Me in 3 – Bryn

In this series we ask a conservation professional 3 questions. The fifth participant in this series is Bryn Kelley. Bryn is the 2023/2024 Student Representative of the Icon Scotland Group, working to represent students studying conservation in Scotland, and is currently studying Textile Conservation at the University of Glasgow. As with many in conservation, he comes from an interdisciplinary background and appreciates the unique multi-faceted foundation of conservation.

Creating a padded board to support ancient beadwork

My favourite thing about my studies:

While the number of treatments I have carried out is few, they have encompassed many important aspects of textile conservation and have challenged me in a graduated way that I am very grateful for. These treatments and the reference collection held by the programme means I have had the opportunity to examine objects with construction techniques I had not previously physically encountered.

Additionally, I am especially passionate about exploring the composition and history of the object through blending historical research and analytical techniques. As a result, I have been able to not only understand the object but reflect on and adapt my treatments in action. I am incredibly lucky that the course is simultaneously focused on textiles yet incorporates broader context and brings in visiting lecturers to cover many topics.

A skill you might not know I have:

I am an avid rock climber, regularly climbing both indoors and outdoors. My favourite trip I’ve taken so far was a trip to El Choro, Spain.

Related to conservation, I studied Organic Chemistry during my undergraduate studies so laboratory and instrumental analysis techniques are familiar, and I enjoy problem solving in these areas.

Something that can make me spring out of bed in the morning:

I’m not sure anything makes me *spring* out of bed, as mornings and I are not the best of friends. That being said, I find new experiences, be it conservation or elsewise, very motivating, and put a great amount of pep in my step. One of my favourite sort of adventures is experiencing new museums and heritage sites.

Preparing a mannequin for the mounting of a 19th century bodice

Hydrogels in cleaning Textiles, Paper and Paintings

By Emma Pattinson

In the Summer of 2023 I was awarded a support from Icon Scotland’s June Baker Trust to contribute to the cost of attending International Academic Project’s (IAP) “Hydrogels in the Cleaning of Textiles and Paper” course. This was held over three days in July at the University of Glasgow’s Kelvin Centre for Conservation and Cultural Heritage.

Participants travelled from all over the country and the world and had a range of specialist backgrounds. It was a great environment to learn from one another. Each day we covered a different topic with lectures in the morning and time in the afternoon devoted to experimentation and testing
our new knowledge.

I particularly enjoyed learning that it is possible to ‘gellify’ curdlan within a syringe, which can then be used as an eraser pen (see image below and instructions).

Eraser pen method
NB. Use testing to find a recipe (concentration, cooking time, temperature etc) for the gel that has the desired qualities for your treatment.

1. Mix gel powder into a water solution to the desired concentration.
2. By decompressing the plunger, suck the solution into the barrel of a plastic syringe.
3. Make sure there are no air bubbles by holding the syringe with the point facing upwards and gently depress the plunger – any air bubbles should rise up and out of the solution.
4. Place the whole syringe in a Ziploc bag and seal.
5. Place into hot water as per your chosen recipe and wait for the solution to gellify.
6. Once the solution has turned into a gel cut off the end of the syringe with a craft knife.
7. Depressing the plunger will force out a small length of gel. Use this as you wish (experiment with rocking, rubbing and pressing) and cut away the dirty part when it needs refreshing.

Feedback
Highlights from other participants included:

• Getting to collaborate with others … I’ve nearly always worked on my own…and it was great to troubleshoot and experiment together.
• I’m thrilled how often I’ve been able to use hydrogels as adaptable and sophisticated tools for my work on modern and contemporary paintings.
• Seeing other people’s experiments and hearing their feedback – a dozen simultaneous different experiments allows for so much more knowledge sharing than if everyone is doing the same thing.
• The course opened my eyes more to different, more sustainable, cleaning options being a relative newbie to hydrogels.
• The opportunity for exchange with people from different disciplines and backgrounds.
• Being able to test and trial new methods of cleaning … with the help and guidance of an industry expert.
• Having more possibilities to test with difficult to clean paintings.
• Enjoying the format/balance of the lectures and practical exercises.
• Hearing about other participants’ experiences with gels was really interesting too!

