Now hear this: the Artizan Factories A-2 Band Organ

With the museum closed for the season, the question I’m most frequently asked is “What are you working on?” The fast answer is usually objects that need to be cleaned, stabilized, or restored for the exhibitions that the curators are working on. Those are the priority, but- truth is- there are a few projects which aren’t tied to exhibitions that we’ve been working on in the Conservation Department over time. Perhaps the largest (and loudest) is the Artizan Factories A-2 Band Organ, made c. 1927.

The Artizan Factories A-2 band organ c. 1959 when the Dentzel carousel was being taken down

The Artizan Factories A-2 band organ today

This band organ came into the collection in 1961 along with the museum's Dentzel carousel, produced in 1902 for the Sacandaga Amuseument Park. Though it’s not the carousel’s original organ, it is a very rare one and appears to have had little work done to it prior to coming to Shelburne. Artizan Factories in North Tonawanda, NY only existed from 1922-1929, and many of their models that survive now have had their works replaced. This was commonly done so that organs could be made to play more current music. This one survives with its original mechanisms, one song roll, a tuning roll, and painted surfaces. It does show evidence of use, particularly oil splatter from the steam engine that powered it, but little evidence of maintenance.

Director of Preservation and Conservation Rick Kerschner wanted to see if we could get the organ working again but in a manner that would have the least impact on the original materials. With working artifacts, like musical instruments, there’s a paradox – we’d like to preserve the physical nature of the piece but we also want to hear what it sounds like, and by operating it, we’re creating wear and tear. So to get this band organ back into working order and to create guidelines for how to play it in the most responsible manner possible, we assembled a team of experts.

John Watson (left), Bob Watters, and me having a first look at the various mechanisms from the back

Initially the team consisted of Rick Kerschner, me, musical instrument conservator from the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation John Watson, and organ restorer Bob Watters. This first team assembled in 2007 to document the organ, and determine what course of action would be appropriate.

Here's the underside of the organ. The pipes are everywhere! Bob Watters repaired two of these pipes that had broken.

 In working through some of the questions that arose during the documentation process we met carousel organ restorer Tim Westman. We then engaged him to perform some of the more complex repairs to the pneumatics which required specialized equipment, provide an electric motor to drive the organ (which was originally driven with a steam engine), and fabricate missing parts for the organ. He also helped us find more music rolls that would work with this organ - they're reproductions with tunes appropriate to the mid-1920s- so that we don't further damage the fragile song roll that came to us with the organ.

I cleaned the façade, which had been stored separately from the organ itself, cleaned the interior of the bellows and the carcass, replaced the deteriorated rubber tubing that no longer provided a proper air seal, and replaced the snares on the extant drum.

I traced and labeled where all the tubing went before removing it.

Here’s what it sounded like after tuning and with the snare drum in place, as Rick was troubleshooting.

Admittedly, there's more work to be done, and we're slowly working towards completion as we work on objects required for exhibitions. The organ came to the museum without a bass drum, and Tim has located a replacement for us and will be getting that to us soon. Though there’s no specific plan to display this carousel organ (yet!), we have played if for occasional public tours of the conservation lab. Keep your eyes peeled for future opportunities.

This work was undertaken, in part, with funding from the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Thanks are also extended to scholar Fred Dahlinger for sharing his knowledge of this organ as well as the Bruder organ which was originally supplied  by the Gustav Dentzel Company with the carousel they made for Sacandaga Amusement Park.

The Art of Peril

The last time we met, I told you about Ogden Pleissner, Landscape Painter, a new rotation of watercolors in Pleissner Gallery. Today I'll introduce another show I've been working on for the summer season, one that takes destruction as its subject.

Back in 2011, when I was going through the print collection in storage, I noticed that there were quite a few prints focusing on catastrophes such as fires, shipwrecks, and railroad accidents. I've always been interested in historical disasters, so when I started finding these prints, I knew I had to do a show about them. 

The result of this initial interest is The Art of Peril: Fires, Shipwrecks, and other Disasters. It will open on June 22nd, and will be exhibited in the lower level of Webb Gallery.

