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Paid Post-graduate Interns at CCI — 2010
Kristen Stockstill

Kristen Stockstill My scholastic trek began in Toronto, Ontario, where I graduated from the University of Toronto in 2003 with an Honours BA in Art History and a double minor in Studio Art and Italian. My next stop was Nanaimo, British Columbia, where I studied Organic Chemistry for 3 years at Vancouver Island University. Finally, I moved to Peterborough, Ontario, where I attended Fleming College, graduating from the Collections Conservation and Management program in July 2009.

As part of my program at Fleming, I undertook a 4-month curriculum internship in the Archaeological Lab at Parks Canada in Ottawa, Ontario. While there, I spent most of my time working with archaeological metals, honing my fine hand skills and learning a few more heavy-handed approaches for larger artifacts. I never thought sand blasting, welding, and riveting were options in conservation but I soon learned that steel wool and cotton swabs are not exactly reasonable options when one is presented with large, heavily corroding, misshapen, iron doors! I completed a subsequent 6-month internship in the same lab during which, in addition to metals, I worked on archaeological organic artifacts including a very interesting and challenging charred turtle carapace.

I also spent some time working at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Quebec. During this fantastic opportunity I helped conservators in various labs and was charged with cleaning the exhibits and maintaining the environmental monitoring equipment in the galleries and vast storage spaces.

I am an active member of the Canadian Association for Conservation of Cultural Property (CAC) — I belong to the Emerging Conservators Committee and hope to present a poster at the 36th Annual Conference of the CAC in Ottawa, Ontario in June 2010.

During my 1-year internship at CCI, I will be focussing on the following treatment projects:

  • Approximately 150 Thule artifacts from Somerset Island in Nunavut — These water-logged and heavily soiled artifacts are around 400–1000 years old, and they are mostly composed of baleen, ivory, wood, bone, skin, and antler. Treatments will vary depending on the material, but in all cases the first step will be to remove the wet soil and dry the artifacts in a controlled manner. For water-logged wood and leather objects, the common drying method is vacuum freeze-drying and replacing the water with polyethylene glycol (PEG); for ivory, bone, and baleen, air-drying in a refrigerator is suitable.
  • A cast-iron “still” coin bank from the Toronto region — This bank dates to the Edwardian period (1901–1910) and is heavily corroding in some areas. The front appears to be coated in a natural resin or varnish, which will complicate the treatment. Spot electrolysis may be an option for removing the corrosion products while salvaging the coated surface.