Beaux Arts Conservation

04/08/2023

I'm often asked how I got into conservation and what the training involves. West Dean College has put out a promotional video featuring Kirsten Ramsay, a fellow alum of the Ceramics conservation program. You may know Kirsten from the hit BBC TV series, "The Repair Shop," which features several conservators treating different artifacts. Here is the link for the page where you can view the video. Seeing the beautiful grounds again has made me miss England and all of the friends I made there!

Develop the skills and competences to work towards becoming a professional ceramics conservator on one of our conservation courses focussing on ceramics. Find out more about specialising in ceramics conservation.

03/05/2023

And if my previous posts weren't enough to grab your interest in the exhibit opening tomorrow night, take a look at this photo from the Detroit Institute of Art and see if you recognize who is standing next to Andrés Sánchez Flores. Where are my art friends? I did say he walked among art giants...

https://laexhibitmuseum.org/event/andres-sanchez-flores-gems-of-an-artistic-genius/

Kahlo observes Andres Sanchez Flores, one of Rivera’s assistants, test Rivera’s powder pigments. The pigments has to be ground to the perfect consistency i...

03/05/2023

Ok, I'm sharing this again because the exhibit opens tomorrow. For those of you unfamiliar with his work, he walked among art giants at the height of the Mexican Muralist Movement. He was a teacher at La Esmeralda School in Mexico City. He was a chemist that developed the paints used by Diego Rivera in his murals. He was a conservator who saved the works of Rivera, Orozco, and other contemporaries as well as ancient Mayan works. He was a husband and a father who gave his children a passion for life and living it to the fullest. He was an artist, a man that loved art and created it, but never craved the spotlight. He was born in Mexico, but made Shreveport his home.

Please join us tomorrow evening from 4:30 - 7:00 for the first public viewing of the gathered works of Andrés Sánchez Flores.

Kermit Poling speaks with Rocio and Erwin Sanchez Flores about an exhibit at the State Museum that focuses on the work of their father, “Andrés Sánchez Flores.

21/03/2023

It has been my pleasure to help this family prepare their father’s works for exhibition. It’s not often I find myself immersed in art history in the making, but it’s projects like this that confirm I made the right career choice. These works, these stories, are why I do the work I do. Please join us for “Gems of an Artistic Genius” opening May 4 at the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum, showcasing the work of Andres Sanchez Flores.

19/01/2023

If you are in East Texas, come see me this Sunday afternoon!

How To Care for Your Own Art and Antiques

Would you like to know how to care for your grandmother’s quilts? How about the tarnished silver set in the cupboard? Wondering what to do with that shoebox of family photographs? If you have family heirlooms and are interested in learning simple, practical ways to care for them at home, please join us for a free and informational lecture given by Jamie Rigsby, a fine arts conservator and museum professional. Materials discussed will be textiles, documents, ceramics, furniture, photographs, paintings, and much more as we demonstrate proper handling techniques and solutions that will help you preserve your treasured pieces for years to come. There will be time after the lecture to ask questions and discuss specific issues you may have encountered with your heirlooms.

Conservator Jamie Rigsby opened her own private practice, Beaux Arts Conservation, in Shreveport, Louisiana in 2020. She specializes in the treatment of ceramics and glass, but works with stone, wood, composition, ivory, tortoise, mixed media, and many other types of artifacts. Jamie is particularly interested in helping small museums and private collectors care for their objects, as well as working on outreach initiatives to bring awareness to issues in preservation and conservation. She believes that today’s collectors are the museum donors of tomorrow, and wants to ensure that useful, practical knowledge about caring for artifacts is available to all. Jamie has Professional Member status with the American Institute for Conservation (AIC) and is also a member of the International Institute for Conservation (ICC).
This two-hour seminar will cover the basics of preservation and give visitors a chance to ask questions and even bring an item for discussion.
Funded by a grant from the Hotel and Occupancy Program, City of Lufkin.

27/09/2022

It only took 24 years to be able to put them together, but being able to hang them in my own studio was worth the wait. It’s never too late to make a change!

17/09/2022

Exactly one year ago today I hiked to the top of the Acropolis to the Parthenon. It was the beginning of what would be a profound experience, working my first archaeological dig. It seems fitting that I would celebrate that experience by volunteering at Archaeology Day at the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum. It was great to meet so many new people and talk about conservation!