The exhibit isn't finished yet, but the pieces are up on the walls now, and I'm currently working on labels for them.

Some of the prints that will be on view

Three-dimensional objects will also be included in the show

The fun part about this show is that I get to learn a lot of great history. Some of the disasters I'll be featuring, such as the Great Fire of Chicago of 1871, are still famous today, but other catastrophes have become obscure over time.

Currier and Ives with their take on the Chicago fire

Take the story of the Peacemaker, for example, which occurred in 1844. This was the worst peacetime disaster to occur in the United States up to that time, but chances are you haven't heard of it. I certainly hadn't.

The installation of the Peacemaker was an unintentionally explosive celebration

Here's the story. The Peacemaker was a newly-installed cannon on the U.S.S. Princeton, the most advanced American warship of the time. To commemorate the Navy’s achievement, a formal celebration was held aboard the ship, with attendees including President John Tyler, his fiance, and several members of the presidential cabinet. Unfortunately, the Peacemaker exploded during a firing demonstration. President Tyler survived, but six men, including two of his cabinet members, were killed, and several others were injured. 

You can read a more detailed account of the event here.

The Peacemaker accident is just one of several fascinating events I've been learning about. As I keep working on this show, I'll share a few more historical events with you to whet your appetite for destruction.

Conversations: Art, Nature, Sprit

At Shelburne Museum we are fortunate to be part of a local community that embraces the arts. Head north on Route 7 and down Harbor Road and you'll find Shelburne Farms, a 1,400-acre working farm and National Historic Landmark. Go south and take a right on Bostwick and you'll find a small drive that leads you to All Souls Interfaith Gathering. Five years ago, we partnered with these Shelburne organizations to offer an annual series of "Conversations" that explore the fascinating ways in which art, nature, and spirit interact. Hosted by Fran Stoddard, this year's series explores how we might awaken to transformation through artmaking, engaging with the natural world, and undertaking spiritual practice.

Fran Stoddard asks Sam Guarnaccia and Cami Davis about "Emergent Universe Oratorio"

The initial conversation, which will be rebroadcast on RETN (Comcast and Burlington Telecom channel 16) March 21st at 8 p.m., featured composer Sam Guarnaccia and painter Cami Davis. They are in the midst of a collaborative art project that will debut at Shelburne Farms this September. The "Emergent Universe Oratorio" traces the development of our universe over the course of 13 billion years. It begins with the spoken word and unfolds into an operatic performance featuring a 100-voice choir and chamber orchestra. Davis's art, displayed in the space, will provide a dynamic visual component to the experience. 

When Stoddard asked Davis where she finds inspiration, she replied that conceptualizing the universe is like standing on a mountain. It's larger than you, and yet you internalize its presence, a feeling, a power. Her challenge is to translate that onto the canvas. Guarnaccia added, playfully, that their piece attempts to capture the "intimate ultimacy and the ultimate intimacy" of the natural world. As I watched them grapple with these big ideas, I began to think of the incredible landscapes in Shelburne Museum's collection (Andrew Wyeth's Soaring, to name just one), and consider how those artists confronted their physical environment.

Conversations with others in our community have the potential to open our minds and expand our thoughts. We hope to see you this month as we awake to transformation through art, education, and spiritual practice. Here are the dates for upcoming presentations in the series:

• March 13: Ecology of Learning, Leadership and Change. Naturalist Matt Kolan shares ecological principles, rhythms and cycles of nature and how these offer clues to guide human patterns including systems thinking, problem-solving, and educational design. He is joined by Margaret Burke offering insights from her work with young people at Shelburne Farms and recent research on the transformative impact of nature-based programs on adolescents. 4 p.m.

• March 20: Awakening the Power of Spiritual Practice. Sustainability is linked to healing of poverty, injustice and environmental degradation. Rev. Mary Abele of All Souls Interfaith Gathering and Pastor Nancy Wright of Ascension Lutheran Church share insights on the potential of spirituality to raise consciousness and motivate action.

