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CCI Newsletter, No. 38, 2007

CCI Services: Lectures, Workshops, and Site Visits

In cooperation with provincial museum and art gallery associations, CCI responds to specific needs within the heritage community by offering workshops, lectures, and site visits related to the conservation and care of museum and art gallery collections. CCI staff also participate in and present lectures to meetings of professional groups and associations.

For the period April 1 to December 31, 2006, CCI staff were involved in the following activities:

Conferences/Meetings

American Association of Museums Annual Meeting, Boston, MA, –May 1, 2006
Jeanne Inch attended.

American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works — Wooden Artifacts Group Conference, Winterthur, DE, April 30, 2006
James Hay attended a presentation by French curators, gilders, and furniture conservators concerning French styles, ideas, and techniques in furniture conservation.

Canadian Museums Association 59th Annual Conference, Saint John, NB, May 2–6, 2006
Charlie Costain was a member of the conference organizing committee; Jeanne Inch, Stefan Michalski, Julie Murtagh, Nancy Binnie, Shanna Stevens, and Lucie Paquette attended; and everyone assisted in staffing the CCI booth.

Building a Digital Preservation Infrastructure, Quebec City, QC, May 12, 2006
Charlie Costain attended this meeting, which examined ways to build Canada’s capacity to preserve digital content. The results were fed into the National Summit on the Canadian Digital Information Strategy, which was held in December 2006.

Canadian Association for Conservation of Cultural Property 32nd Annual Conference, Toronto, ON, May 17–19, 2006
Season Tse presented “Risk Assessment of Iron Gall Ink Collections”; Michael Harrington presented “Mould Remediation, Laboratory Retrofit and Mechanical Upgrading at the Canadian Conservation Institute”; Roberta Partridge and Clark Theobald (Perth Museum) presented “The Daverne Journal Rebound!”; Marie-Claude Corbeil, together with Barbara Klempan, presented “A Technical and Scientific Study of Two of A.Y. Jackson’s Paintboxes” (co-authored by Jennifer Poulin and Philip Cook); Robert Arnold and Shanna Stevens attended; and everyone assisted in staffing the CCI booth.

Canadian Association of Professional Conservators Annual General Meeting, Toronto, ON, May 17, 2006
Robert Arnold attended in his capacity as Treasurer on the Board of Directors.

Imaging Science and Technology Archiving 3rd Conference, Ottawa, Ontario, May 23–26, 2006
Joe Iraci attended.

Bay Area Conservation Guild Meeting, San Francisco, CA, May 25, 2006
Tom Stone presented “Artifacts Revisited: Assessing Treatments.”

International Council of Museums (ICOM) Advisory Committee 68th Session, Paris, France, May 29–31, 2006
Marie-Claude Corbeil attended the meeting as Vice-chair of the International Council of Museums - Committee for Conservation (ICOM-CC).

Field Editors of AATA Online Meeting, Los Angeles, CA, June 5–6, 2006
Marie-Claude Corbeil attended the meeting, which was hosted by the Getty Conservation Institute.

American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works 34th Annual Conference (“Using Artifacts — Is Conservation Compromised?”), Providence, Rhode Island, June 16–19, 2006
Renée Dancause presented “Reconstruction, Reproduction, Replication, Re-creation: Synonyms in the Historic Costume and Textile Conservation Literature? A Matter of Perspective”; Bob Barclay presented “The Stradivarius and the DC-3”; James Hay attended to informally present ideas to the Wooden Artifacts Group for a workshop on housekeeping in historic houses; Shanna Stevens and Greg Hill also attended; and everyone assisted in staffing the CCI booth.

“Teamwork for Integrated Emergency Management” follow-up workshop (organized by the Getty Conservation Institute, International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), and ICOM), Seoul, South Korea, June 19–21, 2006
David Tremain attended.

ICOM Canada Board of Directors Meeting, Montreal, QC, June 20, 2006
Marie-Claude Corbeil attended the meeting, which was hosted by the Centre des sciences.

