Gouache Public discussion and offline responses

As I had suspected, the interesting discussion happen off-line!  My
recent query about dealing with stiff curled paint on a large
gouache painting yielded, so far, seven e-mails and two phone calls.
(See Conservation DistList Instance: 18:30 Monday, January 10, 2005)

The suggestions included various ways of using moisture combined
with heat and/or solvents, and suggested adhesives.  So I got a lot
of helpful advice--but no one else who might have similar problems
got anything at all.

Which leaves me, again, regretting that all the interesting stuff
happens off-line.  Is everyone *so* self-conscious that they won't
post on-line?!  All the comments were certainly helpful to me--I
can't imagine that anyone would criticize.

    **** Moderator's comments: I could not agree more!

    I hope all DistList participants will take your comments to
    heart. The point of this forum is not to spark private
    discussions from which the rest of the community draws no
    benefit, but to foster wide exchange of views and information so
    that all conservation professionals may share in the knowledge
    that grows from informed discourse.

    I have been told by many participants that they they respond
    offline far more often than they do online. While some have had
    good reasons for doing so (e.g. protecting client or
    institutional confidentiality), many have said (a) "I thought
    that was what we were supposed to do" or (b) "I didn't think
    others would be interested". Well, if what you have to say is
    worth the trouble of responding to an author, it is most likely
    worth sharing with the rest of us.

    I will amend the instruction document sent to new participants
    to make this clear. Thank you, Barbara, for saying so well
    something that has bothered me for a terribly long time.

Barbara Appelbaum
Appelbaum and Himmelstein
444 Central Park West
New York, NY  10025
212-666-4630
Fax: 212-316-1039


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 18:33
                 Distributed: Sunday, January 23, 2005
                       Message Id: cdl-18-33-001
                                  ***