I think that Megan has brought up a very interesting point which both conservators artists should think long and hard about. Although I am not a paintings conservator I have several friends who are and this topic has arisen fairly often. My friends tell me that many artists are unaware of the stability of the materials which they employ in their art works, that information just wasn't passed along in school or during apprenticeship. I believe that conservators should strive to interact with studio art programs and to fully inform the next generation of artists about this issue of permanence and stability. The artist, I believe, should at least have the knowledge to make the choice between creating a work out of stable, fairly permanent materials, and creating a work which is meant to degrade, deteriorate, and transform itself rapidly into a work composed of suffering and damaged materials. I see both choices as valid, the key is for the artist to be properly informed and to make it a matter of intent, rather than accident. Dave David Harvey Conservator of Metals & Arms Colonial Williamsburg Foundation P.O. Box 1776 Williamsburg, VA 23187-1776 USA voice: 804-220-7039 e-mail: [log in to unmask]