Feature -- by Mark Sproxton

Imagine being tasked with washing and repairing a 12th century ceremonial cloth your first day on the job? Or how about being responsible for repairing the love letters Colonel James F. Mcleod wrote to his wife over 100 years ago?

Belinda Fireman uses a microscope to help her conserve a historic print.

Such is the work for conservators Belinda Fireman and Gail Niinimaa. Fireman is a full-time paper conservator for the Glenbow Museum, while Niinimaa works at home as a textile conservator and part-time at the Glenbow.

"Every piece has a challenge," explained Niinimaa, who regularly works cleaning and mounting heirloom textiles such as quilts, wedding gowns and embroidered cloth. "I like trying to figure out what to do." Fireman also enjoys the test each newspaper, water color or map presents. "I like being able to work directly with the collection," she said. "It's one of the few (jobs) where we can work really hands-on."

Other conservators specialize in paintings, and others in artifacts conserving items such as cutlery or chain saws. Conservators may also work for art galleries, libraries and archives. Many work privately as well as the number of institutional positions are as limited as the people and places collecting historic materials.

Regardless of the work setting, being trusted with such delicate pieces doesn't come without earning respect and paying dues, however. Both conservators have masters degrees in conservation and also spent lengthy periods as volunteers and interns honing their skills.

"Pretty much all the conservator jobs ask for a masters," Fireman said. "It's getting very competitive." She doesn't pretend school teaches everything though. "Summer internships get you into the real world and I find you learn a lot more in the real world."

While the local conservators relish the opportunities to maintain items from the past, their schedules take a decidedly different look. Fireman works Monday to Friday 8 a.m to 4:30 p.m. Niinimaa works her scheduled shifts at the Glenbow, then works from her house conserving items she has solicited on her own.

At the Glenbow, the conservation lab comes equipped with a whole host of tools, chemicals and materials required to conserve the artifacts. Fireman uses this equipment while she spends her work days checking and repairing pieces to be included in an upcoming exhibit or pieces on loan. Everything she examines, or repairs, requires a condition report, a treatment report, photographs to be taken, and if time is short, comments recommending a further course of treatment.

"Occasionally I'll get a piece where paint is flaking and I have to work under the microscope," Fireman said. "That can get tiring." Sometimes she has to use chemicals to remove any unwanted substances requiring not only a knowledge of chemistry, but an eye for safety as well. Fielding conservation questions from the public also is included in her duties.

A sample of Gail Niinimaa's textile conservation.

Working in textiles at home, Niinimaa said she doesn't have to worry about any flammable or harmful chemicals. She can use what is essentially soap and water to clean the items, but she said having the discipline to get the work done remains key. "Client service is an important aspect of the job. It's way easier to do the work here (at the Glenbow) with a structure and deadlines."

Sometimes the conservation and repair work takes a bit of mulling over before the hands-on work begins, Niinimaa said. "In conservation, there's more than one approach. And they're all right." Like Fireman, Niinimaa must also be careful of repetitive strain injuries as much of the work requires constant repetition using fine motor skills.

Whether working full-time for an institution, or part-time from home, the conservators said anyone considering this occupation should have good color matching skills, and love the work first and foremost. Pay for a full-time conservator at the Glenbow rests in the $30,000 to $45,000 a year range.

Niinimaa said most of her private projects are in the $100 to $300 range. "Some fields are more lucrative than others. I wouldn't say textiles is the most (profitable). In a way, paper and works of art have more value on the market. If you have granny's quilt it's nice, but realistically, if you sell it you're not going to make a lot of money."

While intensity, oodles of patience and attention to detail define conservation work, both admit gaining much from their job. They enjoy the problem solving required and being able to use a combination of art and science to find solutions to the unique challenge each item holds.

The local conservators are uncertain about future work opportunities as the industry depends significantly on grants, which rise and fall depending upon political will and interest. Regardless, moving immediately from school to full-time won't often happen. "To get a job you have to have experience," Fireman said. "If you're in the right place at the right time, that's the way to get jobs. I happened to (get) one of them. A lot of people go into private practice."

Niinimaa said before anyone enters the private sector as a conservator they better have some solid experience under their belts. "Everything you work on is different," she said. "You need a bag of tricks." She also wonders where textile conservation is headed. "The future is interesting because there may be a whole generation of people who don't know how to sew. Maybe there'll be a big demand for it?"