Bread sculpture

Mark Clarke <mark [at] clericus__org> writes

>An artist I know needs to know how to preserve carved bread, i.e.
>bread with a design carved into it. It only needs to last a month or
>so. ...

I've preserved bread for exhibits and education purposes by slow
drying it in a lab oven at around 100 degrees C until the weight
stabilizes.  Then I vacuum impregnate (if it fits in the chamber) it
with 3-5% v/v Paraloid B-72 in acetone and air-dry it until the
solvent is gone.  It works best on breads that are not coated with
egg glazing.  It's hard to preserve that surface, and it works best
with low-moisture breads.

Paul S. Storch
Senior Objects Conservator
Daniels Objects Conservation Laboratory (DOCL)
B-109.1, Minnesota History Center
345 Kellogg Blvd. West
St. Paul, MN  55102-1906
651-297-5774
Fax: 651-297-2967


                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 19:24
                Distributed: Thursday, November 3, 2005
                       Message Id: cdl-19-24-011
                                  ***