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April 2010
 - Vol 4, No 2
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The Vitrolite Building, home of the ICA Conservation Center. Photo by Chuck Mintz.


I am constantly impressed by my fellow staff at the ICA, not just their skills and experience but also their passionate dedication to what we do. A number of the staff are ICA members and even donors to the organization. A co-worker said to me recently, "Why did I become a member of the ICA? It's not just my work; it's a commitment. My membership supports the ICA's vision and gives me a chance to advocate our mission of art preservation and education." Our goal is to inspire the public with that same sense of opportunity and civic responsibility. If after reading about just some of our current initiatives, you would also like to support the ongoing work we do, please contact us.
One of the Hayes Center chairs with its reproduction textile.
In 2007, the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center received a $400,000 matching grant from Save America's Treasures to restore rooms in Spiegal Grove, the Hayes home in Fremont, Ohio. ICA Textile Conservator Jane Hammond was asked to join a team selecting period-appropriate fabrics for the rooms, and conserving original materials.

One small component of the project is reupholstering two chairs. The chairs are different styles but had been refashioned with matching modern seat covers. After removing the contemporary materials, Hammond found the earlier fabric panels that were on the chairs during Hayes' lifetime. The older of the two still has its original rush-bottom seat under that fabric.

It is rare to find original cover fabric remaining on a chair seat of this period because of the long-standing tradition of reupholstery. In most cases a commercial upholsterer was used, who stripped the chair bare and disposed of unwanted older fabrics. Chair frames were also repaired using contemporary techniques and materials, rather than historically correct ones.

Upholstery conservation, on the other hand, promotes increased awareness of the importance and scarcity of original upholstery material, and aims to preserve existing evidence on the frame, including historic materials and techniques. Missing elements are replaced or rebuilt with new conservation-grade materials, using minimally intrusive and reversible techniques. When possible, alternative methods of reupholstering are applied to minimize or eliminate damage to the frame and retain original under-upholstery.

Hammond removed the more complete of the two original seat panels for photo documentation. She wet-cleaned it, realigning fibers and stabilizing tears. It was decided that high-resolution images would be used to reproduce the pattern digitally, because recreating the complex weave structure of the fabric would be prohibitively expensive. First2Print, a large-format fabric printing company in New York City, manufactured the textiles with which Jane is now covering the chairs. They offer the appearance of the period textiles at a cost the Hayes Presidential Center could afford. Meanwhile, the original seat fabric of one chair has been covered with a protective overlay and retained, in place, as an historical document.
Marina Bay Sands Singapore
The ICA was recently asked to send a conservator to a new hotel complex being constructed in Singapore. The Marina Bay Sands, one of the first hotel and casino resorts ever built in the Asian city-state, is nearing completion.

In addition to the three-tower, 55-story hotel and casino, the campus includes a museum and numerous contemporary art installations. ICA has been asked to examine the art works on-site and prepare detailed instructions for their ongoing care and maintenance. Objects Conservator Mark Erdmann made a first visit in late March.

This is an exciting opportunity, but certainly not the first international project that ICA conservators have worked on. Staff have traveled to Japan, Switzerland, Norway and India, and a piece from a Swedish collection is currently being treated in the paintings lab. ICA also has a long tradition of welcoming international conservation fellows, from countries including France, Japan, Spain, South Korea and Lithuania.
C2C Logo
In February 2009, the State Library of Ohio and the Ohio Historical Society were awarded an Institute of Museum and Library Services Connecting to Collections Planning Grant. Entitled "Ohio Heritage Partnership: A Statewide Initiative," the project will begin to address deficiencies in the care and preservation of Ohio's cultural heritage.

The Connecting to Collections grant program grew out of the 2005 publication A Public Trust at Risk: The Heritage Heath Index Report on the State of America's Collections, a joint project of Heritage Preservation and IMLS. The report concluded that our nation's objects and documents are imperiled and in need of immediate action.

The ICA was honored to be asked to serve as a principal project partner for this important endeavor. ICA staff will be participating in both a statewide summit and regional meetings to be held across Ohio this summer. A survey of the state's collecting institutions will also be completed and disseminated as part of the project. If you would like more information, or to learn how your institution can participate, contact ICA Director of Education Nicole Hayes.
Redesigned AMIEN Homepage
Three years after its debut, the Art Materials Information and Education Network, or AMIEN, has been redesigned. The website remains a free service, with moderated forums in which users can request unbiased information about artists' materials. AMIEN receives an average of 18,000 to 20,000 unique visits each month and is one of the most successful parts of the ICA's education and outreach program.

Staff is currently at work on a redesign of the main ICA website. We plan to more thoughtfully integrate elements such as blogging functionality, and image and video content. Our YouTube channel has proved very popular, with a number of subscribers and our videos viewed thousands of times. Our Facebook page is also frequently visited and after only six months has more than 250 self-subscribed "fans" of the ICA from around the globe.
A small section of the new ICA library/archive.
The ICA is working with a graduate student from the Kent State University School of Library and Information Science to process and rehouse our own internal archive. Over the course of nearly six decades in operation, the ICA has generated an enormous amount of material related to the treatment of the region's cultural treasures. Our holdings include x-rays, slides, pigment samples, photographs and paper documentation. We also hold a library of over 1,500 volumes on conservation and preservation topics.