Alberta Museums Association Annual Conference, Calgary, AB, September 28–30, 2006
Jeanne Inch and Shanna Stevens staffed the CCI booth.

Museum Association of Newfoundland and Labrador Annual Conference, Burin, NL, September 30, 2006
Charlie Costain presented “CCI Services Post-Remediation.”

Société des musées québécois Annual Conference, Saguenay, QC, October 2–5, 2006
Lise Perron-Croteau presented “La planification de la relève à l’ICC (“Succession Planning at CCI”); Carole Lapointe also attended and both of them staffed the CCI booth.

Society of Vertebrate Paleontology 66th Annual Meeting, Ottawa, ON, October 18–21, 2006
Malcolm Bilz presented “The Treatment of the Hagerman Petrified Log”; Jane Sirois presented “Characterization of Fossilized Dinosaur Bones” (co-authored by Elzbieta Kaminska); and Tara Grant presented a poster “Conservation Treatment of Equus lambei.”

Ontario Museum Association Annual Conference, Owen Sound, ON, October 19–20, 2006
Cliff Cook and David Grattan staffed the CCI booth.

X-Ray Fluorescence of Pesticide Residues Meeting, hosted by Arizona State Museum, Tucson, AZ, October 23, 2006
Jane Sirois attended.

ICOM-CC Board of Directors Meeting, Los Angeles, CA, October 25–29, 2006
Marie-Claude Corbeil (Vice-chair of ICOM-CC) attended the meeting, which was hosted by the Getty Conservation Institute.

AV Preservation Trust Masterworks Symposium, Toronto, Canada, October 26, 2006
Joe Iraci staffed the CCI booth.

Pacific Conservation Group Meeting, Victoria, BC, November 3, 2006
Malcolm Bilz presented “Mould Remediation, Laboratory Retrofit and Mechanical Upgrading at the Canadian Conservation Institute” (prepared by Michael Harrington).

ICCROM Council Workshop and Meeting, ICCROM Headquarters, Rome, Italy, November 13–17, 2006
Charlie Costain organized a workshop on “Policy Governance” for the Council on November 13 and 14, and participated in Council meetings on November 15–17, 2006.

8th International Symposium on Wood and Furniture Conservation (“Empire Furniture”), Amsterdam, Netherlands, November 17–18, 2006
Alastair Fox presented “Traditional Scottish Cabinetmaking and the Canadian Climate.”

ICOM Canada Board of Directors Meeting, Montreal, QC, November 24, 2006
Marie-Claude Corbeil attended the meeting, which was hosted by the Centre des sciences.

Library and Archives Canada “Toward a Canadian Digital Information Strategy: National Summit”, Montebello, QC, December 5–6, 2006
Jeanne Inch attended.

“Cultural Heritage and Science: An Interdisciplinary Approach for the Conservation of Museum Objects” (COST strategic workshop), Ghent, Belgium, December 5–7, 2006
Marie-Claude Corbeil presented “ICOM-CC: Promoting Multidisciplinary Research in the Field of Cultural Heritage” as Vice-Chair of ICOM-CC.

Workshops

Assessing Risk to Heritage Collections in Small Museums was co-presented by Stefan Michalski, Nancy Binnie, and Julie Murtagh on May 2, 2006, in Saint John, NB (presented in conjunction with the 59th Annual Conference of the Canadian Museums Association).

Risk Management for Cultural Institutions and Collections was co-presented by Stefan Michalski, Agnes Brokerhof (Senior Scientist at the Netherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage), and Robert Waller (Chief Conservator at the Canadian Museum of Nature) on May 15–16, 2006, in Toronto, ON (presented in conjunction with the 32nd Annual Conference of the Canadian Association for Conservation of Cultural Property).

L’emballage et le transport des oeuvres et des objets de musée (“Packing and Shipping of Cultural Property”) was co-presented by Paul Marcon and France Remillard (Centre de Conservation du Québec (CCQ)), in collaboration with the Société des musées Québécois, on May 17–18, 2006 at CCQ in Quebec, QC.