Both programs are free and are at All Souls Interfaith Gathering (pictured above) in Shelburne.
 
For information please contact Kim McCray, adult programs coordinator, at 802-985-3346 x3368 or kmccray@shelburnemuseum.org

Reaching Out to Vermont's Alzheimer's Community

2012 Mornings at the Museum Tour of  Time Machines:  Robots, Rockets, and Steampunk Exhibit in Webb Gallery.

Preparations are well underway for the 2013 season of Mornings at the Museum: Shelburne Museum's tour program for people with early stages of Alzheimer's disease and dementia. The program’s team of specially trained guides is proud to continue their efforts in providing monthly tours to memory care residents from the Arbors, the Lodge at Shelburne Bay, and Wake Robin.




2012 Mornings at the Museum Tour at the Stagecoach Inn

Unlike a traditional art tour, guides place the focus on participants by using the Museum collection as a tool to stimulate the expression of thoughts, memories, and opinions while maintaining a safe and caring environment. Research studies have shown that art engagement (museum visits, art making, music, etc.) can significantly improve the quality of life for a person with dementia.  On another level, public programs, like Mornings at the Museum, can help people with Alzheimer’s reaffirm dignity and self-esteem while staying active in the community.


I have been using the winter months doing outreach to members of Vermont's Alzheimer’s community: specifically individuals with Alzheimer’s living at home with their loved ones or care partners.   During my visits with support groups throughout the Chittenden and Addison counties, I describe the Mornings at the Museum program and how people with dementia can benefit from regular visits to Shelburne Museum.  To help caregivers and their loved ones plan trips to Shelburne Museum, I have developed the Mornings at the Museum TO GO program. 

The TO GO program offers monthly complimentary guide packets to help organize and plan self-guided tours on our grounds during the 2013 Summer Season.  Each packet features a mapped out visit to one of the 37 buildings on Shelburne Museum’s Grounds.  While exploring the building, TO GO users can take advantage of the questions and facts provided about four specific objects in order to start conversations with a partner, a family, a group of friends, or even members of a local support group.  The TO GO program provides the freedom to experience art at one’s own convenience and pace.

Many support group caregivers admit they have difficulty finding activities to do with their loved ones.  With that in mind, Shelburne Museum is taking a small steps towards offering positive and memorable experiences for the greater Alzheimer's and dementia community of Vermont. 

Interested in learning more information about the Mornings at the Museum TO GO program?  Please email Shelburne Museum’s Education department at education@shelburnemuseum.org. 

Winter Seed Starting

At last, I can once again get my hands in the dirt and get this new gardening season started! I know what you're thinking, it's winter! But I have to get an early start if I want beautiful, robust plants come planting time in May. 

I've recieved the Geranium seed I ordered in January, and because they need a long growing time before they are ready to be planted in the garden, I have to sow these seeds now!

It's only been 4 days since I sowed the seeds and already they have started germinating!

With the exact growing conditions that they require, you will have great success.

At the end of each growing season I winter over a supply of geraniums which I keep growing on a sunny windowsill. Geraniums make great winter houseplants, all they need is bright light, fertilizer every now and then, and very little water. I use mine to take cuttings from. It's a quick and easy way to duplicate the number of geranium plants you have, and it saves you a lot of money too.

To take a cutting, select a 2-4 inch length of stem and cut it off above a leaf. Peel off the bottom leaves on the stem and any flower buds, leaving 2 leaves at the top.

To improve success rates, dip the base of each cutting in a small amount of rooting hormone to stimulate root growth. Press the cutting into the bed of soil and press the soil firmly around the plant so that the stem is supported and until it begins to grow a new root system. Space the cuttings out about three inches to give them room to grow.

Put the new cuttings in a warm location but not in direct light. Do not cover the plants, as this can encourage mildew to develop on the leaves. Water the cuttings sparingly for the first week and then increase watering to keep soil moist.

In about 4-5 weeks, you should feel some resistance when you gently tug on the cuttings. This tells you the cuttings have rooted and can soon be transplanted in a bigger pot and be exposed to more direct sunlight. At that time we will be moving all the young plants out to our greenhouse.

