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Rosie H. Cook

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Asialink+AsiaSoc.23March(1)

2017 Asialink Arts Residency

Crazed Puppets 04  Crazed Puppets

bundengan-01 This is not a Kowangan

aptccarn5 #APTCCARN5

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Tasty sight for tired sore eyes... when the yellow staining is aaaall in the coating, the canvas below is still white... and the best thing is: the coating is water-soluble! I thought this large 130 x 160 cm painting on more or less raw canvas was going to be a nightmare, requiring weeks of tweaking gels. Turns out, it’ll be done in a matter of days! 🙏🙏🙏❤️ sending love to the rest of the world from Taiwan, where self-isolation is not yet on the cards and work continues as usual. #textileconservation #conservator #contemporaryart #rawcanvas #colorfield #paintings #paintingsconservation #artconservation
Just realised I spent 2 hours and the last of my DTPA making solutions using borax instead of boric acid because I didn’t bother translating the label into English last year when I purchased said borax.... gnmmnnnaarrrrrrr #conservatorproblems #bilingualconservatorproblems
A symphony of mummy, cats, plants, fushia and teal.
DIRTY DIRTY DIRTY! Getting all the dirt out. How did this textile get so filthy? Incense, cigarette smoke, pollution and dust, all soaked up by the cotton, silk and wool over several decades #conservator #textileconservation
Current work station: I sit on the low stool, with my tools on the green stool, and then support my arms on the blue cushions on the trestle, whilst sewing a three-dimensional textile, which is sitting on the bench hiked up as high as it can go. This way my eyes are level with my work and I don’t have to lean over it, and my arms aren’t tired from hanging in the air. Not entirely pain-free but as ergonomic an adjustment as I could find 🥴 also I am constantly finding new uses for my little hiking mat I got when walking the Camino in 2012! Padding for my knees or bum in all situations. #conservatorproblems #conservator #textileconservation
At least once a week I drop a precious curved needle on the grey tiles of my studio and curse the skies as I crawl around, scanning with a magnet trying to locate my lost treasure. Pins and needles are perfectly camouflaged on what is possibly the worst possible flooring for a textiles conservation space! I always pick up an abundance of entomology pins along the way... still haven’t located a curved needle lost last Thursday (or maybe this is it, and the one I just dropped is still out there 🤨). #conservatorproblems #textiles #textileconservation #needles #pins #magnet
After all this time I’ve finally taken the plunge to learn how to drive a scooter! It’s the only way to get around in Kaohsiung — public transport is less than adequate, and I like riding my bicycle to work in winter but it quickly gets much too hot and humid for cycling. I have wanted a @gogoro_taiwan electric scooter for ages, but they are so expensive it didn’t seem likely — until they came out with the Gogoro Viva which is a “lite” model: low-weight, low-cost, and has a very low monthly subscription for battery charges 🔋(also low-speed — it’s capped at 53km/h, which is fine by me!!). I am still very cautious as it is slightly terrifying being on the road in this lawless city, however overall I am really happy with it. It’s so quiet and clean, and is made with recyclable polypropylene to help make it even more low-impact for the environment. It also happens to match my outfit today! #gogoro #gogoroviva
These are a few of my favourite things! My Talas curved tweezers have been by my side forever now, but less obvious tools I have picked up over the past few years are a porcupine quill and a bamboo ear scraper. The ear scraper is from Daiso and a cheap but very useful alternative to a bamboo skewer (it does gross out my Asian colleagues however, even though I assure them it’s never been used in an ear!). The porcupine quill is my favourite and irreplaceable tool, it’s so nice for organising and detangling threads, the rounded white tip is the perfect angle for smoothing threads down whilst the thin black tip allows me to pick individual threads out. It also has become my go-to item for removing accretions, as it is smoother than a normal skewer but far more gentle than metal. I love it and only reluctantly lend it to interns or colleagues on rare occasions, as it was the perfect useable quill out of half a dozen I purchased online a while back on a whim — I don’t know if I would be able to replace it! #textileconservation #conservator #porcupinequills #conservationtools #toolsofthetrade
