New Training Opportunity with Camille Myers Breeze

Museum Textile Services Director Camille Myers Breeze has been chosen as one of the five instructors participating in the inaugural season of a new collections care program at Beloit College in Beloit, Wisconsin. The Center for Collections Care uses two campus museums--the Logan Museum of Anthropology and the Wright Museum of Art--which feature a vibrant archive, and historic costume and natural history collections. According to a 2018 external review, “Beloit College is a recognized leader in the academic field of Museum Studies,” and “… one of the greatest strengths of the Museum Studies Program curriculum at Beloit is its emphasis on experiential, hands-on learning and practice.”

Introduction to Textile Conservation
                July 25-28, 2018

This course will provide essential skills needed for all collections-care specialists to handle, assess, maintain, and safely house historic clothing and textiles. Beginning with the basic chemical building blocks of textile fibers, Camille will teach students how a fabric's microscopic characteristics impact the preservation, treatment, and interpretation of textile objects. Advancements in textile technology over the last 300 years will be highlighted and the challenges they present to museum staff will be discussed. 

Armed with a better understanding of the needs of historic clothing and textiles, participants will learn hands-on skills such as condition reporting, surface cleaning, exhibition, packing, and photography. Environmental and practical considerations for the care and display of textiles will be presented along with case studies in successful and problematic conservation solutions. Working with study collection pieces from Beloit College, as well as their own objects, students will create a treatment proposal, carry out basic treatment steps, and complete a final assessment report. Sewing skills are not required.

The Center for Collections Care at Beloit College provides important training for all current and emerging museum collections professionals. To register for Introduction to Textile Conservation or any of this summer's programs, visit the Beloit College website: www.beloit.edu/ccc.