C+R Workshop at the GMIT Castlebar

During 2019, at the time I was working for Connemara West I got also this offer to give One Day Workshop at the GMIT in Castlebar.

As the year got busy for myself and the students, the workshop got scheduled for the January 22nd.

In this workshop, divided into Theory and Practice, I explained the basics of Conservation of Heritage, making sure that the diverse parts that are compiled in the field were understood.

Preservation, Conservation and Restoration was deeply explained, along with the special care that artists had to take to Heritage and the Materials for them to choose when creating.

Raising awareness was the main reason of this day, not wanting to create more false "Restorations" that would end up in destroying even more our Heritage.

In conclusion, I am really grateful I got this oportunity to show and explain a bit about my career and field of expertise, a job that I enjoy more intensenly every day.

Until the next post!

Conservation Letterfrack, Connemara 2019

As I mentioned in the last post, creating the Catalogue for the Wyatt linked me to this Conservation Company, which was specialized in Furniture Conservation.

With a background of Conservation-Restoration of wooden items and Paintings I happened to be the perfect fit to work on really interesting projects.

Some of this projects were done in days, which would give the chance to see so many different items to work on and take all the knoledge about them.

But there were other projects that were specially waiting for me to be done, and one of them was the Railway Fry Collection:

This collection to be treated had a total of 331 miniatures of railways made out of metal, wood and cardboard. The treatment consisted in :

- Photo ID for the Inventory

- Cleaning

- Assembling loose parts

- Treatment of pests if any

- Coat of protection

- Visual Photo Catalogue for the Museum in Dublin

After four months of work on this collection, it came the time for a mural-painting on a unusual medium: Acrylic on Lino.

The title was "Tir Na Og", an Irish Tale told on 11 panels which belonged to Trinity College in Dublin.

And the last important project that I was able to enjoy: A Balthasar from the Hunt Museum in Limerick.

The part of this job that I enjoyed the most was the work on site: taking part on the Conservation of a Exhibition or the treatment and Inventoring of Historic Houses as many examples. What I take from this experience is the amazing good vibes that we had as a team work. That made my year inso many ways that now is leading me towards what I want it to be my career. And if I need to travel around in order to keep improving my skills, I am eager to keep doing it.

Challenge is part of this job. The search for many ways to conservate a item is also important part of this path. Is not easy, but that is precisely what I enjoy the most.

Even if after 2019 my experience with this company had to end, I am really lucky to have known such an incredible staff and professional of the field. There is always something new to take in every day and that is the beauty of this world.

Until our next encounter.

The Wyatt Hotel Inventory

We are facing the new beginnings for a adult-girl who came to the West of Ireland to improve several skills:

- English

- Self-Discovery

- Art and Design

- Conservation - Restoration

As an important part of the journey it was necessary to go from childminder to waitressing. Connecting with people of another country and culture was essential before approaching my passion.

I happened to be working in an area that was considered an Art Gallery, so I would have the pleasure to study the inspiration and creativity that would give birth to an excellent collection of paintings in this Hotel in particular. The Wyatt Hotel in Westport, Co Mayo.

Several costumers would approach me asking for some information about the artists. Myself, always eager to learn, I enquired if there was any sort of inventory that I could use as a guide. It turned out there was not such accurate piece of information well updated that I could use. The list of preferred Irish Artist were filling a sheet with no photos as a reference.

This was my opportunity to show my skills as a Conservator and "Art Lover" to start a project agreed with the owner of the hotel Noel Kavanagh. I would work on a complete Inventory and Catalogue of his collection and offer to the hotel for use.

The project was really exciting and it needed the assistance of a experienced photographer and friend I met in town: Isabel Puy.

With her, we made our way through the hotel to photograph all the originals I was asked to include in the Catalogue. About 130 pieces were included in this rich collection of paintings, drawings, linocuts, etchings, photographs, ceramics, stained glass, sculptures, murals, and mosaics.

One of most gratifying moment of this experience was to find some notes or details of the artist. I felt like a person finding a treasure at the back of the painting. Some other times, I would need to analyze the signature - in the case it had it - to guess the identity of the artist.

This first attemp of visual cataloguing of the collection would be followed by months of research for artists, work, and biography. Some of the best experiences of this project was the opportunity to talk personally with most of them, interviewing them in search for their passion and background.

I am really glad to say that this project brought me back to the career I love the most: Art and Conservation. And as I got deep into this project I met so many artists and amazing people that gave me the best experience I could ask for.

Suffice to say that this project was my farewell "gift" for the hotel after a few years working and learning from them. But this is is not where my path ends in this field that is my career, because this personal project would lead to a mentor that would connect me with my next job in Conservation.

This is another chapter of the story that I will reveal in the next post.

Thanks for reading!

IAPH 2014-15

It's being a big while since I wrote down my last post, and I feel like my current situation asks me to update my career in English.

It feels weird to look back and see how much I learnt on the way. This is a example of a great opportunity I had to learn and text my skills on Textile Conservation in the IAPH Centre, along with other amazing people and my sister (seen in the photo).

Since the first day I got trained on the very best techniques of sewing, dying textiles, and fibres, etc. There was a lot to study and what I liked the most is that it was indeed another world apart from Sculpture and Painting Conservation.

It requires always a lot of patience and respect when you encounter the piece. But in this case, all that is added to the piece is in a matherial that adapt perfectly in colour and quality. Maths and Chemistry are the perfect frame for this field, as well, but instead of applying layers of paint, calculation needs to be done in order yo get the best colour that match with the area to intervene.

But lifes goes on and brings always new oportunities, so I had to interrupt this lovely experience to go to San Fernando and work for the City Council as a Sculpture Restorer of Urban Heritage along with a group of three more professionals. Check out my last post to see in detail this experience I am talking about.

Once the 6 months were finished I came back to end my internship in the IAPH Centre.

I had the opportunity to work on this unusual canvas which had lost half of the original image. As a way to keep the memory of the lost part, an archival black and white photograph was kept attached on the new lining, joining the cut original piece to the new one to be placed next.

Several text would be needed to be done in order to find the best way to join textile restoration to painting restoration. This project was in conclusion a great experience in the area before leaving the country to follow new ways to conservate Heritage. Ireland was waiting for me so there I went!

Until the next project.