Weaving Part II

It has been a little while since I have gotten to post on here--a lot is going on with both classes. This Inquiry Project is still fun and something that I am passionate about. I realize that the field of artifact conservation is wide and very variable, and that, no matter how much research I put into it, I will only have touched the tip of the proverbial iceberg. This is, however, a foundation for an area of the hobby that I will continue gaining understanding in throughout my life.

A couple weeks ago I began culling through the options for the ending "content-rich product" to showcase my findings. I considered a PowerPoint, a PDF brochure, and an article about military artifact conservation before settling on building a website. I settled on a website for several reasons:
-I can easily divide it into sections for the areas of inquiry.
-The site can be updated as I find more information, or based on others' feedback.
-The link can be shared with others.
-The site can incorporate a variety of media for visual appeal.
-The site can be expanded to include other information relevant to the hobby.

I am building the website with Yola, which is a free creator. I used it in a past KSP class and was impressed with the ease of website creation. When it is done I will post the link in this blog.

Currently I am working during my spring break in the northern peninsula of Michigan. I do not have my week-long temperature and humidity chart handy, but I will process and post it upon my return to Mankato on Saturday. I have been discussing this project with family and friends, and have been receiving encouragement along the way. I realize that this topic is not entirely relevant to them, but they are aware of my passion for the hobby and for preserving history, and I think it is with this lens that they give their attention. I have also been actively viewing and contributing on the US Militaria Forum in the Preservation section. An ongoing thread on leather preservation led me to share my story about using Saddle Soap on leather ski bindings. I received a pair of US and German WWII skis (captured in Italy) that were used through the 1970s in the Rockies and then sat in a garage for nearly forty years. The leather toe bindings were petrified; I rubbed them with Saddle Soap and it made them pliable again. The only affect of the treatment was that the leather darkened; this is to be expected from any treatment to leather. It did make the leather pliable and not liable to crack and fall apart anytime soon.

I am also working on compiling the data that I gleaned from the articles to present on my website. The most logical way that I began doing this was by writing it into paragraphs. This seems very formal for a website, but I will see how it fills out as I begin publishing. I am also going to look into sources for acquiring acid-free paper and boxes for storing items in, and hopefully be able to provide this information on the website. The pitfall is that I have not used vendors myself, so anything I provide would be something I cannot personally verify. I will have to be careful in making these distinctions.

One thing that I have noticed since beginning the Inquiry Project is that I have attuned my senses to recognize potential threats to artifacts in environments that I encounter them. For instance, in walking around antique stores in Mankato, I note which ones have heating and keep out the weather. One, the Antiques Warehouse on Riverfront, is a prefab steel warehouse with a concrete floor and little climate control that may not bode well for artifacts in different seasons. Up here in Michigan, several antique stores include basements. One I was in today had standing water under a fleet of old furniture and farm tools. It was cold and drafty as well--and the moisture is not good for any of the antiques in there. I noticed that the finish on chair legs showed water damage and most of the metal items displayed rust; the cloth military uniforms were damp and in danger of mildew. I happened by a stack of old magazines that were wrinkled and fragile--obvious victims of poor storage and care. In this store was a fine World War II recruiting poster shrink-wrapped to a piece of cardboard. While this was a good way to keep the paper flat and away from dust, its position by the window had greatly faded the colors. Sad!

The findings that I am presenting on the website (strategies and dangers) are all meritorious in that they can be checked against other sources and confirmed in this manner. Most of them are also founded on common sense, such as human dangers of manhandling/dropping/wearing items to contribute to their deterioration, and that light and temperature can negatively harm most items. All organic items will deteriorate over time!