Art Conservation

White Oak Basket

Folk Art Center, June-July 2025

One of hundreds of baskets I treated for mold. After Hurricane Helene, the Folk Art Center had no power and no climate control in its storage, leading to extreme moisture levels and mold growth. The basketry and woodworking collection especially suffered. The above photographs were taken after the storage humidity levels were lowered and the mold was desiccated.

Treatment advised by David Goist.

The mold was manually removed with soot sponges. After testing an unnoticeable spot to ensure the walnut dyes would not bleed, the basket was spritzed with 90% isopropyl alcohol and dabbed dry to sanitize.

Practice Painting: 18th c. American Landscape (oil)

Performed November-December 2024 under supervision of Kenneth Bé.

Upper image is before treatment, lower is after.

^ Before treatment.

Overall surface discoloration from centuries of grime, significant tears, delaminating paint layers, paint loss, previous patching of tears, improper canvas tension.

3"-5" tears in canvas with delaminating paint at edges, before treatment.

~2" tear which had been sealed with resin, before treatment.

Pressing of moistened canvas to flatten tears.

Custom-cut and BEVA-adhered reversible polyfiberous patches to mend tears.

Patched tears filled with putty to level surface.

Losses restored with reversible conservator's resin paints.

^ After cleaning.

Surface cleaned with hand-rolled cotton swabs saturated in mild detergent. Solvent tests revealed the discoloration was not from yellowing varnish, but from dirt.

Putty-filled tear restored restored with reversible conservator's resin paints (color discrepancy due to surrounding original painting not yet varnished).

^ After treatment.

(But before final varnishing to unify surface color and protect treatment.)

Museum Painting: 20th c. American Historical Reproduction (oil)

Performed December 2024 under supervision of Kenneth Bé.

Now on view at the New York Historical, in the Dexter Gallery, 2nd Floor.

Left, Kenneth and an art handler hanging the painting in Mana Contemporary's storage facilities, for Kenneth's retouching treatment.

My contribution: strip-lining and stretching.

I hand-cut strips of linen canvas, adhered them with BEVO film, and ironed them onto the reverse of the canvas in order to increase the margin in contact with the new stretcher bars. Then, I staple-gunned the centered canvas onto the stretcher bars, and keyed them out to the proper tension.

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