Robyn and Eleanor in their studio. Image: Maite Pons EV: What drew me to conservation initially was the idea of going beyond the surface of artworks, focusing on the materials and how they contribute to understanding art and culture. After learning that it existed as a profession, I swiftly focused my attention on
Evan Tindal: objects conservator at Grimwade Conservation Services. Evan Tindal working on an outdoor bronze sculpture. How did you get started in conservation? I started out working in archaeology. My first job out of university in the US was cleaning excavated artefacts for a cultural resources management company in Charleston, South Carolina, where
What first attracted you to a career in conservation? How did you get started? RH: My career began in an apprenticeship as a cabinet maker, hand making reproduction furniture. Completing my apprenticeship by topping the state in Victoria with my marks, I was released early from the indenture and moved to London shortly after, with
Introduction by Cobus van Breda. I first met Kim in the early 1990s when I was a conservation student and volunteering in the paper lab at the National Library of Australia. Kim was a great mentor to me; his calm and patient approach to all conservation problems and unfailing sense of humour were exactly what
It’s probably the common drawcard, which is that conservation sits in a confluence of a few different disciplines: history, art, science and craft. Craft and the practicality of the job were probably the most magnetic of these for me (I have a background in pattern drafting and garment construction). Formally, I came to conservation through the master’s program at the Grimwade Centre following my vocational training and a Bachelor of Arts [...]
Art has always been part of my family. I did a BA in Visual Arts (installation/sculpture), my father worked as a draftsman and painted when he could, and my mother is a crafts person. Growing up, I often attended the Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), so those formative memories of art and creativity have always been part of my background [...]
When I finished sixth form in 1977, I was looking for a vocation. I was only 17 and had a precocious interest in art and archaeology. I was considering studying Archaeology at the ANU when a relative alerted me to a new course being offered at the CCAE – Materials Conservation [...]
As a newly qualified conservator I would definitely describe myself as still in the ‘getting started’ process at the moment! As for what attracted me, I’ve always loved history and found objects that connect us to the past to be very compelling...
What first attracted you to a career in conservation? How did you get started? I’ve always loved art, especially paintings. I studied art at school and did oil painting and photography. Then I studied a Bachelor of Arts at university thinking I wanted to be an art historian. In my late twenties I attended talks
What first attracted you to a career in conservation? How did you get started? The advertisement for studying corrosion of shipwreck materials caught my eye and I got the job in the WA Museum Materials Conservation Laboratories in Fremantle in 1978, starting on my 30th birthday. What does a typical workday look like at the moment?
