My course, BA (Hons) Conservation: Stone, Wood & Decorative Surfaces, started on the 25th of September 2023. Usually, the first week of a new term is considered easier than the rest, as a week to get to know the school and the other students, and try to maintain conversations without giving anyone an awkward impression of oneself. The thought of a first week in an entirely new environment fuelled my anxiety. But luckily, City & Guilds of London Art School does not have a chilled first week!
After having just arrived, we were introduced to Stone Lettering by Tom Young, Head of Carving. My natural reaction was of brief relief mixed with excitement, and then followed by a new rush of anxiety. I had never held a chisel in my hand, or even spelt the word (I’m Austrian), and I had never carved a letter into stone before.
Throughout this course, and thanks to the kind and very patient support of Tom, my lettering improved daily, even experiencing small moments of proudness! It did not give me time for social anxiety, but rather reassured my curiosity in craftswomanship and the course ahead, and allowed us new students to bond through our shared emotional ups and downs of learning Lettering.
Our first-year class of Stone, Wood and Decorative Surfaces Conservation contains nine people, all of different ages and backgrounds. In an interesting way, this mixture of characters allows oneself to be an individual in a group. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses, but, rather than competing, our approach has been to ask each other for help or share ways to improve our work together. Although different in certain aspects, what we have in common as students is an interest in conservation and the willingness to learn and to become better in a nourishing environment.
And this was only the first few days! In the last few weeks, I have undertaken courses in plaster casting and moulding, technical drawing, joinery, history of decorative styles and architecture, observational drawing and conservation science, as well as an introduction to conservation.
What I have enjoyed so far about my first year at City & Guilds of London Art School is that we are taught to approach Conservation in a very sensible way. Because you are interested in conserving or restoring an object, it is important for you to be aware of how something is made and how to handle different objects in regard of their material, heritage, etc. As a student with little knowledge about conservation, it has been very helpful to get to know wood and stone as working materials in the first place, and then later as materials to conserve. Understanding them as their own entity, and getting familiar with their possibilities and also their boundaries, will come in handy as soon as you are confronted with an actual finished object, which is placed in your capable hands to conserve.
In conclusion, the course has taken a blended approach, focusing equally on theoretical aspects such as art history, ethics and conservation as well as incredible hands-on craft focused skills that build you up from any level of knowledge.
Words and photography by Magdalena Wohlgennant, First Year BA (Hons) Conservation: Stone, Wood & Decorative Surfaces