Courses at West Dean College

Courses
West Dean College
Chichester, West Sussex, England

Conservation of Plastics
PC6707-2-5
July 2007

Course Leader:  Thea van Oosten

    Plastics can be found in ethnographical and textile collections
    imitating precious materials like ivory, tortoiseshell and
    amber, in modern art collections of three-dimensional
    non-traditional art, in collections of household goods and in
    collections of scientific equipment.  Plastics can be found in
    every museum collection and this will increase in the future.
    How do we deal with plastic and plastic objects in collections?
    Can we identify plastics or different types of plastic, as this
    is a relatively new material? There are guidelines for the
    passive conservation of plastics, but the active conservation of
    plastics still has to be developed. The aim of the course is to
    acquaint conservators, conservation scientists and restorers
    with the current state of knowledge regarding identification,
    degradation and conservation of plastics as used in our cultural
    heritage.

    Non-residential course fee:  UKP315
    Fully inclusive residential course fee:  From UKP435.

Decorated Papers
PC7801  29
October-1 November 2007

Course Leader:  Victoria Hall

    Not only used in bookbinding, decorative papers have also been
    used extensively in Europe for covering and lining a wide
    variety of objects. This course will guide students through the
    principal antique pattern types (marbled, paste, Dutch gilt etc)
    detailing historic developments, materials used and methods of
    manufacture.  Practical sessions on Suminagashi (an ancient
    style of ink marbling), traditional marbling, and the making of
    paste papers will aid greater understanding. The ability to
    identify paper patterns by type and period is vital to
    appropriate conservation so slides and plenty of original
    historic papers will be shown and discussed in this context.
    Participants may be those who need to develop practical skills
    and those who need to understand and specify these skills:
    craftsmen, conservators, art historians and those with an
    interest in historic interiors.  Participants may be junior
    conservators, or more experienced conservators who need to
    develop their range of skills.  They may also be specialists,
    who have little opportunity for further study of traditional
    techniques.

    Non-residential course fee:  UKP315
    Fully inclusive residential course fee:  From UKP435.

Sharpening Edge Tools
5-8 November 2007

Course Leader:  Bernard Allen

    This is a professional course for all conservators using knives,
    blades and woodworking hand tools. Starting with the metallurgy
    of carbon steels, through to the best technique for sharpening
    both by hand and machine.  During the course conservators can
    make a blade in Japanese carbon steel encompassing forging,
    hardening and tempering. All types and method of abrasives from
    Japanese stone to diamond stones, pastes and ceramics. This is a
    practical course designed to lift existing hand skills to a high
    professional level and offer the opportunity to learn the latest
    techniques and use a wide variety of machines available for
    grinding.

    Non-residential course fee:  UKP315
    Fully inclusive residential course fee:  From UKP435.

For further information on all the courses please contact Liz
Campbell <bcm [at] westdean__org__uk> at West Dean College.

Liz Campbell
Conservation Short Courses Coordinator
West Dean College
West Dean
Chichester
West Sussex PO18 0QZ
+44 1243 818219
Fax: +44 1243 811343


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 21:3
                  Distributed: Thursday, May 10, 2007
                        Message Id: cdl-21-3-014
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