About CU Conservation

Facts about the course and lab.

Pathways to Conservation

Posted on 29 October 2019 by Caitlin Jenkins

It’s a rumour that we all found our calling as conservators from an early age, fuelled by a desire to disobey those DO NOT TOUCH signs in museums. At Cardiff University, our students’ paths into the heritage sector are as unique and diverse as the objects we study. In this blog, six students share their
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Documenting the Dispatched: A Case Study on the Preservation of Two Welsh Plaster Cast Copies

Posted on 10 June 2019 by Alyssa Singh

A rough draft of a developing idea, artists use maquettes for structural planning, testing forms, and determining the feasibility of a finished statue. But what is to be done with them afterward? While most maquettes end up in the scrap heap of history, occasionally some are preserved to the present. As a sort of 3D
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Cleaning the basket lid with smoke sponge

A tale of mystery mould and cautious culturing – part two

Posted on 30 April 2019 by Katherine List

If you missed the first part of my blog post, you can read it here. Treatment – Stage Two The brush vacuuming had removed much of the visible mould on the basket and I needed to determine the next stage of treatment. The use of a 70% ethanol/water solution is common ‘to kill and disrupt
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Basket lid showing pale green mould on surface

A tale of mystery mould and cautious culturing

Posted on 30 April 2019 by Katherine List

The following object started off as a bit of a mystery, fully wrapped in tissue paper and plastic sheeting, labelled as covered in mould, and described in the paperwork as a basket from Bristol Museum, previously in the British Empire and Commonwealth collection. As a conservator I use my senses to investigate the objects that
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Feeling conflicted

Posted on 31 March 2019 by Eleanor Sweetnam

Before I begin, I must say that this blogpost is merely a discussion centred around my initial thoughts at the beginning of the conservation process of a British military uniform. I very much enjoy a lengthy debate about an object’s significance, but I must say that it becomes very different when that discourse becomes a
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Skilling up

Posted on 14 January 2019 by Mandy Garratt

As conservation students here at Cardiff, we learn a wide variety of skills; not only honing the techniques required to conserve objects, but those which will help us when we are fully-fledged conservators. Our degree programmes help us to master skills such as digital photography and Photoshop, we use a large range of scientific equipment,
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Dissertations Abound

Posted on 22 February 2018 by Stephanie Whitehead

Studying the Effect of Varying Silica Gel Amounts on the Relative Humidity Within a Container. Our dissertation is looking at the relative humidity (RH) changes within storage containers that have different amounts of silica gel within them so that we can see if the amount of silica gel affects the RH. -Will Smith, Mary Lawrence,
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What to Expect the First few Weeks

Posted on 16 September 2017 by Stephanie Whitehead

Congratulations and welcome to our new Cardiff University conservation students! We couldn’t be more happy to have you. While we look forward to meeting you I am sure most of you are wondering: What happens next? You’ve packed your suit cases. You’ve bought your plane ticket or crammed all of your things into your car.
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Suggested Reading List

Posted on 19 August 2017 by Stephanie Whitehead

As A-levels Results Day has officially passed (Hurrah!) and many students are now discovering they are coming to Cardiff Uni I thought it would be fun to post a suggested reading list or useful books and resources list. Many of you are asking: What books will I need to buy? The answer is actually NONE!
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Captain Planet: Resolutions for the New Year

Posted on 11 January 2017 by Stephanie Whitehead

Happy 2017 to one and all! I hope you are all finding yourselves refreshed and rejuvenated after the winter break. As we all get into the swing of things I thought it would be fun to discuss our goals for the new year. Going Green is a great New Years resolution and something that Cardiff
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