And since the course, participants have…

• Added Curdlan to my practice and had really good results across treating multiple objects.
• Experimented with Curdlan gel (10/12% mainly) to remove surface dirt from a gilt frame surface, followed by gentle agitation with a cotton rag to remove soiling.
• Tested Agarose for surface cleaning a water-sensitive acrylic painting.
• Planned a treatment where I will be testing Peggy gel with solvent to remove residues from a rough/impasto paint surface.
• Found Gellan gum very useful for removing masking tape!
• Felt a lot more confident in discussing potential treatments in terms of both techniques and outcomes.
• Felt more confident in using and experimenting with the different materials tested while in Glasgow.
• Found hydrogels… much less mysterious… than they were before the class despite having used them for several projects.
• Tried using gels to soften deformations in canvas, to clean sensitive unvarnished paint surfaces, to remove stains in raw canvas and even to remove and preserve degraded paper labels…amongst other things!
• Completed a dissertation on gels and presented a conference poster.

The June Baker Trust
Without support from the June Baker Trust attending this course would have been out of reach for me, and I am very grateful for the support. The Trust’s long-standing and permanent programme awards grants of around £300 each to help conservators at all career stages to attend conferences, workshops and short courses, take study tours, improve workshops and purchase tools, books and materials. To be eligible applicants must be a conservator and able to demonstrate a connection to Scotland through work, birth, living, education or other means.

The deadline for applications to the June Baker Trust is 31st May each year and the application is a straightforward 3-page document. If you have an idea for something you need some financial support to achieve, I encourage you to apply!
Find out more here: June Baker Trust | Scotland Group (icon.org.uk)

For more information on gels a good place to start is IAP’s ‘Gels in Conservation’ conference, held in 2017. See recordings of the presentations here: Gels Conference | International Academic Projects

Scotland Group: 26th Annual Plenderleith Memorial Lecture

Conservation and the Kelvin Centre: Supporting Growth in Scotland

• 30 November 2023
• 6.30pm – 8.30pm GMT
• £6 to £15
• Hybrid event, online and in person
• We’re also running our AGM and a Tour of Stirling University Art Collection on the 30th of November. More information coming soon!

Join Icon Scotland for our 26th annual lecture in memory of Dundonian Dr Harold Plenderleith (1898 – 1996), one of the key founders of modern conservation. As we do every year, we will commemorate Dr Plenderleith with a talk, followed by a drinks reception, and the opportunity to chat with other conservators, in what has become one of the main conservation get-togethers in Scotland.

Our invited speaker this year is Professor Christina Young, Director of the Kelvin Centre for Conservation and Cultural Heritage Research at the University of Glasgow. Christina will reflect on how the Kelvin Centre addresses issues facing the conservation landscape in Scotland today, and how the Centre is helping to promote and support the conservation profession.

Before being the Director of the Kelvin Centre, Christina was a Reader at the Courtauld Institute of Art, and a Leverhulme Fellow at Tate and GCI. Christina teaches and conducts technical art history, conservation and conservation science with an emphasis on developing conservation methodologies and materials for cultural heritage. Her recent research has been focused on the materials and methods of John Hoyland, the history of British scene painters and their materials, and environmentally induced fatigue in panel paintings.

This event is a collaboration with Historic Environment Scotland, and will take place at The Engine Shed, a HES building dedicated to digital innovation, heritage science, and building conservation. Find out how to get there here: www.engineshed.scot/find-us

If you have any dietary requirements or require any accessibility adjustments, please contact events@iconscotland.org.

This event will be preceded by Icon Scotland’s AGM, a free event which has to be booked separately.

Attendance to the AGM is free. Book your place here.