Very glad that my selection of @pipers_silks threads includes a perfect brown match for the upholstery silk I’m currently couching. Lots and lots and lots of couching... I’m also glad I could start with some easier areas like this, as there are many many tangled and loose threads! #textileconservation #textiles #conservator #pipersilks #brown #silk #couching #conservationstitching
I’m in a bit of a slump due to being sick all the time, but the new show Secrets Of The Museum (BBC2) about the curators and conservators of the V&A perked me right up! Watching the conservation of Pumpie the elephant was such a joy, and I found myself holding my breath whilst talented conservator Jo Hackett manipulated custom-dyed felt into the damaged trunk (with only minimal swearing, and some complaining about the time it takes to colour-match with dyes! I loved her for her realness!!!). Interesting that the netting overlay was not mentioned — I wonder if it was cut for time or if the editors didn’t find it interesting, because I often notice non-textile-conservation people seem a bit disappointed by the use of net, almost like they think it’s cheating? When in fact it’s such a clever and skilful way to stabilise damage and even make it less visually obvious. I even struggled to get a screen cap that showed the net clearly, like the editors wanted to pretend it wasn’t there (it certainly makes for a fantastic “skin smoothing selfie filter” effect when slightly out of focus!). The other highlight was watching expert costume mounter Lara Flecker at work — between her books and her Instagram (@laraflecker) she is a bit of a celebrity to me, and is instantly likeable and natural on the show. Again, I just love the touches of realness with which conservation was depicted. Can’t wait for the next episode!!!! Well done to all the conservation staff for their work — it must be so much pressure having cameras on you constantly 😅#secretsofthemuseum #vandamuseum #conservation #conservator #textileconservation #pumpietheelephant
I loved these so much! Had to share 🦁 Repost @historicembroidery “The strangely stitched lions of the @metmuseum! Almost all of these lions are from seventeenth-century needlework, with a few from the early eighteenth century. The delightful wonkiness of the lions is likely a result of the difficulty of embroidering detail, as well as the fact that the lions, usually drawn onto the silk or linen ground by professional draftsmen, were based entirely on print sources • • • Met Museum, various time periods and accession numbers”.
I am reading “Wheesht: Creative Making in Uncertain Times” by Kate Davies (who wrote the beautiful “Handywoman”). It holds 12 essays, and they are of interest to me in my exploration of the purpose and role of conservation (Davies asks if creative work can be iterative and repetitive rather than making something completely new, and suggests embracing “an idea of performativity over one of authenticity”). The first essay is entitled “Mend”, and it seems an unintentional hommage to textiles conservation — “there is a tenderness in noticing holes, worn-out things, damage, and also in handling objects, garments, materials” (quoting Celia Pym). I ended up underlining so much of the chapter, but some particular concepts I wanted to share, because they align very closely with one particular project I have been working on. Mend focuses on how “the process of repair enables a renewed and deeper understanding of [an object’s] usefulness and significance”. The value and significance of darning is explored, particularly in Pym’s work, and the example is used of a sweater worn by her uncle, and repaired by his sister at the areas where his body would lean against his drawing board. “Whilst the everyday movements of Roly’s body were present in his sweater’s areas of wear, the practical care of his sister was equally present in its places of repair” — speaking of the body and activities of its wearer and the caring relationship. “Material objects are worn, broken or damaged through processes ... integral to that object’s life. Retaining the memory of an object’s damage ... is celebrating that object’s narrative.” I am working on a woollen dressing gown that belonged to Rev. Thomas Barclay (1849-1935). It came to me with many different kinds of damage, moth-holes, but also worn patches at his elbows and knees, from the repeated act of prayer. But another trace of its life manifests in the darns and repairs, in different yarns, as well as traces of previous patches noticeable only because of differential fading. It’s an honour to work with an object where each trace and its appropriate treatment is discussed with such thoughtfulness. #textileconservation #katedaviesdesigns
