Before & After Images | KD Conservation

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KD CONSERVATION

Conservation and restoration of works on paper

I’ve been calling this the Circle of Hell (in my head, since there’s no one here to whom I can say it out loud): a ring of PVA which somehow ended up on the verso of this object. The triangular gouge at 12 o’clock is someone’s previous attempt to remove it. Swipe to see the laborious process of removing PVA from paper with minimal skinning. I’m about half way there (woo hoo)!

I’ve been calling this the Circle of Hell (in my head, since there’s no one here to whom I can say it out loud): a ring of PVA which somehow ended up on the verso of this object. The triangular gouge at 12 o’clock is someone’s previous attempt to remove it. Swipe to see the laborious process of removing PVA from paper with minimal skinning. I’m about half way there (woo hoo)!

Surface cleaning sturdy paper like this is satisfying. Those eraser crumbs have decades of grime bound up in them. Swipe to see cleaned section/grimy section side-by-side and a shot of my non-abrasive Tri-Tip eraser, whom I can always trust to be gentle yet effective.

Surface cleaning sturdy paper like this is satisfying. Those eraser crumbs have decades of grime bound up in them. Swipe to see cleaned section/grimy section side-by-side and a shot of my non-abrasive Tri-Tip eraser, whom I can always trust to be gentle yet effective.

This object had large patches of PVA, which is essentially liquid plastic, ripped from its backside long ago. Because the paper is thinner in these areas, it cannot expand and contract uniformly with changes in humidity. Patches were in order! I sized with wheat starch paste to stabilize the skinned area, then I applied coffee-toned tissue. #allbetter

This object had large patches of PVA, which is essentially liquid plastic, ripped from its backside long ago. Because the paper is thinner in these areas, it cannot expand and contract uniformly with changes in humidity. Patches were in order! I sized with wheat starch paste to stabilize the skinned area, then I applied coffee-toned tissue. #allbetter

Toning mulberry paper with tea (left) vs. toning with coffee (right). Swipe for results!

Toning mulberry paper with tea (left) vs. toning with coffee (right). Swipe for results!

I ❤️ inpainting.

I ❤️ inpainting.

The gummed linen tape on this poster was very easy to remove with a little moisture. Swipe to see how easy it was to scrape the adhesive after brushing on just a small amount of water.

The gummed linen tape on this poster was very easy to remove with a little moisture. Swipe to see how easy it was to scrape the adhesive after brushing on just a small amount of water.

Filling losses and inpainting is a laborious process, and it’s my favorite part of conservation.

Filling losses and inpainting is a laborious process, and it’s my favorite part of conservation.

Knolling: the process of arranging objects so they are parallel or at 90-degree angles

Knolling: the process of arranging objects so they are parallel or at 90-degree angles

Each foxing spot has to be addressed with a different color pastel in order to make my work inconspicuous. Swipe to see the colors I used.

Each foxing spot has to be addressed with a different color pastel in order to make my work inconspicuous. Swipe to see the colors I used.

Another before/after closeup of the delicate act of surface cleaning friable media such as pastel.

Another before/after closeup of the delicate act of surface cleaning friable media such as pastel.

Removing surface dirt from an unfixed pastel is tricky business because over the decades the medium and the ambient dirt and dust become intermingled. I’m happy with the way this area turned out.

Removing surface dirt from an unfixed pastel is tricky business because over the decades the medium and the ambient dirt and dust become intermingled. I’m happy with the way this area turned out.

Well-loved 1934 yearbook: repaired!

Well-loved 1934 yearbook: repaired!

Preparing Noah’s Arc for a new top edge! I beveled both the edge of the object and the edge of the fill paper so that when they overlap they are equal to the thickness of the object. In image 2 you can see where I beveled, at the edge of the fill paper, that the original color of that paper was whitest white. I had to tone the paper with watercolor to get it to match the color of the object.

Preparing Noah’s Arc for a new top edge! I beveled both the edge of the object and the edge of the fill paper so that when they overlap they are equal to the thickness of the object. In image 2 you can see where I beveled, at the edge of the fill paper, that the original color of that paper was whitest white. I had to tone the paper with watercolor to get it to match the color of the object.

Deacidification using UV light (the sun!) and addition of a new corner has taken years off this little print. Look at how the flowers jump off the page when the background isn’t brown!

