Re-fusing a Bomb

The installation of exhibitions always requires a lot of glass to be moved in a short amount of time. Although our preparators are excellent at moving glass without damage, sometimes gravity happens. During the installation of our Making Ideas exhibition that opened May 19, the fuse was broken off of one of the glass bomb prototypes designed by Steven and William Ladd. Luckily it was just one break and the piece was treated in time for the opening.

Glass bomb with the broken fuse before treatment.

Glass bomb prototype with the broken fuse before treatment.

Glass bomb prototype during treatment

Glass bomb prototype during treatment. The bomb had to be positioned in such a way that the fuse would stay where it needed to be because the adhesive we use takes a long time to set.

If you visit the Museum, look for the bomb in the Making Ideas: Experiments in Design at GlassLab exhibition, now on view through January 6, 2013.

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Astrid van Giffen is the Museum's associate conservator. In 2007, she completed the conservation training program of the Netherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage (ICN) in Amsterdam, with a specialization in glass and ceramics. Her training included internships at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Md, and The Corning Museum of Glass in Corning. Since completing the ICN program, she has worked as a private conservator in Oregon and was the Samuel H. Kress Fellow in Objects Conservation at the Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies of the Harvard Art Museum (2008-2009). She also holds a BA (2001) in Classical Studies from Willamette University.

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