Today I finally finished reading the monumental annotated autobiography of Laura Ingalls Wilder, “Pioneer Girl”, edited by Pamela Smith Hill. It’s nearly 400 pages long, large format, and full of research notes on every detail of the previously unpublished autobiographical work that was the foundation for the Little House books. Growing up I read the whole series over and over, identifying in a strange way with the rather ramshackle shanties and other unusual homes Laura lived in (though far removed from an un-renovated French farmhouse!). But of course one of my favourite aspects particularly in the later books was the detail in which Laura describes everyone’s dresses — I drew them over and over to the best of my imagination (again, wildly different from the actual clothes they wore!). In this book, not only are there photos of the people (and their dresses!), but further details of various dresses both in the books and by the researchers (like Mary’s clothes before she went to the College for the Blind, or even Laura’s black cashmere wedding dress!). Of course there is so much more I enjoyed in this book — a must-read for any Little House lover! #lauraingallswilder #littlehouse #bookstagram #prairiefashion
This weekend I finished reading “Mirka Mora: A life making art” by Sabine Cotte. Its title describes the book perfectly — it’s not exactly a biography in the typical sense of every detail of the artist’s life; but Mirka’s art was so much part of her life in every sense, that Sabine’s book becomes an hommage to the woman as much as to her artworks, which cannot be separated from each other. I really loved this book — I had initially expected it to build upon Sabine’s PhD thesis on conserving Mirka Mora’s work, but instead it reads as a very warm, affectionate and privileged insight into the passionately creative life of a Franco-Australian artist who defied categorisation her entire life. Well done Sabine for your beautiful and very well-written book, which also taught me so much about the Australian art scene in the 20th century, as well as painting vivid pictures of Mirka “at home” throughout her life. I cannot recommend enough! Slide 1 - Sabine’s conservation of Mirka’s soft sculptures, painted and stuffed textile dolls (photos by Sabine Cotte) Slides 2-3 - the dust cover and hard cover, with a clever design featuring the mosaic style which Mirka used for several of her murals in Melbourne Slide 4 - petite dédicace 🥰 merci @sabinecotte #textileconservation #mirkamora #softsculpture #bookstagram
Such a relief!!! After watching the depressing results of recent elections in Australia, the UK, and the US, I am SO THRILLED AND PROUD of Taiwanese President Madam Tsai Ing-Wen who on this day has destroyed the Lord Voldemort of Taiwanese politics, a man who has made clear he planned to sell this country and its people down the river. Well done to all the Taiwanese who voted and showed they will not give in to scare tactics, fake news and fear-mongers ! It’s hard to explain to those not invested in Taiwan’s history how important this election was. 2020 is shaping up to be a much better year than I dared hope! Congratulations Taiwan 🇹🇼 恭喜🎉🎉🎉🎉 so many fireworks everywhere right now!!! 🎇 #taiwan #tsaiingwen
Hello-Goodbye Hong Kong, hoping to see you again soon!
Further adventures in Lascaux swabs (thanks @charlieridley84 for the terminology!): this morning I tried a swab with Lascaux 303 HV, since it was mentioned that its tackier surface might be even more effective than yesterday’s Lascaux 498 swabs. It was extremely effective in picking up the tiny fibres scattered across the flocked surface, but definitely picked up more flocking along the way, as seen in this macro photo of the swab coated in white flocking fibres. As @jessiepetals suggested, it would probably be best to mix the two adhesives to get the ideal balance, especially as now yesterday’s 498 swabs have fully dried out they are much too hard and glossy for cleaning! #lascauxadhesive #lascauxswabs #conservator #flocking #textileconservation
Today I used tacky (almost) dried tabs of Lascaux 498HV to remove dirt from a flocked plastic surface. I tried a variety of preparation methods for the Lascaux — direct onto silicone release, onto toothpicks, and onto dental paper points. Then I cleaned the surface by dabbing small pieces of Lascaux to gently to lift dirt like an eraser, using tweezers to remove the crumbs. Would love to show off more impressive photos but confidentiality rules as usual! #lascaux #conservator #textilesconservation #conservationtips #textileconservation
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