding our scope to include cleaning and maintenance of public sculpture. 

A Royal Chair Comes Emerges From The Goat Shead

This pile of wood was found in a goat shed in Washington state. The client thought thought it might be 19th Century Chinese throne that was once installed in his childhood home but couldn't recall the last time he saw it in one piece.

Of course storing anything of value in a goat shed is probably not the best of ideas as it will likely result in damage. Fortunately, this chair is constructed of rosewood which is a quite dense and heavy wood and naturally resists rot, bug damage and warping.

Once we started the surface cleaning, we were pleasantly surprised that the wood and the finish were in such nice shape. Of course in part of that due to the wood used.

Conservation Of Reverse Painting On Glass

Reverse Painting on glass is a wonderful painting technique that creates a striking visual impact. Unfortunately a common issue with this technique is delamination and loss of the paint layer. The thin layers of paint peel up like egg shells and break off with the lightest touch.

We began by softening the paint with a light airbrushing of alcohol. This relaxes the paint so it will lay flat without cracking. All the areas of lifting paint were re-attached to the glass using acryloid B72. After curing, missing areas of paint were re-touched to match the original design using acryloid B72 and powdered pigments.

Restoration of Salt Glazed Ceramic Storage Jar

This lovely salt glazed storage jar has a beautiful deep brown glaze with layered colors that range from dark chocolate to cinnamon. Unfortunately it suffered an impact on the rim that resulted in a fairly large loss.  Note the light gray area on the front, right side of the rem.

This is the sort of damage that catches the eye and distracts from the visual enjoyment of the the pots craftsmanship. Fortunately Studio Six was able to fabricate the missing area and retouch it to match the original surface.

The restoration began by filling the missing area with a two part epoxy putty. This fill was carved and sanded to match the shape and texture of the surrounding surface. The fill was then retouched using Rhoplex WS24 and powdered pigments. A base coat of burnt sienna was applied on top of to the fill After curing, layers of toned Rhoplex were applied to matched the translucency and depth of color of the original glaze.

Note, all materials used in this restoration are reversible. The restoration process itself did not scratch or damage the original artifact and the retouching of the fill minimally overlaped the original surface.

The Close Up World of Art Conservation of Public Art

One of the biggest perks of being an art conservator is experiencing works of art in a very up close, personal and physical way. The art conservator's interactions with artwork are offten quite unique and often insightful. 

Posted here are a few snapshots taken while Studio Six surface cleaned some of the public art on view at the DFW Airport.

Restoring The Visual Contour

When viewing figurative sculptures, there are some parts of the human anatomy that if damaged or missing will dramatically alter our emotional response. Missing eyes, lips or limbs can distort the true intent of the artist, transforming a scene of divine rapture into one of torture and torment.

The facial features of this wood carving are scuffed but intact. What catches the eye and distracts the viewer is the figure's missing right breast. The client felt that the missing breast and exposed wood grain inhibited the viewer from seeing the beauty of the sculpture as a whole. So they contacted Studio Six to find out what could be done.

Fortunately, the left breast was intact so Studio Six used it as the model to fabricate the missing right breast.

Fabrication was done using a two part epoxy putty. The putty was sculpted and textured to match the original carved wood surface. Layers of tinted lacquer were applied and then buffed back to match the wear marks visible on the rest of the sculpture.

This restoration is completely reversible, with less than 1/8 of an inch of new paint overlapping the original sculpture.

Public Art and the World Traveler at DFW Airport

The tunnel through Crystal Mountain sculpture at Terminal D.

Time flies. [pun intended! ]  Well it's been well over a year now since Studio Six Art Conservation received the contract for the art maintenance and art conservation at the DFW International Airport Terminal D. As soon as the ink had dried and our security badges cleared, it's been go, go go!

Unlike the work Studio Six undertakes for many museums and private collections, the public sculpture at DFW is different because many of the artworks can be directly accessed by the public.

Works like the Crystal Mountain, shown here, designed by Dennis Oppenheim and fabricated by La Paloma Fine Arts is a two story tall structure with a tunnel through the middle. Formed of thick gauge welded sheets of stainless and accented with colored LED lights, this public sculpture is a huge draw for DFW passengers and employees alike.

While the metal sides have taken their fair share of hits from luggage carts, it's always a surprise to discover what trinkets or foodstuffs the traveling public leaves in the dark recesses of the tunnel. Half eaten candies, rubber bands, paper airplanes, even a few small stuffed animals... you can't help but wonder if the the artist considered this possible accumulation of bits while designing.

