Cost of the workshop was $399.
Only 25 workshop seats were available on a first come first serve basis.
Iron Fence and Ornamentation at St. Louis Cemetery #3
Lectures were held at the Architecture Department of Tulane, Richardson Memorial Building Room 204.
Hands-on workshop sessions were held in St. Louis Cemetery #2.
Day one
Tour of iron working facility (this will help familiarize the students with the construction methods of different iron types)
Lectures on:
- Construction techniques of ornamental ironwork
- Documentation
- Metallic structures
- Mechanisms of deterioration
Day two
Lectures on:
- Conservation Sequencing
- Safety
In the field/Hands-on round robin sessions:
- Documentation
- Re/Setting
- Cleaning
- Simple repairs
- Rust treatments
- Surface finishes
Dorm rooms are available during the workshop on the Tulane Campus. The rooms are double occupancy at a rate of $25 per night, (includes linens). If interested please call Jason Church 318-356-7444.
Participants are also welcome to make independent lodging arrangements.
Instructors
Jason Church
Jason Church is a Materials Conservator in the Materials Research Program at the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training in Natchitoches, LA. Jason’s focus is in the coordination and development of the Center’s national cemetery training initiative and related research. He was previously a conservator and historic metals expert for the City of Savannah, Ga., Department of Cemeteries. He earned his M.F.A. in Historic Preservation from Savannah College of Art and Design.
Eric Schindelholz
Eric Schindelholz is a conservator in private practice specializing in metals and marine archaeological materials. Prior to entering private practice, Schindelholz served as objects conservator for the National Park Service at Harpers Ferry Center. He holds a masters in art conservation from Queen’s University and is currently a materials science student at the University of Virginia.
Mary Striegel
Mary F. Striegel is the Materials Research Program Director at NCPTT. She specializes in understanding the effects of air pollution on cultural resources. Mary holds a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from Washington University in St. Louis.
I was very happy to read about this conservation and restoration training of our old wrought iron. Most people walk right past beautiful wrought iron fences and balconies and don’t even see them. It’s such a shame. But now artisans and wrought iron designers like Lee Sauder in American and Carlos Galvan in Mexico are reviving the traditional methods of making “bloom” for their wrought iron designs. We are again seeing beautiful results like those of the renowned Italian wrought iron artist Nicolo Grosso Caparra from the late 1400s.
[...] [...]
I love to hear people saving the wrought iron pieces that we already have. Wrought iron is also known as virgin steel. This is a much more pure form of steel that we don’t have access to anymore, unless you have a lot of cash to burn. Most steel used for ornamental iron pieces used today is a recycled steel that has many different metals mixed together.
The problem with trying to work with this recycled steel is that each piece has a different mixture than the piece next to it. This makes recreating the same bend very difficult. So if you are trying to create two halves that mirror each other, you can run into trouble.
Since it is so hard to recreate these beautiful pieces with the materials we have today, we need to do everything in our power to preserve what we still have left from the past.
Wesley
asironworks.com