The Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation would like to express our gratitude to the wonderful host sites and supervisors who will be working with the members of the WUDPAC Class of 2023 this summer:
Meghan Abercombie, Historic Book Structures Workshop and Hagley Museum
In June Meghan will be participating in the Historical Book Binding Structures Practicum - run by conservator Jeff Peachey - along with other LACE major and minors at WUDPAC, Buffalo, and NYU graduate programs. During the month-long workshop students will be learning about the history of book structures in-depth and creating their own models of the structures discussed. For the remainder of the summer Meghan will be working in the conservation lab at Hagley Museum in Wilmington, Delaware, where she will assist conservator and WUDPAC alum Laura Wahl with various projects, including a survey of Hagley's collections in storage.
Olav Bjornerud, Technical Museum of East Iceland
Olav will spend the summer working with the Technical Museum of East Iceland, cleaning objects rescued from collection spaces heavily damaged by landslides that occurred in the final weeks of 2020, as well as assisting with other aspects of the museum's recovery.
Riley Cruttenden, Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library
Riley will be researching and analyzing architectural components of a circa 1900 gatehouse on the Winterthur Museum estate in New Castle County, Delaware. This analysis will inform a plan to stabilize historical materials, improve the appearance of the windows, and return these elements to a more original condition.
Kaeley Ferguson, Historic Book Structures Workshop and The Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts
Kaeley is really looking forward to learning about (and making) historical book structures and diving into hands-on activities with Jeff Peachey's workshop this summer! Following that, she cannot wait to learn more about book conservation with Richard Homer at CCAHA and explore Philadelphia with her classmates!
Sarah Freshnock, Image Permanence Institute
At the Image Permanence Institute within the College of Art and Design at Rochester Institute of Technology, Sarah will be working with research scientists to carry out and understand the Photographic Activity Test and assist in content creation for their photograph identification website Graphics Atlas. Sarah is also excited to help with other preventive conservation and scientific research projects as well as explore Rochester, New York!
Elle Friedberg, Adam Jenkins Conservation, LLC
Elle is excited to be working with Adam Jenkins at his private conservation studio in Philadelphia. During the summer, she will be learning about the treatment practice of outdoor sculpture in a private collection. She is looking forward to experiencing conservation in a private practice setting, applying what she has learned during her first year into practice, and connecting with conservators in Philadelphia.
Veronica Ivette Mercado Oliveras, Historic Book Structures Workshop and American Philosophical Society (APS)
Veronica is excited for a summer split into two LACE consortium parts: a Historic Book Structures Workshop with Jeff Peachey and a hands-on focused book conservation SWP at APS under the supervision of Renee Wolcott. In the next two months she looks forward to continuing to expand her historic book structure knowledge to inform treatment decision making of bound materials at APS.
Margaret O'Neil, Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library
Maggie will be reconstructing a late 18th century dress that was bought by H.F. DuPont and made into a settee cover. This project will involve both archival and collections research as well as collaboration with the Winterthur curatorial staff.
Alyssa Rina, Alaska State Museum
Alyssa is excited and grateful for the opportunity to work at The Alaska State Museum this summer. She will be assisting Head Conservator, Ellen Carrlee, on many collaborative and engaging conservation and research projects with the local Alaskan Native communities.
Katharine Shulman, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco - the de Young Museum
Katie is looking forward to diving back into the wide world of objects conservation, working with a variety of materials from basketry, leather and wood to contemporary composites and glass! She is particularly excited to conduct analysis and treatment of a set of 19th century glass figurines, and to further hone her gilding and cross-section skills with treatment of a painted and gilt sofa that once belonged to Marie Antoinette.
