My Graduate Summer INternSHIP at BACC

By: Taryn Nurse, Summer 2024 Graduate Intern, WUDPAC Class of 2026
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​As a graduate intern from the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation (WUDPAC), I embarked on my first year Summer Work Project with BACC with the goal of widening my understanding of treatment and care in a real-world setting. I was absolutely thrilled to be gaining experience in a regional center, and it was such a treat to work under so many WUDPAC alumni!

As a rising paintings’ major, my summer was tailored to broadening my working knowledge of paintings and painted surfaces. My traditional easel paintings projects all involved various cleaning and varnish removal treatments which not only introduced me to multiple new approaches but also helped build my confidence on the decision-making aspect of choosing an appropriate cleaning approach. I credit this new skillset to having the opportunity to revamp BACC’s Modular Cleaning Program as well as through working hands-on with a variety of media including oil, acrylic, PVC and even black gesso. I also had the opportunity to develop my inpainting skills through projects with both the paintings and objects departments of BACC. I picked up many new tips and tricks for working with dry pigments and adjusting the sheen of acrylics with glass platelets. Some of my projects also introduced me to more technical treatments like humidification, thread by thread tear mending with a variety of adhesives, corner consolidation of works on canvas board and mending losses with inserts for works on canvas. These are skills that I will no doubt be calling on for the rest of my career. 

My major project involved a technical study on a polychrome sculpture of St. Joseph which came to BACC from the Mission San Louis Rey. This project turned out to be a dynamic learning experience involving both research and hands on-treatment components. I was able to perform many technical analyses on the sculpture including X-Ray fluorescence Spectroscopy, X-radiography, microscopic fiber identification, and cross section analyses to learn more about the object’s construction and history. Working with the sculpture introduced me to multiple techniques for paint consolidation and I had the opportunity to work with several materials and techniques. Some of these included direct Aquazol injection, gelatin consolidation through tissue, heat setting through mylar and creating gelatin fills.

My time at BACC was not limited to bench work, however. Through attending meetings and spending dedicated time with BACC’s Conservation Services Manager, I was able to build my understanding of the inner workings of a regional center from a business standpoint. Some of my projects also involved direct communication with curators and artists which further added to my understanding of the working relationship between conservators and the people we serve and how this affects our approaches to treatment and writing treatment proposals.
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In the span of 8-weeks, I can confidently say that I built many new skills under the conservators at BACC. And of course, San Diego was an adventure in itself! My summer allowed time to visit sea caves, get a tin-type portrait in Old Town, try many churros and so much more! Thank you BACC for a dynamic summer!

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