Jess Gallas

Shelburne Museum Head Gardener

George Washington Like You've Never Seen Him Before!

Though Conservation Fellow Josiah Wagener's project primarily involves the conservation treatment of painted folk art, he took some time out to help me out with the  photo documentation of one of my projects using a new-to-us technology. We're grateful to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation for funding Josiah's work here at Shelburne Museum. 

Here's Josiah:

How do you fully document a large counter relief object such as this early 19th century cake mold featuring General Washington?

The cake mold as photographed under normal conditions in the lab.

It has deep shadows, sharp corners, gentle curves, highlights, stains, cracks, grain color, and polishing from past use. How can you get all of that detail in to a simple photograph? Well, instead of a photograph how about an RTI?


RTI, short for Reflectance Transform Imaging, is a technique in which multiple photographs are taken of an object with the light coming from a different direction in each picture. The several photographs are then fed into a special computer program that combines them, reads the surface texture of the object, and creates a composite image with almost 3-dimensional feel.

31 images were assembled to create this RTI

Once the image has been created one can use the viewer program to virtually pan a light across the surface of the digital object, just as one might tilt and rotate an actual object under a light to get the best view of the highlights and details. Here's a screen capture of what its like to look at the RTI using the viewer program:

The RTI documents all the details of the object for posterity.

Although the technology has been available for a few years it is just beginning to see popular use and has never been used here at Shelburne before. Thanks to the work of the folks at Cultural Heritage Imaging, the RTI tools and technique have become much more easily available to anyone who wants to use this powerful technology. I recently taught myself the technique and assembled the necessary (very basic) equipment, and with the help of conservation intern Rosella Fevola,  we successfully created an RTI image of the Washington cake mold on our first attempt.

We intend to keep experimenting with the opportunities and limitations of this technology and find new ways to fit it into our conservation process here at Shelburne.

LEAP! this summer

Though there's still an undeniable chill in the air around the Museum, we in Education are hard at work planning our 2013 LEAP! (Learn + Play) summer camps. For seven very special weeks this July and August we invite campers ages five to thirteen to discover enchanted creatures, cook on an open hearth, join the circus, sail the high seas, and indulge their creative minds. 

One of our offerings is AHOY! A Week at Sea, a nautical-themed camp for six-to-eight year-olds that we ran for the first time last year. I wrote the curriculum for AHOY!, and experienced one of my all-time favorite museum moments on "Steamship Day," when we learned about the Ticonderoga and put ourselves in sailors' shoes.

Intern Callie and Lex practice their figure eight knots.

We're fortunate to have a knowledgeable Museum staff, including several true maritime experts. Peter Tomasi, our Ticonderoga carpenter, leads a group of dedicated volunteers who work on the boat year-round. One of them is Lex Nason, who has volunteered in the Ti workshop for eighteen years and over 8,000 hours. He and Peter generously offered to spend the morning teaching our campers the nautical knots they know and use.

A book of knots.

Each camper had their own three-foot length of rope. We began with basic overhand knots and worked our way up to figure-eights, which hold better and are also easier to untie when needed. Before long, our campers tied their water bottles together using their new skills and created a pulley system for hoisting them onto the tables!

Peter demonstrates a knot he uses on the Ticonderoga.

All hands on deck! Our water bottles get a boost.

We try to build activities into camps for staff to share their expertise with an eager young audience. On another afternoon during our "Week at Sea" campers questioned Shelburne Museum's Director of Buildings Chip Stulen, who happens to be trained in boat building, about ship design. Then campers built their own models complete with smokestacks, flags, figureheads, and rudders. My colleague Paige spoke with the kids about her years traveling the world on a cruise ship and told the Native American story of Natsilane and the killer whale, a fascinating piece of nautical folklore. 

I always look forward to planning these fun, creative, and interactive camp activities--they brighten the short winter days.

A sailor's life!

Camp registration is now open--click here to learn more about our offerings and download a registration form. We hope to see you this summer!