Lab Hours due May 12

I struggled a bit with my NWC objects. I put in a hefty 17 hours of lab time this week! I spent 3 hours in the CSUS and Central libraries searching for sources and going through every picture in every book. I spent 8 hours searching online and researching the Northwest Coast/British Columbia Native American communities, geographic regions and material culture, as well as completed the inventory worksheets by hand, so I could type them up tonight. I spent 4 hours tonight reviewing the accession file, Cotton's notebook and B&G's section on condition reporting and then finally typing the worksheets. I also docented in the museum today from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. I spent an extra hour there because I needed to talk to my art history professor, Elaine O'Brien who asked to see our exhibition - so of course I had to give her a tour! Also, 2 school groups (one really big one) from Hiram Johnson Elementary School came through (one group got there just before 4:00 p.m.). I gave them both tours. I loved it!

Help Please!

I can't open the XLSX files in the accession folder. My boyfriend says it's because I have a Mac and that I need the documents saved as Excel 97-2003. Is this something someone can do and send to me? Or does someone have a Mac and found another way to open them? Thanks!

Lab Hours due May 5

I only have 5 hours for this week. I spent 1.5 hours last week researching my baskets, which includes a half hour reviewing the books Nessa snagged. Thank goodness she's hanging on to them and shared them with me last Friday in the museum! I spent one hour online searching the Central Library's catalog (for Northwest Coast) and will be hoofing it there tomorrow to see if any of the sources pan out. If I find any books with pictures of birch bark baskets, I'll share them with Holly and Brian - I suggest we pool our resources. I spent 2 hours docenting in the museum today (Miranda came in to help). We had four visitors. One visitor came in right before 3:00. He told me he worked in construction for several years and found a few objects that he was hoping he could talk to someone about. I told him that Dr. C. might be able to point him in the right direction and also told him about Laurel Seban who teaches Native American Art in the art department. I spent just a half an hour looking at blogs since nobody has really entered new info except for Holly who has a nice online catalog if you haven't checked it out yet!

Lab Hours due April 28

I logged a total of 6.5 hours. That includes 1 hour spent last week finishing my paper, 1.5 hours in the library searching for scholarly resources for the inventory project (came up with very little, so now must take my warm little body to the main public library), 2 hours on the repatriation assignment (which includes reading and commenting on others), and 2 hours docenting in the museum.

Today 3 visitors viewed our exhibition. One was a returning visitor! I got to give tours to the other two. One visitor, a woman, was amazed that students developed the exhibition (although I always tell them about how much work Dr. C did).

Repatriation

10. "Notice of Intent to Repatriate Cultural Items: Logan Museum of Anthropology. Beloit College, Beloit, WI (October 7, 2008). When the museum acquired the Albert Green Heath collection (see notices 3 and 4 above), it received a drum made from a wooden washtub measuring about two feet across and decorated with hide drumheads painted red, yellow and green. The drum came with three drumsticks and four wooden drum legs wrapped in black cotton and blue cloth. Heath's records described this as a 'Large Pow wow (tribal drum) complete with 4 Drum sticks & 4 stakes, White Earth Band of Chippewas. Minn., Extremely Rare.' Because of its association with the Big Drum Society, the set is a 'sacred object' that is 'needed by traditional Native American religions by their present day adherents.' Further, because such drums are not the property of individuals but instead belong to the society, the set fits into NAGPRA's 'objects of cultural patrimony' category. It was agreed that the pieces should be repatriated to the White Earth Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe of Minnesota." (American Indian Art, Vol. 35(2):78, Spring 2010.)

