There is still space available in the mannequin making online class taught by Helen Alten and Northern States Conservation Center:

MS 243: Making Museum Quality Mannequins
Instructor: Helen Alten
Price: $475
Dates: Sep 6 through Oct 14, 2011

Description:
A good mannequin makes an exhibit look professional. Unfortunately, most museum staff do not know how to make a costume look good on a mannequin. The result is that costumes look flat, provide incorrect information or are being damaged. Buying an expensive "museum quality mannequin" is not the solution - garments rarely fit without alterations to the mannequin. Learn how to measure garments and transfer that information to construct a new form or alter an old form so that it accurately fits the garment, creating an accurate and safe display. Learn about the materials that will and won't damage the textile. Making Museum Quality Mannequins provides an overview of all of the materials used to construct mannequins in today's museums. Learn inexpensive mannequin solutions and how different materials may use the same additive or subtractive construction technique. Fabrication methods for many mannequin styles are described. Finishing touches - casting and molding, hair, arms, legs, stands and base, undergarments - are discussed with examples of how they change the presentation of a garment. 

Logistics:
Participants in Museum Quality Mannequins work through sections on their own. Materials and resources include online literature, slide lectures and dialog between students and the instructor through online forums. 

Museum Quality Mannequins runs six weeks. To reserve a spot in the course, please pay at http://www.collectioncare.org/tas/tas.html If you have trouble please contact Helen Alten at [log in to unmask]

The Instructor:
Helen Alten, is the Director of Northern States Conservation Center and its chief Objects Conservator. For nearly 30 years she has been involved in objects conservation, starting as a pre-program intern at the Oriental Institute in Chicago and the University Museum of the University of Pennsylvania. She completed a degree in Archaeological Conservation and Materials Science from the Institute of Archaeology at the University of London in England. She has built and run conservation laboratories in Bulgaria, Montana, Greece, Alaska and Minnesota. She has a broad understanding of three-dimensional materials and their deterioration, wrote and edited the quarterly Collections Caretaker, maintains the popular www.collectioncare.org web site, lectures throughout the United States on collection care topics, was instrumental in developing a state-wide protocol for disaster response in small Minnesota museums, has written, received and reviewed grants for NEH and IMLS, worked with local foundations funding one of her pilot programs, and is always in search of the perfect museum mannequin. She has published chapters on conservation and deterioration of archeological glass with the Materials Research Society and the York Archaeological Trust, four chapters on different mannequin construction techniques in Museum Mannequins: A Guide for Creating the Perfect Fit (2002), preservation planning, policies, forms and procedures needed for a small museum in The Minnesota Alliance of Local History Museums' Collection Initiative Manual, and is co-editor of the penultimate book on numbering museum collections (still in process) by the Gilcrease Museum in Oklahoma. Helen Alten has been a Field Education Director, Conservator, and staff trainer. She began working with people from small, rural, and tribal museums while as the state conservator for Montana and Alaska. Helen currently conducts conservation treatments and operates a conservation center in Charleston, WV and St. Paul, MN.

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).