Heritage and Facility Planning was co-presented by Siegfried Rempel and Brian Laurie-Beaumont for the British Columbia Museum Association on September 16–17, 2006 in Vernon, BC, and on September 23–24, 2006 in North Vancouver, BC.

Emergency and Disaster Preparedness for Cultural Institutions was co-presented by Deborah Stewart and David Tremain on September 18–19, 2006 for the Council of Nova Scotia Archives in Halifax, NS, and on September 21–22, 2006 for Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management in Halifax, NS. It was also co-presented by Deborah Stewart, David Tremain, and Michael Harrington on October 16–17, 2006 for the Federation of Nova Scotia Heritage in Lunenburg, NS.

Environmental Guidelines was co-presented by Jean Tétreault and Cliff Cook on September 18–19, 2006 for the Ontario Association of Art Galleries in London, ON.

Preservation Management for Seasonal Museums was presented by Deborah Stewart on October 12, 2006 for the Lanark County Museums Association in Almonte, ON.

Adhesives for Paleontology Collections was presented by Jane Down on October 16–17, 2006 at Parks Canada in Ottawa, ON (presented in conjunction with the 66th Annual Meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology).

Reducing Risks to Collections was co-presented by Stefan Michalski and Jean Tétreault, in collaboration with ICCROM, the Netherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage (ICN), and the Canadian Museum of Nature (CMN), on October 16–27, 2006 in Ottawa, ON.

Salvaging Water-damaged Collections was co-presented by Deborah Stewart, David Tremain, and Michael Harrington on October 18, 2006 at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax, NS.

Preservation Housekeeping in Historic House Museums was co-presented by Janet Mason, Alastair Fox, and James Hay on October 23–24, 2006 for the Ontario Museum Association in Napanee, ON.

Treatment of Waterlogged Wood and Leather was co-presented by Tara Grant and Malcolm Bilz on November 1–2, 2006 for the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria, BC.

Preservation of Historical Furniture was co-presented by James Hay and Alastair Fox on November 2–3, 2006 to students in the Master of Art Conservation program at Queen’s University in Kingston, ON.

Thinking Inside the Box: Understanding Crating was co-presented by Paul Marcon, Jean Tétreault, Lucie Paquette, Mervin Richard (National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC), Brandy Coughler and David Bedard (Canadian Food Inspection Agency), Simon Trillwood (Topax Export Packaging), and Sheridan Cummings and Jeff Lamberton (Design Fabrication) on November 7–9, 2006 at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, ON.

Lectures

“Pesticide Contamination of Museum Objects” was co-presented by Jane Sirois and Jessica Johnson of the National Museum of the American Indian, on April 26, 2006 to a meeting of Health Canada and the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, DC.

“Risk Management for Works of Art in Transit” was presented by Paul Marcon on September 4, 2006 at the International Seminar on the Impact of Loan Traffic on Works of Art at the Ethnographic Museum, Berlin, Germany.

“The Forensics of Art Fraud” was presented by Marie-Claude Corbeil on September 13, 2006 to the Capital Crime Writers Association in Ottawa.

“Longevity of Modern Information Carriers” was presented by Joe Iraci on September 28, 2006 at the Canadian Conservation Institute in Ottawa, ON, to students and teachers from Queen’s University and Fleming College.

“Considerations and Analytical Approaches for Dealing with Contaminated Collections” was co-presented by Jane Sirois and Jessica Johnson on November 6, 2006 at Buffalo State College to students in the Master of Conservation program.

“Digital Imaging” was presented by Carl Bigras on November 15, 2006 at Queen’s University in Kingston, ON, to students in the Master of Art Conservation program.

“Mould in Heritage Collections” was presented by Maureen MacDonald on November 17, 2006 at Fleming College, Peterborough, ON, to students in the Collections Conservation and Management and Museum Management and Curatorship programs.

