May 16 Election results
New VCA Officers and Committee Chairs
- President Rick Vogt
- Vice President Marla Curtis
- Secretary Beth Fulton
- Programs Co-chair Mary Scott Andrews
- Publications Chair Patricia Selinger
July 15-19
VCA Workshop
Modular Cleaning Program
The Modular Cleaning Program is a systematic approach to cleaning works of art utilizing water-borne systems, solvents, solvent gels and emulsions. This five-day workshop will provide conservators with a series of concentrated aqueous stock solutions, modular solvent gels, and the materials to mix a range of emulsions and microemulsions. The provided database, The Modular Cleaning Program, assists the conservator in formulating and combining stock solutions, which allows the conservator to create optimized cleaning solutions for more precise and tailored treatments.
The workshop consists of approximately 2 days of lecture interspersed into the hands-on workshop. The lectures present the scientific underpinnings of aqueous and solvent solubility theory in as non-technical terms as possible. The goal is to make the participants comfortable with the theoretical underpinnings of cleaning and give them the tools to manipulate that knowledge to customize cleaning systems. The more precisely a cleaning system can be matched to a particular cleaning challenge, the better the success of the overall conservation treatment.
Participants will have the chance to apply what they have learned during lectures at lab time. Initially, the participants will mix the stock solutions, both contributing to the set of solutions they will take back to their studios, but also getting comfortable with mixing solutions, using pH meters and seeing how pH affects the chemistry of the materials we use. While the instructor is a paintings conservator, the theories and solutions can be, and are being applied to many different conservation cleaning problems. Treatments on and discussion about other art materials are welcomed and benefit everyone as these allow the theory to be better understood.
Registration will be on a first-come-first-served basis and all fees are due at time of registration. Participation for this workshop is by order of enrollment and is limited to 20 participants. Participants must have professional experience in conservation or have completed substantial study, and have a working knowledge of basic laboratory procedures and safety.
VCA in the News
The VCA is a partner with the
Virginia Association of Museums in the
Virginia Collections Initiative, part of
the IMLS Connecting to Collections program
VCA Newsletters
May 2013 VCA Newsletter
Newsletter Archive
