North American Textile Conservation Conference
c/o New York State Bureau of Historic Sites
Peebles Island, PO Box 219
Waterford, NY  12188 USA
518 - 237 - 8643
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The North American Textile Conservation Conference announces the program for its fourth biennial conference, "Tales in the Textile: The Conservation of Flags and Other Symbolic Textiles," co-sponsored by the New York State Museum and the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.  The three-day program (November 6-8) includes 23 papers, 9 posters, 2 receptions, a tour and discussion sessions. Paper presentations will take place at the New York State Museum in Albany, New York. The conference hotel is located a few blocks from the Museum. Full Conference Cost, Early Bird (Sept. 1, 2003) $275.00. 

Additional tours are offered on the day before and the day after the conference (separate registration fee). A separate session of 3 workshops will precede the conference, on Wednesday, November 5. Workshops will take place at the Peebles Island Resource Center Conservation Labs in nearby Waterford, New York.

A full list of conference papers and posters and further information about the workshops follows. Note that the program is subject to change.

Thursday November 6, 2003 -- PAPERS ON THE CONSERVATION OF SYMBOLIC TEXTILES FROM CULTURES AROUND THE WORLD 

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Dr Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, "Finding the Text in Textiles"

Dorothy Sites Alig, "Vibrant Dancers: Egungun Costumes from Southwestern Nigeria"

Sarah Clayton, "Clear as Mud? How Cultural Significance Determines Preservation Choices " 

Dinah Eastop and Charlotte Dew, "Secret Agents: Deliberately Concealed Garments as Symbolic Textiles" 

Lizou Fenyvesi, "Preservation of Stripes, Stars and Swastikas" 

T. Rose Holdcraft, "Preferences for the Long and Narrow:  Documenting and Preserving Native North American and European Woven and Constructed Materials" 

Ann Shaftel, "Religious Symbolic Textiles in Himalayan Monasteries: Prayer Flags, Banners and Thangkas"

Virginia J. Whelan, "Amos Bad Heart Bull's Painted Textile: A Document of Cultures and Conflicts"

Friday November 7 and Saturday November 8 (morning) -- PAPERS ON THE CONSERVATION OF FLAGS AND BANNERS 

Mary Westerman Bulgarella and Susanna Conti,  "Savonarola's Painted Banner"

Fanny Espinoza, "Different Restoration Treatments on Nineteenth-Century Silk Banners and Flags"

Fenella G France and Suzanne Thomassen-Krauss,  "What if You Can't Afford to Make a Mistake: Developing an Experimental Protocol for the Treatment of the Star-Spangled Banner"

Ann French and Nicola Gentle, "'Go Thou and Do Likewise'? - The Conservation of the Ebrington Friendly Society Banner"

Irene Karsten, "The Effectiveness of Adhesive Support Treatments for Flags and Banners: Condition of Treated Artifacts Surveyed in Canada and the UK"

Frances Lennard and Vivian Lochhead,  "United We Stand!  The Conservation of Trade Union Banners" 

Harold F. Mailand, "Looking at our History, Listening to our Client"

Lynn McClean and Elizabeth-Anne Haldane, "Avendale for Reformation: Conservation of a Seventeenth-Century Covenanting Banner"
 
Nancy Pollak, "Moving Pictures: Adapting Painting Conservation Techniques to the Treatment of Painted Textiles"

Barbara L. Rowe, "What So Proudly We Hailed: Conserving Historic Flags"

Gwen Spicer, Laureen LaBar, Susan Adler, Marion Scharoun, and Dona Smith, "Saving Maine's Colors: Strategies in Flag Conservation and Exhibition at the Maine State Museum"

Sarah C. Stevens, "Do You Know Where You Are? Silk Flank Markers from the Civil War"

Beth Szuhay and Joanne Hackett, "Facing the Future:  The Use of Cyclododecane and Re-Moistenable Tissue Paper in the Conservation of a Painted Silk Flag"

Fonda Ghiardi Thomsen, "MFHA Texas Flags: 1836-1945, Flags as Fine Art?"

Deborah Lee Trupin, "Flag Conservation Then and Now"

Marilyn Zoidis, "American Patriotism in Material Culture"


Saturday November 8 (afternoon)
TOUR AND DISCUSSION GROUPS

Saturday afternoon's activities will take place at Peebles Island, Waterford, NY.  Tour the Peebles Island Resource Center Conservation Labs and the New York State Battle Flag Preservation Project.  Presentations and discussions will include information from the November 5 workshops on Cleaning Systems, Pressure Mounts and Painted Textiles (see below).