“Emergency and Disaster Preparedness” was presented by Cliff Cook on November 20, 2006 for the Waterloo-Wellington Museums Art Gallery Network in Smiths Fall, ON.

“Metals and Corrosion” was presented by Lyndsie Selwyn on November 23, 2006, at Fleming College in Peterborough, ON, to students in the Collections Conservation and Management program.

“Responding to Emergencies: A Cooperative Effort” was presented by David Tremain on December 4, 2006 to the Association of Records Managers & Administrators, National Capital Region chapter.

Site visits for facilities development or upgrading

Site visits conducted by Siegfried Rempel, Brian Laurie-Beaumont, and/or Cliff Cook include the following:

British Columbia — Whistler Museum & Archives, Whistler; Coqualeetza Cultural Education Centre, Chilliwack; Delta Museum and Archives, Delta.

Manitoba — Indian Residential School Museum of Canada, Portage la Prairie.

Ontario — Ontario Jewish Archives, Toronto; Doris McCarthy Gallery at the University of Toronto, Scarborough; The Cobalt Northern Ontario Mining Museum, Cobalt; Zurakowski Park, Barry’s Bay; Sharon Temple, Sharon.

Quebec — Exporail, Saint-Constant; Musée des Beaux-Arts de Sherbrooke and Galerie d’art du Centre culturel de l’Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke.

Nova Scotia — Mi’kmaq Cultural Network of Nova Scotia and Africville Baptist Church, Halifax; Membertou Heritage Centre, Sydney.

Prince Edward Island — Mi’kmaq Confederacy of PEI, Summerside.

Newfoundland and Labrador — Them Days Labrador Archives, College of the North Atlantic Archives, Mealy Mountain Collegiate Auditorium, and Nunatsiavut Cultural Centre, Happy Valley-Goose Bay.

Other site visits

Zoo de Granby, Granby, QC — On April 13, 2006, James Hay and Wendy Baker examined two West Coast totem poles and prepared a condition report and treatment proposal for them.

St. Ninian’s Cathedral, Antigonish, NS — From April 23 to 29, 2006, Wendy Baker and Helen McKay carried out a feasibility study for the removal of overpaints from the painted architectural surfaces.

Centre de conservation du Québec, Quebec, QC — On April 25, 2006, James Hay and Alastair Fox attended a presentation by French furniture conservator Philippe Guerin, concerning conservation of furniture covered with marquetry.

Adirondack Museum, near Blue Mountain Lake, NY — On May 2, 2006, James Hay conferred with Ms. Doreen Alessi, Conservator, to discuss her approaches to birch bark repairs on furniture, pest control in a rural museum, and readying the museum for re-opening each year.

Glanmore National Historic Site, Belleville, ON — On May 11, 2006, Nancy Binnie, James Bourdeau, James Hay, Michael Harrington, and Cliff Cook carried out a site tour of this historic house museum including artifact storage areas and rooms open to the public to help establish an overall treatment plan for the historic interior. On July 23, 2006, Robert Arnold provided advice on the current condition of the painting The Gameskeepers by artist Horatio Couldry, treated 10 years ago at CCI.

Trent Severn Waterway National Historic Site, ON — From June 5 to 16, 2006, Nancy Binnie assisted the Underwater Archaeological Services Unit of Parks Canada in survey work on historic and prehistoric submerged cultural resource sites on the Trent Canal, including the Otonabee and Cameron rivers, Lake Katchewanooka, Cameron Lake, and Balsam Lake.

Musée d’art contemporain, Montreal, QC — On June 21, 2006, Marie-Claude Corbeil sampled several paintings by Jean McEwen to investigate delamination problems often observed in paintings by this artist.

Hall Beach, NU — From July 6 to 30, 2006, Tara Grant provided conservation field services and a field school for an excavation of a Thule site. The excavation, jointly funded by the Department of Culture, Language and Elders and the Inuit Heritage Trust, brought together eleven students from various communities across Nunavut.