On 34 ft. boom lift, using a HEPA filter vacuum to remove the dust. 

And of course there's the dust. Tons of dust. When Studio Six first arrived on the job, so much dust had accumulated on the exterior peaks that it was beginning to look a bit like Spanish moss. It's amazing the amount of dust that accumulates on all of the artwork within Terminal D. A majority of it rides in on every person and bag that enters the terminal.

Of course these days Studio Six performs regular scheduled inspections of Crystal Mountain and regular dustings mostly done from an aerial lift using a HEPA vacuum. And there are routine cleanings that focus on the removal of surface grime left by hundreds of sticky fingers and hands.

Before the First BIG clean.

After cleaning ... MUCH better.

Fabricating A New Face Plate

The face plate on this old family heirloom was a bit beyond a face lift. The Bakelite had deteriorated to the point that it was causing the surrounding wood to slit.

So Studio Six fabricated a new face plate. Now its ready to crank out the jams.

Studio Six Part Of The 2013 TAM Conference

As a member of NTAAC, Studio Six Art Conservation will be co-chairing a presentation at the 2013 Texas Association of Museums conference. The title is Non-renewable Resources: Collection Care of Natural History, Archeological, and Ethnographic Objects.

I'll be sharing the podium with Melanie Sanford from Textile Preservation Services of Texas, Deborah Cowman executive director at the Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History, Amanda Vance independent consultant and object conservator, and Jenni Opalinski Collection and Exhibitions Manage at the Museum of the Southwest.

They will be addressing the best care, handling and storage of objects that fall in the fields of natural science, archeology and ethnographic. Each has a log history of study and experience, so the presentation should have lots of useful information.

Dusting Off A Dale Chihuly

As an art conservator, I get the opportunity to work intimately with some pretty wonderful works of art. It's one of the perks of the business. So, how do you get up close and personal with a 19 foot tail blown glass sculpture by Dale Chihuly? Well, first you wait for the sculpture to get really dusty, then you steady your nerves and go after it using a 19 foot electric scissor lift.

While up there I took the unique opportunity to snap a few photos that highlight the lushness of this wonderful material.

Two Delicate Bouquets Not To Be Forgotten

These two petite floral bouquets are carved from elephant ivory with the flower stems made from elephant hair. They are stained with watercolor. All combined, that makes for two very delicate sculptures. The damage you see in the top photo is very common; broken joins and missing pieces. The reconstruction requires the use of dental picks, tweezers and micro drill bits.

There were a few flowers missing, so reconstruction had to take into consideration both the original placement and the option for best visual placement. The end result is two beautiful sculptures that can once again be put on displayed. 

Now You See It, And Now You See It

Often when an object comes into the studio with missing bits, it is more cost effective AND conservation responsible to fabricate those missing bits from a modern material such as in this case by using a two part epoxy putty.

In the first photo you can see that there is an area about 2 X 2 1/2" that is missing. The second photo shows a roughed out blob of epoxy putty. In the third that blob has been carved to match the original design. And in the final photo the carving has been retouched to match the original color and patina.

What is really nice about this precess is that none of the original carving has been covered. The epoxy putty only makes contact at the joins. Plus there was no need to drill and dowel like you often have to when you are splicing wood to wood or stone to stone.

I'm using this image in an up coming presentation at the TAM conference. It tells such a good store, I thought I would post this reformatted version.

Tick Tock the TEDxSMU Auditions Clock

Here is the itinerary for tonight's TEDxSMU Auditions. Thank god I"m not going last, but on the other hand, most of my friends are well known for running late...

Brad Ford Smith                "What People Reach For When Things Fall Apart"

Christian Genco                "Outsource Your Brain: Why Everyone Needs to Learn How to Program."

Golbahar Dadyan             "Unlocking the Creative Genius: Living the Dream Circuit"

Jon Eric Fountain              "Follow My Heels"

Will Clarke                           "Seeing Through The Haze: Why Do We Haze?"

RJ Daum                               "Wild Mustangs, Wild Life"

Short Break- music

Sean Springer                    "Making Good Product: Inspirations, Sensations and Values"

Stacy Cherones                 "Make Cafeterias Complete"

Jasmin  Brand                    "What Ike Turner & Social Media Have in Common"

Belinda Baldwin                "The Power of You"

Darren Collins                    "Disaster Relief Housing: A Clown's Perspective"

There will be a short intro of each speaker- just name and talk title.

Each speaker will only have 3 minutes. Anyone that goes over 3 minutes will be pulled off the stage, but in a fun way :)

Doors open at 6:00 and we will begin the program at 7:00. We will have one short break with live music by Kerri Arista. She will also perform at the end while we are counting ballots and the judges deliberate. A winner will be announced that night.

