EMP mixer to kick off Museums Advocacy Day 2009

Event: EMP mixer to kick off Museums Advocacy Day 2009!
      "Join us for a Museum Advocacy mixer sponsored by the Emerging Museum Professionals group"
What: Cocktail Party
Host: Emerging Museum Professionals
Start Time: Sunday, February 22 at 5:30pm
End Time: Sunday, February 22 at 7:00pm
Where: Tudor Place Historic House and Garden

To see more details and RSVP, follow the link below:
http://www.facebook.com/n/?event.php&eid=51819423655&aref=7462460

A Bad Idea Well Executed

Male Herm

No, no, I'm not going to write about certification, or any of that other stuff. Instead I'm going to try and bring a touch of levity and color to this blog and tell you what I did at work yesterday. I thought it would be interesting to write about it here because it involves the work of pre-program interns.

By way of introduction, I'm an objects conservator at the IMA; if you want, you can find out a little more about me here, but not here. I work on all sorts of things at the IMA, but one of the things I spend a lot of time doing is taking care of the outdoor sculptures. There are a bunch of sculptures on the campus, and I often have some help cleaning and maintaining them from a bevy of from smart and productive interns.

Back in 2006 Angela Duckwall was pre-programing with us. At that time we were looking for a way to better protect some of the stone sculptures on the grounds of the Oldfields-Lilly House and Gardens during the winter. Historically, sculptures like these would have been covered during the winter months. The reason? Freeze-thaw-action. Like I need to tell you, but the problem is that moisture seeps into the interstices of the stone, stays there and then after the temperature drops the water becomes ice, expands and then the little (or sometimes big) pieces of the stone get pushed apart. In short it's not good for the sculptures and we try to reduce the chances of this happening (knock on virtual wood here, because all of the sculptures are still in good shape).

To combat this, Angela made covers out of Tyvek for all of the stone sculptures (thanks, Dupont, for making Tyvek). The thinking was if cars could be live all year long under Tyvek covers, then our sculptures could live a good winter life under them. Of course, Tyvek is clever in that it is water resistant, yet breathable, so moisture doesn't get trapped inside the covers.

Wait. Let me back up. When I say Angela made them, I mean she made them by hand. She went out and measured the sculptures and then bought a bunch of Tyvek, thread, cord, and some pull ties. She took all of this home and then made covers on her sewing machine. It's pretty amazing when you think about it, especially when you see the covers that she made and realize that all 10 of them work perfectly.

One of the "Four Seasons" well covered

The first year she made them we made damn sure we put them on, but last year, well .... A travesty, I know, and Angela let me know about it via e-mail from Winterthur. But it wasn't my fault. Honestly. I can't put them on until after December 20th (we have a winter solstice celebration at the IMA), and then if you figure in the Holidays it might as well already be the second week of January, which invariably is filled with icy rain or other stuff, making it all but impossible to get outside to work. And then the next thing I know February is over, and by that time spring is practically here, so why bother. So, yes, last year, I didn't get them put on.

But this year, I said, was going to be different. I was determined to get them on. And the next thing I knew, January was gone. This is where Preston Smith comes in (he's been pre-programing with us for a while now, learning about all sorts of stuff, including the inter-workings of a hand-held XRF). I told Preston that we should get those covers on ASAP. And he agreed.

Preston ready to go

So, when I showed up for work yesterday there was an additional 5 inches of snow on the ground. I was ready to call the whole thing off, but Preston was like, "Dude!" So, I was like, let's go do it. I really though it was a bad idea, but why not, right? Plus, Preston kind of shamed me into it -- think of what Angela will say, he said. Thanks, Preston.

Before you watch the following video, please know that it was very cold. Snow was flying everywhere. Many schools in town had shut down for the day. The streets were filled with automobile accidents and ambulances, but we forged on because we had a job to do. We knew Angela was watching us. It was difficult to express the gravity of our situation and our current emotional state, but I tried, during the moment.