Charron Lake, MB — From July 7 to 13, 2006, Nancy Binnie assisted the Western Canada Aviation Museum (WCAM) and the Fokker Aircraft Recovery Team in the handling and packing of artifacts recovered from a Fokker Standard Universal float plane. Artifacts were transported back to the WCAM in Winnipeg, and on July 13, Nancy gave a presentation to WCAM museum staff on the activities at the field camp and the condition of the materials recovered.

Parliament Hill, Ottawa, ON — On July 24, 2006, James Hay and Alastair Fox completed repairs to the floor of the Office of the Speaker of the House.

Rideau Hall (official residence of the Governor General of Canada), Ottawa, ON — On July 26, 2006, Nancy Binnie and Alastair Fox carried out a historic paint investigation for the front entrance hallway.

Guy-Favraux Complex, Longueuil, QC — On July 29, 2006, Wendy Baker and Robert Arnold examined the aluminum sculpture Sugar Cube by artist Ulysses Comtois, to assess its condition and advise on its conservation needs.

Saint-Joachim, QC — On August 4, 2006, Marie-Claude Corbeil sampled an Aide-Créquy painting in the church of Saint-Joachim as part of a research project on the materials and techniques of this 18th-century artist. She also visited the Centre de conservation du Québec to sample artifacts for which analysis was requested.

National Gallery of Canada and Art Bank, Ottawa, ON — From September 11 to 14, 2006, Marie-Claude Corbeil sampled paintings by Marcelle Ferron and Rita Letendre as part of a study of the materials and techniques of these two artists in relation to Quebec painting in the 1950s and 1960s.

Fanshawe Pioneer Village, London, ON — On September 12 and 13, 2006, Nancy Binnie and Alastair Fox investigated the historic paint chronologies in the Purple Hill Loyal Orange Lodge and Stirton House.

Simcoe County Museum, Minesing, ON — From September 27 to 29, 2006, Nancy Binnie and Alastair Fox carried out a historic paint investigation in Cedar View Cottage, Vespra Anglican Christ Church, Guilford Train Station, and Spearin Log Home.

Supreme Court of Canada, Ottawa, ON — On October 3, 2006, James Hay conferred on details of the preservation housekeeping plan being created.

Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, ON — Between October 23 and December 15, 2006, Wendy Baker and Robert Arnold visited the museum several times to provide advice and hands-on assistance in the salvage of sections of several dioramas and arch paintings prior to the demolition for renovation of the east wing.

Mennonite Heritage Village, Steinbach, MB — From October 25 to 27, 2006, Wendy Baker examined the outdoor monuments, grave markers, and section of the Berlin wall to advise on their condition and maintenance.

Tofino, BC — On November 5, 2006, Tara Grant and Malcolm Bilz examined and sampled an anchor and trade beads to prepare a condition report and treatment proposal for the Alberni Valley Museum.

Library and Archives Canada Preservation Centre, Gatineau, QC — On November 22 and 23, 2006, Jane Sirois undertook X-ray fluorescence analysis and sampling of inks from two treaty documents as part of a pilot project on the Analysis and Characterization of the Treaties, being led by Greg Young. Scott Williams, Greg Young, Nancy Binnie, and Season Tse were also on-site performing various analyses.

Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, ON — On December 1, 2006, Bob Barclay examined a ca. 1600 double-bass attributed to Gasparo da Salo of Brescia with a view to advising on its restoration and preservation.

Ile Notre-Dame, Montreal, QC — On December 15, 2006, James Hay and David Grattan examined a West Coast totem pole for the City of Montreal in order to propose treatment for it.

Awards/Recognition

CCI is proud of the talent, commitment, and dedication of its staff, and is pleased to provide a program of awards to recognize their contributions to the Institute.

The Bon Appétit Award is presented biannually in recognition of exceptional contributions to the achievement of CCI’s mission, goals, and objectives. The Summer 2006 award was presented to Vee Sullivan.