11-14. "Notice of Intent to Repatriate Cultural Items: San Diego Archaeological Center, San Diego, CA (October 9, 2008). These four notices pertain to 871 objects legally removed from sites - with material dating back possibly as far as 1000 B.C. - in San Diego County during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s classified under NAGPRA as 'sacred objects,' with some included in the 'unassociated funerary objects' category. These include quartz crystals, shell pendants, ceramic pipe fragments, a raptor talon, pieces of ochre and hematite and a chalcedony knife. It was agreed that these items should be repatriated to numerous California Mission Indian entities, including: the La Jolla (representing the Luiseno Nation), Pauma, Pechanga, Rincon, Soboba, Capitan Grande, Campo, Ewiiaapaayp, Inaja, Jamul, La Posta, Manzanita, Mesa Grande, San Pasqual, Santa Ysabel and Sycuan bands; the Kumeyaay Nation, represented by the Barona Group of Capitan Grande Band of Mission Indians; as well as the Viejas (Baron Long) Group and the nonfederally recognized Twenty-Nine Palms Goup." (American Indian Art, Vol. 35(2):78, Spring 2010.)

15. "Notice of Intent to Repatriate Cultural Items: San Diego Museum of Man, San Diego, CA (October 9, 2008). The notice pertains to twenty-six 'unassociated funerary objects' - one cockle shell fragment, a stone scraper and twenty-four sherds removed in 1959 from an abandoned Tohono O'odham village in Pima County, Arizona - as well as a pair of objects of cultural patrimony. One of these consisted of a medicine bundle container dating to around 1930 and acquired in 1976 from the widow of a Tohono O'odham medicine man. The other is a mask used in the Pima Navichu healing ceremony, which was obtained from a member of the tribe who had inherited it. With the concurrence of the Gila River Indian Community, it was decided that these objects should be repatriated to the Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona." (American Indian Art, Vol. 35(2):78, Spring 2010.)

I think the 11-14 notice seems extraordinary! Do I understand this notice correctly? 871 objects dating back to 1000 B.C. are being repatriated to numerous people, including a nonfederally recognized tribe? That sounds to me like the subject of a book or at least several articles.

Lab Hours due April 21

I spent 2 hours yesterday as a docent for our exhibition. Only 3 people came in and only one would let me give him a tour! However, I did get to take advantage of all that time to try to speed read through my selected exhibition catalog. I spent 1 hour last week in the library searching for an exhibition catalog since I couldn't use one of my dozens of art exhibition catalogs. The one I selected - Empires Beyond the Great Wall: The Heritage of Genghis Khan - was very focused on the anthropological, not artistic merits of the material culture. So, it was a very good learning experience and very different from my experiences with art catalogs. I've spent 4 hours reading and re-reading sections of the catalog and writing my paper, and I'm still not done! Also, I spent a half hour visiting Michele's exhibition and chatting with her about it right before it opened (I didn't know we could get credit!). Of course, she did a beautiful job - everyone try to take a minute to see it! It's so tranquil. So...total hours this week = 7.5 hours.

Lab Hours due April 14

I spent 4 hours reading blogs and completing the Museum Jobs assignment. I spent 2 hours yesterday as a docent for our exhibition. I spoke to some really interesting people. Something 2 people mentioned was that they have been walking past the museum for at least one year and this is the first time they've seen it open with an exhibition. All the visitors yesterday gave glowing compliments to our class... the most common - "it's beautiful!" Also, last week I went to the museum early (noon) to finish setting up my display case and see if any last minute things needed to be done.

Museum Jobs

1):
I have been a docent at the Crocker Art Museum since 2005. I was an active docent for three years during which I conducted tours for adults as well as school groups, grades 3 - 12. I had to change my status to a sustaining docent when I started student teaching in 2008. However, I will be completing the docent refresher course this summer and will be an active docent for the grand opening of the expanded Crocker (I’m really excited about this!).

In 2004, I called the museum (Burcaw #4) and asked if I could submit an application for a docent position. They had just held their annual “open house” recruiting event for candidates for that year’s docent training (the training is 9 months and is somewhat intensive). I had to go through an interview process also. There were 19 candidates in my cohort and by graduation only 8 of us became active docents!

By the way, one of the facilitators of my docent training became the Director/Curator of the Pence Gallery in Davis. I called her (Burcaw #2) and set up an appointment to chat with her about my interest in a museum career and my masters program. She gave me an internship at her non-profit gallery and told me who to contact for two other internships and that I could drop her name. I got both of those internships too.