Deacidification using UV light (the sun!) and addition of a new corner has taken years off this little print. Look at how the flowers jump off the page when the background isn’t brown!

Remember that f$&ked Noah’s Arc print from a couple of posts back? These woodlice are responsible for all of that damage. Lesson: have your prints properly framed so nobody sneaks in there and starts snacking on them.

Remember that f$&ked Noah’s Arc print from a couple of posts back? These woodlice are responsible for all of that damage. Lesson: have your prints properly framed so nobody sneaks in there and starts snacking on them.

This print, a Currier and Ives reproduction, was living squished inside a too-small frame for a very long time. Even after a bath and several rounds of humidification and flattening, the ripples are not completely gone. Paper has memory, and the longer it stays rolled or squished, the more difficult it is to make it 2-D again.

This print, a Currier and Ives reproduction, was living squished inside a too-small frame for a very long time. Even after a bath and several rounds of humidification and flattening, the ripples are not completely gone. Paper has memory, and the longer it stays rolled or squished, the more difficult it is to make it 2-D again.

Although the primary goal of paper conservation is to improve the health and prolong the life of paper objects, it’s always satisfying when I can make a visual difference. Filling and inpainting image loss is one of my favorite things to do. This is a detail of a really f$&cked Currier and Ives print which will need a lot more help to become whole again. I needed to make the cow happy first.

Although the primary goal of paper conservation is to improve the health and prolong the life of paper objects, it’s always satisfying when I can make a visual difference. Filling and inpainting image loss is one of my favorite things to do. This is a detail of a really f$&cked Currier and Ives print which will need a lot more help to become whole again. I needed to make the cow happy first.

A spot test showed me that washing this map would result in some fading of the red ink, but my client decided that the foxing and water staining were distracting enough to merit washing anyway. Some careful inpainting of the faded lines and text is the next step.

A spot test showed me that washing this map would result in some fading of the red ink, but my client decided that the foxing and water staining were distracting enough to merit washing anyway. Some careful inpainting of the faded lines and text is the next step.

When washing and stain removal are not an option, light skinning of paper fibers is preferable to leaving a layer of adhesive-saturated paper. This ensures that the adhesive never migrates to the face of the object.

When washing and stain removal are not an option, light skinning of paper fibers is preferable to leaving a layer of adhesive-saturated paper. This ensures that the adhesive never migrates to the face of the object.

Not only does this object look better, s/he is a lot less brittle thanks to an alkaline bath and re-sizing with gelatin.

Not only does this object look better, s/he is a lot less brittle thanks to an alkaline bath and re-sizing with gelatin.

Eager to get working on this architectural screen print. Stay tuned for progress.

Eager to get working on this architectural screen print. Stay tuned for progress.

Vintage cyanotype blueprint: extremely sensitive to UV light!! I could only have it out of its dark drawer for short periods of time and even then I had to work under dim lighting. Since its light sensitivity will prohibit it from ever being displayed, the work I’m doing here is to stabilize it for digitization.

Vintage cyanotype blueprint: extremely sensitive to UV light!! I could only have it out of its dark drawer for short periods of time and even then I had to work under dim lighting. Since its light sensitivity will prohibit it from ever being displayed, the work I’m doing here is to stabilize it for digitization.

Surface cleaning with eraser crumbs. #meow

Surface cleaning with eraser crumbs. #meow

This fine lady needed to be freed from her cardboard backing so she could live and breathe as a normal piece of paper once again. Stay tuned for more progress.

This fine lady needed to be freed from her cardboard backing so she could live and breathe as a normal piece of paper once again. Stay tuned for more progress.

Job for the Museum of the City of NY. I didn’t fill the loss in the right edge because it is not unstable and since the loss includes writing, a blank fill would look intrusive. Part of the conservator’s job is to make sure her work is inconspicuous.

Job for the Museum of the City of NY. I didn’t fill the loss in the right edge because it is not unstable and since the loss includes writing, a blank fill would look intrusive. Part of the conservator’s job is to make sure her work is inconspicuous.

Mending, mending, mending.

Mending, mending, mending.

Sweetest conservation job yet- for Clara’s preschool library 😍😍.

Sweetest conservation job yet- for Clara’s preschool library 😍😍.

Chewed up kid art, courtesy of Finn the Pup. Still need to fill in that tiny loss at the top.

Chewed up kid art, courtesy of Finn the Pup. Still need to fill in that tiny loss at the top.

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