The Team Work Award is presented annually to honour a team that exemplifies the effectiveness of working together and makes a significant contribution to the achievement of CCI’s mission, goals, and objectives. The 2006 recipients were Alastair Fox, James Hay, Janet Mason, Julie Murtagh, and Deborah Stewart who worked together to develop the Preservation Housekeeping in Historic House Museums workshop.

The Technical Achievement Award is presented annually for exceptional technical achievements that increase the effectiveness of CCI’s organization or business practices in the delivery of conservation services, or advance knowledge in conservation science, conservation treatment, or preventive conservation. The 2006 winner was Lyndsie Selwyn.

Comings and Goings

We are pleased to announce the appointment of two new managers in Conservation and Scientific Services — James Bourdeau and Elisabeth Joy.

James Bourdeau came “back” to CCI in August 2006 as Manager of Fine Arts, Paper, and Textiles. Although a staff member since 1992, James has been physically absent from the Institute for the last 4 years, working as Senior Collections Preservation Advisor for the Parliamentary Precinct. During that time he played a leadership role in assuring the preservation of the heritage collections in the Parliamentary Precinct, and succeeded in instilling a professional approach to the care and management of these collections. James is a graduate of the Master of Art Conservation (paintings) program at Queen’s University and has extensive conservation experience including work with the Agnes Etherington Art Centre, the Centre de conservation du Québec, the Musée du Québec, and the National Archives of Canada, as well as many years with CCI. We congratulate him on his new position as Manager.

Elisabeth Joy was named Manager of Objects, Industrial Collections, Archaeology, and Furniture in November 2006, and joined our staff in February 2007. Prior to her arrival at CCI, Elisabeth was the Supervisor, Collections and Conservation at the City of Toronto Culture Division, a position she has held since 2001. Elisabeth is a graduate of the Conservation program at Fleming College in Peterborough, and also has two Master’s degrees: one in conservation from the Université de Paris, and a second in Public Administration from the École nationale d’administration publique in Quebec. Her numerous activities in the conservation profession over the past 25 years include work for the Parks Canada Quebec region from 1982 to 1992, and a position as conservator for the Musée de la civilisation in Quebec from 1992 to 2001. We are excited to welcome her to the CCI managment team.

Another new face at CCI is Edith Gendron, who arrived in July 2006 to take on responsibilities as CCI’s new Policy and Planning Analyst in Business Planning and Administration (BPA). Edith holds an M.A. in Political Science from the University of Ottawa and has a strong background in policy and program development, strategic planning, and project management. She is a welcome addition to our staff, and we look forward to her input and guidance.

Also joining BPA were Rachelle Thériault and Jean Boucher.

Rachelle Thériault arrived in June 2006 for a one-year secondment as Administrative Assistant to Lise Perron-Croteau, Director of BPA. Rachelle comes to us from the Cultural Affairs Sector of the Department of Canadian Heritage, and has extensive experience in finance and administration. After only a few months with CCI, she was convinced that this was the place to be — and we agree! Rachelle joined our staff on a permanent basis in November 2006.

June 2006 also marked the arrival of Jean Boucher in the Building Services Division of BPA. Jean is here as a Building Services Assistant, on a one-year secondment from his permanent position as a Material Management Officer with the Citizen Participation Branch of the Department of Canadian Heritage. He is a much appreciated addition to our staff, dealing with numerous construction-related demands as well as responding to our day-to-day needs.

And finally we welcome Joanne Forget, who was named Sales and Distribution Coordinator for the Information Services and Marketing (ISM) Directorate in August 2006, following an open, Canada-wide competition. Joanne has a Diploma in Business Administration from the Heritage College in Gatineau. Prior to joining CCI, she worked for Bell Canada analysing and forecasting sales and revenue trends, and in a call centre dealing with billing and service issues. Her education, experience, and strong interpersonal skills should prove invaluable in her new job.