Online course on care of baskets

Northern States Conservation Center is proud to announce a
new online course on care of baskets:

MS225: Care of Baskets (New course)
Feb 1 - Feb 26, 2010
Price: $475
Instructor: Helen Alten
Location: online at <URL:http://www.museumclasses.org>

Description: Baskets are an important part of nearly every world
culture. Caring for baskets requires an understanding of why and how
they deteriorate. Care of Baskets provides a simplified explanation
of the chemistry and structure of basketry materials. Starting with
an overview of the history and function of baskets and how they are
made, Care of Baskets will cover guidelines for handling, labeling,
exhibiting and storing baskets, including condition assessments and
an introduction to integrated pest management. An overview of
treatments used on baskets and how appropriate they are for the
long-term preservation of the basket will help students make care
decisions when consulting with conservators.

Course Outline:

    Introduction
    The biology and chemistry of materials used for basketry
    Basket Styles and Structures
    Documentation and Condition Report Writing
    Baskets and Their Environment
    Handling Basketry
    Treating Baskets
    Care of Baskets in Storage
    Care of Baskets on Exhibit
    Conclusion

Logistics: Participants in Care of Baskets work through sections on
their own. Materials and resources include online literature, slide
lectures and dialog between students and the instructor through
online forums.

Care of Baskets runs four weeks. To reserve a spot in the course,
please pay at <URL:http://www.collectioncare.org/tas/tas.html> If
you have trouble please contact Helen Alten
<helen<-at->collectioncare<.>org>

The Instructor:

    Helen Alten, is the Director of Northern States Conservation
    Center and its chief Objects Conservator. For nearly 30 years
    she has been involved in objects conservation, starting as a
    pre-program intern at the Oriental Institute in Chicago and the
    University Museum of the University of Pennsylvania. She
    completed a degree in Archaeological Conservation and Materials
    Science from the Institute of Archaeology at the University of
    London in England. She has built and run conservation
    laboratories in Bulgaria, Montana, Greece, Alaska and Minnesota.

    She has a broad understanding of three-dimensional materials and
    their deterioration, wrote and edited the quarterly Collections
    Caretaker, maintains the popular
    <URL:http://www.collectioncare.org> web site, lectures
    throughout the United States on collection care topics, was
    instrumental in developing a state-wide protocol for disaster
    response in small Minnesota museums, has written, received and
    reviewed grants for NEH and IMLS, worked with local foundations
    funding one of her pilot programs, and is always in search of
    the perfect museum mannequin.

    She has published chapters on conservation and deterioration of
    archeological glass with the Materials Research Society and the
    York Archaeological Trust, four chapters on different mannequin
    construction techniques in Museum Mannequins: A Guide for
    Creating the Perfect Fit (2002), preservation planning,
    policies, forms and procedures needed for a small museum in The
    Minnesota Alliance of Local History Museums' Collection
    Initiative Manual, and is co-editor of the penultimate book on
    numbering museum collections (still in process) by the Gilcrease
    Museum in Oklahoma. Helen Alten has been a Field Education
    Director, Conservator, and staff trainer. She began working with
    people from small, rural, and tribal museums while as the state
    conservator for Montana and Alaska. Helen currently conducts
    conservation treatments and operates a conservation center in
    Charleston, WV and St. Paul, MN.


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 23:27
                Distributed: Thursday, January 28, 2010
                       Message Id: cdl-23-27-006
                                  ***