Introduction Kintsugi, also called Kintsukuroi, is a set of traditional Japanese ceramic repairing skills that has been practiced for centuries. Archaeologists and historians have found that some excavated pottery in Japan was repaired with lacquerware techniques around 1000 BCE. It is also believed that around the 15th century, Kinsukuroi was introduced from China. Kinsukuroi means Read more
Students doing conservation degrees are expected to complete a summer placement where they work on site or in a museum. Masters students are expected to do a minimum of eight weeks and bachelors students are expected to complete a minimum of four weeks. This provides them with practical hands on experience in a setting outside Read more
This winter, I had the privilege of working with a team of stonemasons and conservators. Coe Stone Ltd. Masonry: Carving & Conservation (http://olivercoe-com.stackstaging.com/) were hired on to perform conservation work on Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff, and I joined their team for just over one month, over the winter break of my MSc in Conservation Practice at Read more
This post was originally written for the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institute. You can find the original post on their blog here. They have kindly given us permission to share the post on our blog as well. The history behind a single object can often tell many stories. In 2004 Read more
This summer has seen many of the Cardiff University students on summer placements and internships. As I headed into my internship at Bolton Museum I expected and prepared myself for a lot of practical desk work within the lab. While I absolutely love doing work in the lab, I was thrilled to discover that my Read more
Every exhibit is built with a story to tell. If, by the end of its observation, the viewer has not grasped the message of the exhibit, then it has failed to do its job. Thus, everyone involved in the exhibit’s creation must keep one question at the forefront of their mind: does what I am Read more
Conservation students, MSc and BSc, at Cardiff are required to do 8 weeks of summer placement between years, supported by a stipend from the University. Luckily, the department has cultivated some amazing connections with museums around the UK, and even some in the US and Greece. Many of these connections come from far-flung alumni/ae of the Read more
Plane, Bus, Taxi, and Coach… And that’s just what got me to the station in Volos, Greece for my summer placement within the conservation department of the Archaeological Ephotate of Larisa. As I was getting off the 4-hour coach ride from Athens to Volos, eagerly looking for someone I had never met in a country Read more
Preventive conservation is a complex science that can branch out in different ways. Archival work is one of them. Many public service companies or government funded organisations have more historically significant documents than people assume. I had the opportunity to work with such an organisation: South Riverside Community Development Centre. My job was to look Read more
During my time at Cardiff University I have been keen to add to my practical skills by volunteering. There are always opportunities for students to donate their time to local heritage projects and between 2013/2014 my colleagues, Sara Brown and Johanna Thunberg and I, have been working with the National Trust at Aberdulais Tinworks and Read more
