NTAAC goes blacksmithing

Thanks a million to the talented Ron Siebler for such a super demo of blacksmithing yesterday, and for being kind enough to give us some hands-on experience as well. Ron gave us a great introduction to blacksmithing, and taught everyone how to make a decorative S hook. We threw lots of questions his way and he answered all of them, and he's a very encouraging teacher. What a unique way to spend an afternoon! Seeing a craft in action helps us to better understand the materials we work with so closely in the art world, not to mention the inspiration it gives us to go out and make something as soon as possible...it's an appreciated spark, a catalyst for carving out time for a creative outlet! As a conservator who doesn't do that enough, I'm especially grateful for being introduced to an amazing historic craft yesterday. Now, y'all go get your hands dirty!

Cheers, Tish

a partial view of Ron's wood and metal shop

the anvil

the gas forge

working on the curve of an S hook

brushing brass to the twist for extra decoration on this finished S hook

Join NTAAC October 17th, 12:30 at Alfonso's

I wanted to let you know that NTAAC’s last monthly meeting of the year is fast approaching. This month we will be “playing with fire” by visiting Ron Siebler’s workshop here in Dallas on Wednesday, October 17th. Ron is all excited to share with us the history of blacksmithing as well as demonstrate on his forge. Ron wants to let you all know that he has been busy cleaning up his workshop so that there’s enough room for everyone to take a turn on the forge. If you have ever wondered what it is like to stand in front of fire and work with metal this will be a great opportunity to hear and work with someone who has studied this craft.

If you would like to “play with fire” come and join us for lunch at 12:30 at Alfonso's Italian Restaurant at 718 North Buckner Boulevard, Dallas. After lunch we will head over to Ron’s workshop. If you are interested in joining us please send an RSVP to ntaac@yahoo.com so we know how many seats to reserve at Alfonso’s. This is sure to be a unique opportunity. Hope you can join us.


NTAAC’s October Meeting
Wednesday October 17th
12:30pm
Alfonso's Italian Restaurant at 718 North Buckner Boulevard, Dallas.
RSVP to ntaac@yahoo.com

Presentation By Mark Leonard, The Chief Conservator At The DMA

You need to mark you calendars for this event! On Monday, September 24th at 12:00 noon, Mr. Mark Leonard, the new Chief Conservator at the Dallas Museum of Art will give an informal presentation at the DMA. He will discuss both  his previous work as an art conservator as well as touch on plans for the new painting conservation lab at the DMA.

With over three decades of professional experience in conservation, Mark has worked with several major museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Frick Collection, The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, but he is probably best known for his recent tenure as Head of Conservation at the J. Paul Getty Museum.

Once again, NTAAC is very happy to team up with the DMA for this very exciting event.

The event is free and open to the public. Please RSVP with Gabriela Truly by Friday 9/21/12 at 10am.  Gtruly@DallasMuseumofArt.org

After Mark's presentation, please join the members of NTAAC at El Fenix on McKinney Avenue for lunch and more conversation about art, artifacts, and glue.


The North Texas Association for Art Conservation (NTAAC) is a collegial group interested in the preservation, conservation, and restoration of historic and artistic works. NTAAC aims to promote professional dialogue in North Texas, support educational efforts within the conservation community and reach out to invested communities.

Special August Happy Hour Mixer

NTAAC is joining forces this month with NTISA for a hip mixer at the Meddlesome Moth on August 28th at 6:00.

I know, that's a lot of capital letters to squeeze into one sentence. So lets break it down.

NTAAC- That's us, the North Texas Association for Art Conservation.

NTISA - Is the North Texas chapter of the International Society of appraisers.

Meddlesome Moth - A hip and cool beer garden in the Design District.

All combined, Makes for a great opportunity to meet, mingle and reconnect with colleagues who are passionate about working with art, historic objects, and artifacts.

See you there,
Brad

Tour of Unified Fine Arts Services

Great tour today at Unified Fine Arts Services. David and Victor have put a lot of time, research and experience into the construction of their new facilities.

In the photo above David is explaining how the Unified temperature controlled trucks unload into this temporary holding area. The outside doors are then closed, shutting off uncontrollable elements such as the Texas heat. Then the interior doors on the right are opened and the crates are moved into the building.

Speaking of crates, here are three custom built Unified crates. Each is made from birch plywood, sealed with a clear coat. The lids have gaskets and are attached using bolt plates instead of wood screws. Really wonderful work.

Next month NTAAC will be having a casual get together with the North Texas chapter of the International Society of Appraisers. 

Heavy Lifting for the July NTAAC Meeting

On Wednesday, July 18th we will be meeting at Unified Fine Arts Services. David and Victor will lead use a tour of the new facilities and talking about moving some of the biggest works of art in the DFW area.

Unified provides art handling services that include installation, transportation, storage and crating. Their clients include the Dallas Museum of Art, the Crow Collection of Asian Art, Goss-Michael Foundation, and the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame (one of my favorite museums) just to name a few.

Click Here to see photos of the Unified team de-installing the LARGE paint by Tamayo at the DMA.

We'll be having lunch after the tour. The perfect time to talk about art, conservation, history, storage, humidity control, pest management, museums, history, glue...


Wednesday, July 18th 11:30am sharp
Unified Fine Arts Services
14105 Inwood rd.
Dallas, TX 75244
For directions contact Kim Higginbotham 214-678-9101
(Please note that the Unified website still lists their OLD address)


NTAAC events are free and open to the public. We host these events to help the community of North Texas keep in touch with issues pertaining to art conservation and art handling.

August 28th event will be a casual mixer between NTAAC and NTISA

A Few Cold Ones At The NTAAC Happy Hour

Mark your calendars, Wednesday, June 20th at 6:00ish, for the second annual NTAAC Happy Hour at the Bryan Street Tavern.

We'll be trading stories about heroic feats of art conservation, dazzling tails of art handling, and stimulating recounts of document organization... All while enjoying a few cold ones on the back patio at the Bryan Street Tavern.

This Happy Hour is for all you art centric people who work hard all day and need a chance to relax with people that understand things like glue, digital photography and simply picking things up can be a real challenge.

Bryan Street Tavern
4315 Bryan Street
Dallas TX 75204


As with all NTAAC events, you and your colleagues are encouraged to join in the conversation.

Stay tuned for these other NTAAC events
July 18th- a site visit to Unified Fine Arts Services
August 28th - Casual mixer with the North Texas Appraisers at Meddlesome Moth.