And work we did. What follows below is a slide show of our accomplishments.

Slide Show for Emerging Conservators

View more presentations from RichardMcCoy. (tags: richard and)

Here's what I learned from all of this: since you're unlikely to make any real money in this profession, you ought to enjoy what you're doing. Preston reminded me of this today. We turned what would otherwise have been a miserable thing to do, considering the weather, into what will probably be the highlight of my week.

Don't get me wrong, it was dangerous out there. Very dangerous, you know. The IMA's campus is immense and daunting. There were a few moments when I think we were both disoriented and unsure if we were going to make it back to civilization alive. Here's one such event:



Despite all of the work, sweat, and uncertainty I'd like to think we maintained a kind of enthusiasm only found in the work that you enjoy. So I'll end with a couple of videos that I made. I call them "Cart Cam," because I literally put the camera on top of the car and then ran like mad.

Cart Cam 1 in which I don't make a turn and run into a bank of snow
Cart Cam 2 with Preston Sliding Behind Me
Cart Cam 3 After some 8 hours out in the snow, wind, and ice you can't blame me for being a little winded here.

Post script ... I just noticed a mathematical error in this post. Anybody else find it?

Certification Vote/Poll

If you haven't heard by now the Certification Poll/Vote is open:

If you are a PA or Fellow, you can submit a ballot for the vote:

Certification Vote

However, if you are an associate or student member, you can take the poll.

Certification Poll

But before you submit your vote or take the poll, read more about the proposed certification plan at:

aic.stanford.edu/certification

Pictures needed for the ECPN poster at the AIC annual meeting!

The ECPN is presenting a poster at the AIC Annual Meeting being held in L.A. from May 19th to the 22nd. The poster will be included in the regular poster session, and will serve to introduce ECPN to the larger AIC audience. Each of the primary initiatives of the group will be highlighted, and emphasis will be placed on how we will use technology to serve emerging conservation professionals, as well as the global conservation community. (see abstract below)

Sadly, our topics don’t really lend themselves to exciting visuals (ooh look, the page capture of the blog!), so we thought of gathering images to tell another story. We are looking for pictures from emerging conservators that illustrate the progression of your career in conservation. We also welcome images of more established conservators from when they were “emerging,” as well as a recent picture for comparison. The more drastic the hair evolution, the better.

We also thought that this is the perfect opportunity to start thinking about creating a logo- or a color- for ECPN. If you are feeling creative, drop us a line, or even better, a sketch!

We would like to have all the pictures by March 15th

To contact us please email: ecpn.poster@gmail.com

Thanks!
Nicky, Anne and Laura



Poster Abstract--

AIC's Emerging Conservation Professionals Network (ECPN) was launched in 2008 with the purpose of serving AIC members who have been in the field for up to five years, current graduate students, as well as those who are looking to enter the profession. ECPN is taking full advantage of new technologies to encourage connections between conservators and share information. These include social networking tools such as Ning and Facebook, as well as broader developments in AIC, such as the new website and outreach presentation.

Emerging conservation professionals are very likely to be familiar with new technology, and feel comfortable using digital photodocumentation, web-based research, and new materials and techniques. But while they may be very up to date on conservation literature and information, they also know that they don't have all the answers.

While new technologies bring many advantages and opportunities, in some situations there is still no substitute for personal interaction. One of the objectives of the group is to establish an effective mentorship program which utilizes both high- and low-tech methods. Emerging conservation professionals will be paired with an appropriate mentor based on a variety of criteria, and will be able to connect to them via email, phone, social network, or in person. Mentees will benefit from the experience and guidance of the mentor, while the mentor will benefit from being connected to the next generation of conservators and learn about new trends in conservation.

Conference Call Notes - 1.22.09

Here are the things we discussed during the conference call today:

Topics:

1. Leadership Structure - Amber will contact each program for a slate of interested people to serve as liaisons to the network.