Thursday November 6 - Saturday November 8 (morning) -- POSTERS: 

Mary Betlejeski and Gwen Spicer, "The Treatment of a Campaign Banner: An Option to Consolidating Powdery Paint"
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Cathy Challenor, "The Conservation of the Richmond Coulours"

Pia Christensson, "A Banner from the Movement of Scandinavianism"

Ileana Cretu, "Identification through Symbols"

Tamara Frost, "A Comparative Study of the Ethics and Techniques of Conserving Two Pairs of Nineteenth Century Colours from Guernsey"

Elizabeth Griffin, "A 17th Century Flocked Textile"

Teresa Cristina Toledo de Paula and Luciana da Silveira, "When a Green Banner Seasoned: The Medical Science School Textile" 

Cordelia Rogerson, "King in All But Name? The Conservation of a Majesty Scutcheon Looted from Oliver Cromwell's State Funeral"

Lorena Roman, Claudia de la Fuente, Abner Gutierrez, Fernando Sanchez 
Nicolas Gutierrez, "The Flag of the Active Squadron of Veracruz. A Consideration of the Criteria for Restoring/ Conserving Flags"

Joelle D. J. Wickens and Dr. Maria Hayward, "Contract for Eternity: Preserving a Hearse Cloth Made in 1505 for Henry VII"

The following workshops will be held the day before the conference, on Wednesday, November 5, 2003 from 9:00 am - 5:00 pm at Peebles Island, Waterford, NY. The workshops are partially supported by a grant from the Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation. 

LOOKING AT THE PAINT OF PAINTED TEXTILES: UNDERSTANDING STRUCTURE, EVALUATING CONDITION, APPROACHING TREATMENT

Instructor: Nancy R. Pollak, paintings conservator & principal, Art Care Associates, Frederick MD.

This workshop, presented from the perspective of painting conservation, will take an in-depth look at the painted portions of textiles to better understand how they are constructed and how to evaluate their condition. The typical structure of traditional paintings on canvas will be reviewed and compared to that of painted textiles. Simple techniques for evaluating the materials of painted textile and their condition will be covered, as well as cross-section preparation and analysis using a standard compound microscope. Participants will experiment with commonly used painting conservation materials that are useful in treating painted textiles. Finally, the day's lessons will be put to the test by discussing actual painted textiles. Participants will be encouraged to bring slides from their own experiences with painted textiles, addressing both unanswered questions and lessons they have learned.


INTRODUCTION TO CLEANING SYSTEMS FOR TEXTILES

Instructor: Richard Wolbers, paintings conservator and Associate Professor, Art Conservation
Department, University of Delaware 

A wide variety of cleaning systems has been introduced into the conservation profession in recent years. This workshop will include a review of the relevant principles and materials used in wet-cleaning. It will include a practical "hands-on" session focused specifically on textile cleaning problems. Participants will be encouraged to bring their own case histories for problem solving and discussion.


PRESSURE MOUNTS -- HISTORY, VARIATIONS, AND OPTIONS

Instructor: Deborah Bede, textile conservator and principal, Stillwater Conservation Studio, Bradford, NH

Participants in this workshop will be selected based on their experience with pressure mounts. Each participant will contribute to the workshop by presenting a variation on the pressure mounting technique or some significant observations on the technique. The goal of the workshop is to share this information through the presentations and discussions, thus giving participants a broader exposure to the possibilities of pressure mounts. In addition to the presentation, participants will prepare their variations in written form (in a standardized format to be supplied) that will be compiled into a publication. This publication will make the information shared at the workshop available to other conservators.

Registration for the workshops is separate from that for the conference. Costs for the workshops are: "Painted Textiles" and "Cleaning Systems for Textiles" $140, or $120 for AIC members; "Pressure Mounts" $115, or $100 for AIC members. Lunch and transportation from the conference hotel in Albany, NY are included in the workshop registration fee. Workshops are limited to 10-12 persons each.

There will be a lottery to allocate places for the "Paint" and "Cleaning" workshops. Admission to the "Pressure Mount" workshop, which is intended for those with experience in the technique, is by application.  Workshop application forms are in the conference brochure. 

For more information about the NATCC conference, or to receive a pdf format brochure with all information forms via email, please contact [log in to unmask]