Art Restoration with Kat and Megan:
Weeks 1 and 2
The best thing about being an artist interning at an art restoration company is joining while already understanding the basic nature of an oil painting or an inkjet print. The worst part is being absolutely terrified to rub a canvas with a sponge.
Although art restoration is not my ultimate career goal, this internship has been extremely beneficial and enjoyable so far, and I recommend art restoration as a jumping-off point for other artists.
I’ve been learning the beginning to the end of art restoration, including packaging the pieces to return to the owners and the fact that removing smoke from a damaged painting using a chem sponge (a sponge particularly good at picking up particles) actually does not harm the piece. Art restoration is about returning a damaged piece of art to its original state as best as possible, and reducing the chance for further damage by re-sealing the art so that it’s dust and mold free. Of course, while using chemicals and cleaning mold, we wear face masks and gloves to protect ourselves. There’s something about the professional nature of blue gloves that makes me feel important, and I was disappointed when during an art pick-up I did not get to wear the biohazard suit (because we didn’t end up entering the building).
My alumnus host has given me the opportunity to clean art pieces by myself. For a heavily damaged oil painting of a boat, I gently scrubbed soot from the canvas using a chem sponge, then shifted to a special liquid mixture when the charred piece still needed some work. The colors became so bright and lively after removing the damage from the ocean scene! Although ultimately the piece was too damaged to restore, it was wonderful to see what improvement we could make. After cleaning a piece, I will then clean all parts of the frame, glass, and other necessary pieces before replacing the hardware and recutting foamcore, matte board, and glass when needed. When everything is clean, the piece is put back together and wrapped in foam and paper and labelled before being taken back to the owner.
We go on art pick-ups some days to take the art from the owner’s home, and it’s always a different adventure. During my second week, we picked up art from a home where the pipes had burst, and mold effected most of the art and furniture. When we arrived at the house, all of their belongings were being kept in large metal trash boxes outside, and had been there since February. The art was heavily mold damaged, but we managed to restore most of it.
Next week is another art pick-up, and it’s supposed to be at a very fancy home in NY state. I’m excited to see what we have in store.
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