2. Angel's Project - Amber will follow-up with the liaison at Heritage Preservation. Ryan will contact Paul Messier about other possible project sites. We might want to contact the LA Conservancy about any possible projects in the LA area.

3. Poster -  contact each of the leads, need pictures of people in various stages of their career; Ryan will send Nicky and Laura the contact information for each of the leads for the interviews. 

4. Mentoring Program - Anne Simon will send me their latest version of the forms. Ryan will upload them and the latest outline of the program on to the networks page on the new website. We hope to have people matched up by the time of the 2009 Annual Meeting. If the website does not launch in time, the form and information will live on the blog and the Ning network.

Attendees:

Amber Kerr Allison

Anne Simon

Karen Pavelka

Katie Mullen

Steven Pickman

Laura Brill

Call for Nominations

As our network takes on more and more tasks and initiatives, we are beginning to realize that there is need for a more formal leadership structure within the network, which is why we are placing a call out for nominations for the following elected leadership positions:

Elected Positions

1) Chair: serves for one year; serves as a chair emeritus after their one year term is over; is a practicing conservator and not a student.

2) Co-Chair: serves for one year; rotates automatically into the chair position after the conclusion of their first year as co-chair; is a practicing conservator and not a student

3) Communications Coordinator: serves for one year; is a practicing conservator and not a student.

Appointed Positions

In addition, there will be several "appointed" leads for the various projects being taken on by the network:

1. Conservation Training

2. Mentoring Program

3. Angel's Project

4. Certification

5. Social Networking

Advisory Group

We are looking to establish an Advisory Group made up of liaisons from the various conservation training programs.

Nominations for the elected positions will be collected until Thursday February 19th. Elections begin on the Friday, February 20th and will close on Friday, March 6th. Results will be announced via the blog and listserve. 

Nominations should be posted to the Call for Nominations discussion in the forum section of our Ning network:

aic-ecpn.ning.com/forum

or they can be sent sent to Ryan Winfield, Membership Coordinator, at rwinfield@aic-faic.org. 

Internship Application Advice

What I look for in an internship application
Nancie Ravenel, objects conservator, Shelburne Museum

I might be a little late in posting our summer work project, but I'd like to put my cards on the table and tell you what I'm looking for in an application package. I don't know if what we do is typical, but we don't generally interview candidates for the summer work projects. I make my decisions solely based on the application and references.

Cover letter
I like to see that you've looked at what I've posted and thought about it. Its great to tell me why you think you'd be great for the job, but also tell me what you think the job could do for you, what you hope to gain from the experience. Where are you in your educational process and what lessons do you think that the project will teach you? Please check out our website. Is there something going on at the museum that you hope you'll be able to experience during the internship beyond the posted project?

Please pay attention to details. Double check that you've spelled names correctly – particularly the museum's! If you need to, have a friend proofread.

Is there anything we will need to know in processing your application? If you are not an American citizen, do you have the appropriate papers or will we need to start a visa process for you? Its not an application killer, we’ve had about half a dozen interns working in the lab over the years. It is helpful to know so that I can jump right on that visa process if I need to. Similarly, if you are applying from outside the US, let me know if you are an American or carry dual citizenship.

References
In my posts I ask for three references, no more than two from academia. Your teachers all think you're fantastic, and they provide me with some wonderful observations about your work. I really need to talk to somebody who has supervised your work, ideally a conservator, but I can also talk to shop managers or restaurant owners.

Please give me complete contact information. I typically email your references to set up a meeting by phone.


Delivery
I prefer that you send your applications via email. It makes my life so much easier. I may be uncommon in this, so best to ask the institution about what makes their life easier.

Please don't wait until the last moment of the closing date to send it in. Rightly or wrongly, I tend to consider when an application arrives as a measure of the candidate's interest.

So that’s what I look for. Best wishes to everybody for finding a good fit for the summer.