Working to understand and extend the life of works of art

 

Based in Los Angeles, I am an objects conservator with experience in the treatment of fine art, functional, ethnographic, and archaeological works. My specialties are in the treatment and rehousing of three-dimensional objects and artwork, collections surveys and preventive conservation, and preparation of materials for exhibition. Recent projects have covered modern, historical, and archaeological works with clients including universities, museums, governmental agencies, archaeological projects, and contemporary artists.

 
 

Object Documentation and treatment

Treatments are customized to the individual needs of a work of art, and designed to ensure the long-term stability of the piece. This includes cleaning, repair, and customized storage in keeping with ethical guidelines and meeting current museum standards. 

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Collection Surveys  and preventative conservation

Where collections have broad needs, surveys can be useful to plan and execute collection-wide storage solutions. I can provide recommendations to implement housing for large numbers of objects, and provide guidance for achieving optimal environmental storage conditions.     

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Object Rehousing

To improve storage conditions for objects, custom housing can be designed and implemented for collections. My goals are to improve object safety for long-term storage, and offer advice for best practices with limited resources. 

Museum of Riverside

 

During 2018 and 2019, I have worked on the stabilization of selected basketry from the Museum of Riverside’s collection, in preparation for an upcoming exhibit. The museum has an extensive collection of native Southern California basketry, the largest in the state of California. The collection is also significant in that many of the baskets were heavily used prior to their accession into the collections, and serve as an important record of the original construction and use of these materials. My conservation treatments have included cleaning and repair of the basketry, in order to ensure that the objects can be safely displayed.      

 

 
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Restoration of a Long-Hidden Student Mural

 

The Black Experience Mural was painted by 7 UCLA students in 1970, as a response to the Kent State shootings, and the upheaval and protests that followed on UCLA's campus. The mural consists of portraits of each of the artists, their faces filled with images of struggles and notable achievements in African-American history. The mural was covered with a false wall in 1992, during renovations of the space, and had been largely forgotten on campus until the Afrikan Student Union petitioned the school to put the mural back on public display. Work began in 2014 to remove the wall covering the piece and restore the piece so that it was once again on public display.        

The installation of metal studs to support the false wall resulted in damage to the surface of the mural, and years of accumulated dust and debris had obscured some details of the images. Working in consultation with several of the artists, and with the assistance of a group of current UCLA student interns, I completed the restoration of 'The Black Experience', cleaning the surface, patching damaged areas and re-integrating areas of paint loss.   

 

Selected Press Coverage:

The Black Experience Re-experienced

Long Hidden Mural Revealed

 

 
'The Black Experience' mural, after removal of a false wall that had covered the work since 1992.  

'The Black Experience' mural, after removal of a false wall that had covered the work since 1992.  

A section of the mural, before treatment. 

A section of the mural, before treatment. 

A section of the mural, after cleaning and repair of the surface. 

A section of the mural, after cleaning and repair of the surface.