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That moment I realized I was cleaning artifacts with the wrong brush the whole time
I volunteer at a small museum in Dayton and for like 2 years I was using a stiff bristle brush on pottery shards. I thought I was being thorough getting all the dirt off. Then this older archaeologist from the state university came by for a workshop and saw me doing it. He literally winced and asked if I wanted to turn those fragments into dust. He explained that soft goat hair brushes are the only thing you should use on fired clay because the stiff bristles can scratch off surface markings and slip. I felt so dumb but he was super chill about it. He even pulled out his own kit and showed me the difference on a practice piece. Now I keep a set of soft brushes in my bag and I tell every new volunteer the same thing. Has anyone else had a pro correct your technique in a totally obvious way?
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robinf5117d ago
Did he show you on a piece you'd already cleaned?
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