We strongly urge any additional guests buy their ticket online since we will only be selling tickets at the door if we don’t sell out before. Ticket link: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/2042078913/mcivte

Rediscovering A Lost City

This is the front panel of a wood wedding chest. Over the years the wood has shrunk and expanded with the variations in temperature and humidity. This is the nature of wood. Unfortunately when the surface is painted that paint tends to suffer. In this case the natural gesso and oil painted delaminated, leading to heavy loses to the painted design.

The delaminating paint was consolidated with Acryliod B72. The missing areas were then retouched with Rhoplex WS24, powdered pigments and Golden fluid acrylics. The retouching was limited to just the missing areas. None of the original design was painted over, and the treatment is also reversible.

Pinpoint Clamping

Not all objects are simple to put back together. There are bulges, curves, and pointy bits require special clamping consideration. Sometimes we have to create custom clamping blocks, or in this case, borrow a clamping technique used in the construction of violins.

A temporary weighted table is constructed. The curvy object like this bowl, is placed below. Long wood dowels are wedged between the table and the object.

Each dowel applies a slight pressure to a pinpoint area. As more dowels are added the pressure builds in volume and scope.

The Nature Of Hide Glue

Hide glue is an animal based glue. It was the glue of choice for constructing furniture up to around 1930 when the synthetic glue polyvinyl acetate started to be used commercially. This table was originally designed and put together with hide glue.

I mention designed, because it was accepted by the industry that hide glue will hold up for about 50-60 years and then start to let go. The joins will become loose and the table will begin to wobble. This means the table needs to be knocked apart, the joins cleaned and reconstructed with a new application of hide glue. The furniture was designed to fall apart, in a good way. 

So basically, every 50 years or so this table needs to spend a day at the spa.

Shooting Horses Is Not An Option

This tragic scene of a new born foal suffering from two broken front legs just about brakes my heart.

Fortunately, using art conservation techniques the little pony can be saved.

Leading to complete recovery.

North Texas Association for Art Conservation NTAAC

What do you get when you stuff a bunch of art conservators into a freight elevator? The first official meeting of the North Texas Association for Art Conservation (NTAAC).

Actually there has been an unofficial group of art conservators enjoying monthly lunches for a few years now. Melanie Sanford (second from the right) brought up the topic of formally organizing the group, that sparked the birth of NTAAC.

NTAAC is still in the  early stages, no website, blog or Face Book page yet. Some of the topics that NTAAC is focusing on are: Brings together art conservators in North Texas for open discussions on issues pertaining to art conservation, Building a strong community network that can be accessed for emergency response to natural disasters such as floods and fires, and Coordinating community workshops on art conservation.

Thanks to John Campbell (4th head from the left), his conservation staff (left elbow, and 3rd from the right), and the Nasher Sculpture Center for hosting the August NTAAC lunch.

There's something Icky in this Photo

This is a drawer full of antique lead an zinc printing blocks. These types of blocks were commonly used in the printing of newspaper adds and business cards. As photographic printing technology advanced these acid etched and sometimes hand carved blocks were made obsolete. You can still find places that make them and use them, but for the most part these blocks have become collector items.

The icky thing in this photo isn't the big bug, it's the white medallion to the right of the bug. That is what lead looks like when it is degrading. It turns into a white crystalline powder that is very easily dispersed into the air.

Once air born it will contaminate every thing it touches. This not only includes other artifacts but people as well. It can be absorbed directly into your skin, through your eyes, mouth or breathed into your lungs. Lead poisoning is so scary that I recommend if you ever see white power on a metal object, stay away from it and have a professional come out and take the object away.

Touched by a Bouquet Flower

This image shows a few of the tabletops that come into the studio every year. All have the same problem, damage due to leaking flower pots. In some cases, it's just a simple white ring that can be removed by reactivating the surface finish to release the trapped water vapors.

If there are signs of black in or around the water stain, there is a good chance that the water has completely penetrated the finish and has seeped into the wood. This is much more difficult to resolve without removing the original finish from the tabletop.

Then there are the times when the wood has become so saturated with water that it swells and splits, or the veneer curls up like potato chips. This damage can be fixed. It will take a lot of time, and most likely include the removal of the original finish from the tabletop. Most important, do not through away any of the loose or detach pieces.

In all of these scenario, the damage can happen quickly and dramatically in just a few hours, or it can happen so slowly that you don't notice it until one day...