After a long, challenging senior year (taking a full course load, preparing my senior thesis, applying to graduate schools) it all paid off. I graduated with an Honors Degree with Distinction, Bachelors of Arts Degrees in Art Conservation and Chemistry and a minor in Art History. I was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and received the 2018 Wallace H. McCurdy, Jr. Undergraduate Award in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Delaware Chemistry Department. And to top it off, I really can't believe it . . . . I don't know how this happened  . . . I was also accepted into the Winterthur / University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation Class of 2021! Me and my nine peers begin chemistry review this August followed by three-week crash courses in the art conservation subdisciplines. I can't wait!!

So profound and inspiring! How incredible it would be to have Ms. Chatelain as a professor. From historical research into the lives of black girls in Chicago during the Great Migration to current events, Chatelain promotes integration of American history and America's political future. As she says, how can one assure members of an advocacy group that their fight against overwhelming odds can be overcome without a historical foundation in successful campaigns. I also had the opportunity to discuss my research on Emancipation Expositions in Chicago with her. We had both read Adam Green's book on the subject!

Christmas Decorations and a Hollywood-worthy life story. Visiting the private gallery of Andrew Wyeth's favorite model would be memorable in itself; the addition of a feast and pervasive gold-colored Christmas decorations made the evening truly magical. I cannot wait to try Mrs. Testorf's homemade blueberry and currant jelly!

A handful of WUDPAC students, Joyce Hill Stoner, and I attended lectures on conservation in the classroom of the MOAR. All three talks covered treatments of items currently on exhibition at the museum, and the results were truly incredible. Alisa Vignalo's description of poulticing a mug and having the ceramic "weep" orange, sweet smelling liquid for four days will stick with me forever, but deterred me from pursuing objects conservator. Virginia Whelan's process to prepare George Washington's tent for display was innovative and brought the ransacked artifact back to life.

Being so close, I had visited the Barnes many times, but never before was I able to see the conservation laboratories. Barbara Buckley's work space is spotless and ergonomic, ideal for a conservator. We were also able to check in with WUDPAC third-year Mina Porell (second from the left) who is treating a study for a Pierre Puvis de Chavannes mural.

This being my third time attending Portfolio Day, I felt as though I was finally able to the put the incredible accomplishments of the admitted students into perspective. I can see fully the many ways in which my portfolio can be improved and the what experiences would be beneficial for me to acquire. And I asked many questions to which I received very helpful answers. I cannot wait for the day when I can call these individuals my peers and coworkers.

This short visit with WUDPAC second-year Keara Teeter, Visiting Scholar Paula Benito, and Joyce Hill Stoner served to introduce the students to another institutional conservation lab as well as the 'Walter's window," where conservators and museum visitors are encouraged to engage in discussion of the care of material culture. Additionally, Keara and Paula were able to update the paintings conservators of the Walters on the state of a water damaged Thai painting belonging to the Walters that has been posing challenges to WUDPAC students in the paintings lab for over a year. 

A large group of current WUDPAC students and recent graduates were led on a tour of the one of the museum's newest exhibitions, a massive, 340-year-old, biblical painting from Puebla, Mexico. WUDPAC alum José Lazarte Luna ('16), who works at the Met, led the tour and explained his essential role in translating between the Mexican art handlers and American curators. Among the problems encountered in installation were the weight of the work (it requires 8 tons of sandbags to serve as a counter balance) and geometric light patterns cast on the painting from the skylights above. We also praised the fact that the work miraculously remains unlined after centuries in a cathedral chapel. Examination of the Villalpando exhibit was followed by a tour of the other galleries from a conservator's perspective led by Joyce Hill Stoner .

One day of talks on the theme of research and conservation of art works by Edgar Degas held in the East Wing Auditorium of the National Gallery in Washington D.C. The event loosely commemorated the publishing of the newest issue of the institutions' conservation journal Facture on the same topic. Two talks by conservators Michelle Facini and Shelley Sturman stood out for their accessibility to a wide audience, concisely outlining conservation ethics and procedures. Their presentations were captivating to experts and amateurs alike and will serve as a model for me to emulate.

Following a talk by Jake Archer, an FBI agent on the Art Crime Team, I attended a lecture on hazards in the workplace given by Cheryl Scanlon-Zinner. The event informed the faculty and staff of the updates to OSHA standards within the last decade as well as changes to systematic labeling and use of symbols to be expected in the coming years. I did not know, for example, that Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) were updated to have a new format with fewer sections.

A full day of inspiring talks by alumni of the WUDPAC program that reflected on past experiences and tried to predict the future of the field. The topics were separated into four panels on the themes of institutional conservation, private practice and regional centers, teaching and research, outreach and alternative careers. One of the many conclusions drawn at the close of the event was the necessity of incentivizing new graduates' relocation to the American Midwest to meet demand for conservation in that region. (Image courtesy of the University of Delaware Art Conservation Department)

One day packed with ten 45 minute lectures presented by third-WUDPAC students. Though the talks were one component of a final examination, the students maintained their enthusiasm and made the event feel like it was for the benefit of the audience. And it goes without saying that the students expertly reflected the expectations of the program with clear, concise presentations that appealed to both amateurs and experts with high quality images.

Not long after starting my conservation education at UD was I offered the opportunity to visit a large scale treatment along with a group of other UD undergraduates. The treatment of the massive, fifteenth-century, Italian, panel painting was led by Brian Baade and Kristin diGhetaldi and assisted by pre-program interns. We visited when the majority of the treatment was done; only texturing of fills and scattered pinpointing remained. Notably, the conservators showed us locations where removed overpaint revealed previously unknown details in the original paint layer. 

This trip was my first time in a conservation lab, which I had arranged through a contact in the Met Library. Then, I was struck by the neatness of paper and book conservation, and I learned the reality of volunteering and interning in the field. Though this experience did not set me on a course toward book conservation, it was undoubtedly formative in my aspiration to work as a conservator in an urban museum.