This is the first in a series of projects that will prepare us to celebrate our 60th anniversary in 2012. It is our hope that the library will not only serve the needs of ICA staff and clients, but will also be an invaluable resource to those interested in the history and evolution of the field of fine art conservation.
MayDay 2010 Logo
May is the busiest month of the year for preservation enthusiasts! Since 1971, May has been designated by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as "Preservation Month" to spotlight grassroots architectural preservation efforts around the United States. Each commemoration has a different theme and this year's is "Old is the New Green!"

In addition, this year the American Library Association will launch its first "Preservation Week," May 9-15, with an emphasis on collecting and caring for objects of family and community significance. ALA has created a website for the event and is encouraging libraries across the country to use this opportunity to highlight themselves as tremendous resources for preservation information.

And Heritage Preservation continues to celebrate May Day on the first of the month by asking collecting institutions to "do one thing" to improve their disaster preparedness. Readers of this newsletter will remember that the ICA won a prize from Heritage Preservation last year after completing an all-staff building safety review on May Day.
Pucell's "Black Family of Man"

February was Black History Month and ICA was privileged to treat this striking set of sculptures belonging to long-time ICA member institution, the Cleveland Public Library. Alan Pucell's "Black Family of Man" was created in 1979 from trees cut down in Cleveland's Flats District. Pucell, a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Art, carved the four heads over two winters in his unheated studio in the Flats. The sculptures now reside at the Glenville branch of the library.
Young artists create the Slavic Village mural.
April 17, 2010
12PM-3PM
13th Annual Broadway/Slavic Village Neighborhood Summit
Historic Bohemian National Hall, 4939 Broadway Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44127
The theme of this year's summit is "Broadway's Creative: Past, Present, Future" and ICA was pleased to be invited to participate with other Cleveland-area performing and creative arts organizations. All are welcome to attend this neighborhood event; for additional details visit the Slavic Village Development website.

April 18, 2010
2PM-5PM
Hidden Cleveland Tour
ICA will be one stop on this year's Hidden Cleveland tour, offered by the Downtown Cleveland Alliance. The tour is intended to give Clevelanders a chance to explore the "hidden spaces" of the city. Each tour ends at a local restaurant and includes light appetizers and drink specials. Tourgoers travel between venues on Lolly the Trolley. Tickets are $25 and must be purchased in advance. To register, call 216-736-7799 or visit the DCA website.

April 26, 2010
Ohio Museums Association 2010 Annual Conference
Cherry Valley Lodge, 2299 Cherry Valley Road, Newark, OH 43055
ICA staff are offering two presentations at this year's conference:
  • 1:45-3PM ICA Paper Conservator Jamye Jamison, "Conservation Connection: Building a Successful Conservation Program in a Small Museum"
  • 3:45-5PM ICA Materials Research Director Mark Gottsegen, "Color: Theory and Practice for Art Historians and Curators"
For additional conference information and registration details, visit the OMA website.

May 1-May 31, 2010
National Preservation Month
Raise awareness about the power historic preservation has to protect and enhance our homes, neighborhoods and communities. Sponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

May 1, 2010
MayDay!
Do one thing to improve your organization's emergency preparedness. Sponsored by Heritage Preservation.

May 1, 2010
Deadline for the Optium Conservation Grant Program
This grant, funded by Tru Vue and administered by the FAIC, supports projects in glazing applications for the preservation of museum and library collections. Each year, up to four awards of $4,000 each, plus donated Tru VueŽ OptiumŽ materials, will be made available to qualifying museums and libraries. Details and application can be found here.

May 1-2, 2010
33rd Annual Ohio Civil War Collectors Show
Richland County Fairgrounds, Mansfield, OH
The ICA will have an informational table at this annual memorabilia fair, one of the largest in the country. Admission is $5 per person (children under 12 admitted free) with parking included. For additional information, visit the event website.

May 3, 2010 7PM-8:30PM
Preserving Our Cultural Heritage
Washington-Centerville Public Library, 111 W. Spring Valley Road, Centerville, OH 45458
ICA and the Ohio Preservation Council jointly developed this free, statewide preservation outreach initiative. Topics covered will include: a definition of preservation; the difference between preservation and conservation; appropriate types of supplies; disaster preparedness; print and online resources; and strategies for preservation fundraising. To register, contact Director of Education Nicole Hayes. Please ensure that we have adequate handouts by registering no later than April 28th.

May 7, 2010
10AM-3PM
Ohio Connecting to Collections Summit
OCLC Headquarters, 6565 Kilgour Place, Dublin, OH 43017
Invitations and agendas for this statewide summit will be mailed in early April.

May 8, 2010
2PM-3PM
Mammoths and Mastodons: The Conservation of Viktor Schreckengost's Mosaics at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
Rocky River Public Library, 1600 Hampton Road, Rocky River, OH 44116
ICA Objects Conservation Assistant Anne Goodwill will speak on the history of Viktor Schreckengost's "Mammoths and Mastodons" sculpture, which identified the Pachyderm House at the Cleveland Zoo for over 50 years. This lecture will be offered as part of the 2010 Cowan Pottery Symposium. For additional details and registration information, click here.

May 9-15, 2010
National Preservation Week
Sponsored by the American Library Association.

May 18, 2010
Deadline for submission of applications for NEH Preservation Assistance Grants for Smaller Institutions.

June 12, 2010
10AM-3:30PM (including lunch break and lab tour)
Working Properties of Paper and Adhesives
ICA Conservation Center, 2915 Detroit Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44113
ICA Paper Conservator Jamye Jamison will offer a practicum on the working properties of papers and adhesives. For additional details and registration information, visit the ICA website.
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Nicole M. Hayes, Director of Education and External Relations
Intermuseum Conservation Association

p: 216-658-8700 f: 216-658-8709
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