Judy Logan Retires
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CCI Newsletter, No. 37, Spring 2006
Judy Logan Retires
by Charlotte Newton, Conservator, Archaeology, CCI
Judy Logan retired from the Archaeology Lab at the Canadian Conservation Institute on April 5, 2006 after more than 33 years with the Government of Canada.
The facts of Judy’s career can tell only a small part of her story. Her legacy to conservation goes well beyond her work, articles, and presentations. Her great gifts as a professional and a colleague lie in her passion for the field of archaeological conservation and the generosity with which she has shared her knowledge and insights. Anyone lucky enough to have worked with Judy will know exactly what I mean. She cares passionately about archaeological conservation and the part it can play in an archaeological project. She has always been convinced that the two fields should be complementary, that they share the same goal. In fact, this attitude has carried over into all areas of her work and her life — her view that we are all in this together, working towards the same end, and can benefit most from sharing what we do and what we know. She has always been completely openhanded and eager to share her experience, whether with students, interns, co-workers, or the public.
Judy graduated from the University of Calgary in 1971 with a B.A. in Archaeology, and began working shortly thereafter as a Conservation Technician at the Parks Canada Conservation Division in Ottawa. This was the early days of Parks Canada conservation, when the labs were located in cramped quarters in the Keyes Building in the downtown area. Conditions were primitive by today’s standards, with artifact storage in the basement and one lab on the main floor for all types of artifacts and treatments. But the staff was young, enthusiastic, and inventive, drawn from different parts of the world and different backgrounds to help develop the profession of archaeological conservation in Canada. While working at Parks, Judy continued her studies and earned a M.A. in Art Conservation from Queen’s University in Kingston in 1978.
In 1981, Judy joined the Archaeology Lab at CCI. Over the years she worked in a variety of capacities, including Senior Conservator and Chief of the Archaeology and Textiles Division. She also carried out fieldwork on a number of sites, in Canada and abroad. One of the most challenging and exciting was the site of a 16th-century Basque whaling station at Red Bay, Labrador, excavated during the late 1970s and 1980s by Memorial University of Newfoundland. Here she was instrumental in developing techniques for the recovery and treatment of wet organic materials and approaches for dealing with the large number of artifacts found on a well-preserved historic site.
Throughout her career, Judy was active in numerous archaeological and conservation professional associations, including the Canadian Association for Conservation of Cultural Property, the ICOM Committee for Conservation Metals Working Group, the ICOM Committee for Conservation Waterlogged Organic Materials Working Group, the Canadian Archaeological Association, the Society for Historical Archaeology, and the Archaeological Institute of America. She also authored more than 30 journal and newsletter articles, and developed and delivered many workshops and seminars on the recovery, care, and conservation of archaeological collections and materials.
Judy will truly be missed as part of the daily life of CCI, but will undoubtedly continue to pursue her dedication to archaeology and conservation in the future. We will all benefit from that.
We wish Judy (and her cats) all the best in their future adventures.
