Restoration of Works on Paper

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300 Drawings Restored and Re-Framed

About the Artist

Ritual Series Retellings

Ritual Series Retellings 6/30/94. Cast paper,
charcoal, and chalk on paper. 96 x 34”

The environmental artist and architect Michael Singer, commissioned Arts Management Services LLC to inspect and restore all of his works on paper - collages, etchings, and prints.

This multi-year project involved nearly 300 works of art ranging in age from his first pieces of the early '70's to his newest work. Some were in poor condition without acid free materials. Some had never been matted or framed before.

The Restoration

Each was carefully taken apart. Frames - iron, steel, and aluminum - were cleaned, reconditioned, lacquer-coated, or replaced. All frames were custom-made. Special aged-iron frames were carefully cleaned of rust spots and coated with two layers of satin-finish lacquer. Frame screws were replaced to match the frame color and finish.

All backing that was not acid-free, foam core, or blemish-free was replaced. All mats were carefully inspected and replaced when needed by 8-ply cotton rag archival museum board. This 8-ply mat was hand-cut with no over-cuts at the corners. I used a special bone implement to finish the cut edges as per standard art framing practices. All hinges were replaced.

 

Ritual Series 1/2/79

Ritual Series 1/2/79. Paper collage, charcoal, and chalk on paper. 59 x 43”

I used archival acid-free glue with hand-made Japanese rice paper hinges. In addition to hinging at the top as is usual, sometimes the sides were also hinged when the weight of the artwork was an issue. Acid-free paper was folded into triangles and applied to the bottom corners of all artwork to protect it from damage during handling and transport, should it ever come unhinged.

 

 

Some drawings needed to be carefully cleaned of bugs, dust, and mold. The artist was consulted before the removal of any blemishes to be certain that such marks were not part of the artwork. Fixative was re-applied to surfaces without disturbing delicate elements such as copper foil, oil stick, chalk, pencil, and charcoal.

Many collage works required hand-made spacers between the mat and the Plexiglas to create space and separation so that the artwork does not touch the Plexiglas surface - a particular issue for this artist whose works often involve layers of paper as much as 5/8" thick.

Ritual Series Guardian Journey

Ritual Series Guardian Journey 8/06. Ink and collage on paper. 40.5 x 32.5”

Some works were large with dimensions as much as 3' x 8' and weighing nearly 100 pounds. All original museum and gallery labels on the back of each piece were carefully removed and re-affixed to the reconditioned works. Scratched and smudged Plexiglas surfaces were cleaned and repaired or custom cut and replaced.

Finally, all artworks were recorded in detail as part of a larger project to register all of the artist's lifetime of artwork, installations, exhibitions, and sales including hundreds of drawings and sculpture.

Sculpture Restoration at Middlebury College

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Site-Specific Sculpture 'Garden of the Seasons'

Garden of the Seasons 2The Artwork

Garden of the Seasons is located on a main pathway of the Middlebury College campus. A granite bench sits in front of an aluminum structure with water trickling over it. This transforms into an ice sculpture in the winter months. Behind this structure is a garden and stream also designed by the artist.

The site-specific environmental sculpture engages visitors with sound, light, color, texture, and fragrance. The artist's website further describes it as follows:

The garden is a semi-sheltered contemplative place to enjoy the air and light of Vermont, socialize, meet a friend, read and view the landscape and the quad in all seasons.

At the threshold of the garden a warm season Water Wall transforms to a winter Ice Wall. Depending on the temperature. The surface of the Ice Wall slowly grows vertical ice sheets or the ice melts away revealing a pattern of steel and aluminum lattice. In the spring and summer the water wall has the ambient sound of slowly flowing water punctuated by the sound of insects and birds within the garden.

The garden opens to a small semi-circular plaza of sculpted concrete pavers and a curving granite bench with views to distant mountains. A sunken garden chamber set at different elevations functions as a gravitational stormwater runoff treatment system under the plantings. A long naturalized bioswale enfolds the garden with wildflowers and grasses. All the plantings of the garden are indigenous ground covers, wildflowers, shrubs, and vines. Many of the plants have winter berries and summer blooms that provide habitat for birds and butterflies.

The Restoration

The original grey paint whichGardenn of the Seasons 1 coated the aluminum structure failed and was peeling.

My work involved removing the peeled paint and applying a two-part epoxy paint matching the original color.

I researched paint used on metal exposed to water. These two-part epoxy paints have been used successfully on bridges for many decades.

I cleaned the stone, removed old paint, and applied the epoxy. The project took me one day without assistance.

Read more about the artwork here.

Sculpture Restoration in Maryland

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FDA 'Healing Garden'

Michael_Singer_FDA_healing_gardenSite-Specific Environmental Art

Michael Singer commissioned me to restore his sculpture, Healing Garden outside the Food and Drug Administration’s Wiley Building in College Park, Maryland.

Healing Garden was commissioned by the General Services Administration (GSA) of the US Federal Government. Their FDA building is over 400,000 square feet and includes dozens of laboratories for food safety and nutrition research.

Michael designed a site-specific sculpture and landscape within a three-acre area south of the building. The design  engaged an existing stream, established a new wetland and pond habitat, and activated the building’s courtyard green.

His website states:Michael_Singer_FDA_healing_garden 2

The Healing Garden was created as a place where workers can seek respite within a quiet contemplative garden. While envisioned as a refuge the overall concept also attempts to restore and heal a part of the land that was heavily impacted by the building’s construction.

The garden consists of a series of low granite walls, benches, and water elements set within the landscape of the building’s courtyard. The piece is framed by two water elements; the one to the southwest integrates a series of textured granite and bronze runnels that vary the sound of the flowing water. The other water element to the northeast has a hidden water source that pours into a spiral water well set into the earth. The two water elements, low granite walls and benches, planted gabions, and terraces of sculpted pavers define the garden spaces that are overlaid with curving swathes of native and low water shrubs, grasses, wildflowers, and succulents.

Across the stream from the courtyard, the landscape was naturalized with dense vegetation and wetland and embankment plantings along a retention pond. Plants had to be carefully selected to handle the heavily compacted clay soils and minimal maintenance or irrigation. Trails of permeable stone fines connect the parking lots to the building and run along the stream connecting the adjacent metro station to other nearby properties.

The Restoration

My work included inspecting and repairing all aspects of the sculpture including cleaning the pump and stone, re-aligning the stone elements, and restoring the water flow and planted areas. The project took me one day without assistance.

Art Fabrication of a La Jolla Sculpture

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Contemplative Garden and Shelter

The Fabrication

Michael Singer commissioned Arts Management Services to fabricate this swinging bench. He designed it as part of a large outdoor site-specific environmental artwork for a private collector on the beautiful California ocean seaside in La Jolla.

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The piece is made of redwood, and the project took me approximately 40 hours to construct without assistance. Once completed Michael's studio crew installed it.

The Sculpture

Michael Singer was commissioned to design and construct a sculpture, pavilion, pathway, and landscaping. His website describes it as follows:

A stepped and terraced pathway leads to the top of the hill where the shelter provides a place to view the ocean. The shelter walls are custom redwood trellises planted with vines. Layers of wood beams and trellis, transparent glass panels and planters form the roof of the shelter. A swing bench hangs from brass straps attached to the beams. The site for the granite and bronze sculpture Ritual Series/ Map of Memory 1990 is cut into the hillside; the surrounding earth is retained by a redwood wall containing planter pockets. Mesquite trees grow along the pathway and around the pavilion. The overlook landscape is carpeted with low ground covers and mosses with custom concrete steps and stepping stones emerging from the blanketed earth.