2) (Job posting from American Assoc. of Museums):
The Harn Museum of at the University of Florida is recruiting for an Education Curator of Academic Programs. This person acts as a visionary leader in the field of education. To this end, the Curator works closely with faculty of the University of Florida to develop a community of scholars and teachers based at the museum that includes museum staff and UF & Santa Fe College faculty and embraces scholars and artists both nationally and internationally. The Curator facilitates use of collections by UF & Santa Fe College faculty members; implements new strategies to continue to encourage faculty and student use of the museum in innovative ways; plans and oversees faculty development initiatives including curriculum development grants and pedagogical workshops; conceptualizes, initiates and manages the installation of teaching exhibitions that support courses and highlight current and new research; administers the museum's MUSE (Museum University Student Educators) and student internship program; schedules class visits to the museum and manages the Object Study Rooms; and launches new programs that are flexible and responsive to the University's curricular goals. This position supports the museum's mission to weave the museum into the academic fabric of the university and utilize the museum's galleries as a laboratory for academic interdisciplinary and multicultural purposes.

The Curator fosters the integration of the museum's collection into teaching and research across the University of Florida curriculum. The Curator spearheads museum involvement in campus initiatives such as Creative Campus, Campus Common Reading Program and the Humanities "Good Life" class. The Curator works as a team member within the Education Department, and with the assistance of other museum departments, develops an annual budget for educational programs and manages fiscal responsibilities related to areas of responsibility.

The Curator collaborates with university colleagues and serves on university-wide committees; continues scholarship in the field and participates fully in the intellectual life of the university; serves as a leader in the emerging field of Academic Programming and Curatorship, and as a leader in the field of university and college museums; periodically conceives and organizes professional development workshops, conferences, and resources in this field and serves on professional committees dedicated to furthering the mission of academic programming and college & university art museums.

As a member of the museum's senior staff, the Curator assists in the general operation of the museum; contributes to the development and implementation of the museum's and department's strategic five-year plan; and works with development staff to maximize exhibition and program support through in-kind and other contributions. The Curator represents the museum at scholarly, campus, public and cultivation events. The Curator serves as Education Department chair, on a rotating basis, as assigned by the museum director.

(From the University of Florida’s website – job posting)
Minimum Qualifications:
Master's degree in an appropriate area of specialization; or a bachelor's degree in an appropriate area of specialization and two years of appropriate experience.

I chose this ad because my goal is to be an education curator and to manage teacher services and school programs at a museum. The university’s art collection includes Asian, African, modern and contemporary art. The ad also specifically notes that their mission is to utilize “the museum's galleries as a laboratory for academic interdisciplinary and multicultural purposes.” I plan to write my master’s thesis about how museums can provide curriculum and teacher resources to support interdisciplinary and multicultural learning.

The skills/qualifications I might highlight if I applied are:
• Masters degree in Museum Studies and Bachelors degree in Art Education
• 4 years field experience
• Curatorial experience at the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission and the Pence Gallery
• Experience teaching art and developing curriculum as a student teacher
• Presented a synopsis of an ethnographic study I conducted titled, “The Asian Experience: An Examination of the Model Minority Stereotype and What Students Need to Succeed” at the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association.

Lab hour credit

Please log 2 hours for me for fabrication time spent in the museum last Thursday. ...And regarding the pictures of Team 2, all I can say is thank goodness for that ladder in front of me - am I really that fat now?! Everyone else looks cute, though. Also, just wanted to remind you that I volunteer to docent on Tuesdays for the exhibition. If you're in a pinch to find someone for Mondays, I can help out on those days if necessary.

Lab Hours due March 24

I spent 5 hours of lab time this week, 4 of which was spent helping with fabrication tasks in the museum. I spent 1 hour visiting everyone's blogs. I did spend a lot of time trying to figure out the "feast" menu because I love, love, love to eat. I read Nessa's blog and then went crazy trying to figure out who Alexis is in our class. Of course, I found out later that Alexis isn't in our class, but is in SAS. I was also trying to download a copy of the exhibition flier from SacCT, but the doc I found doesn't have any text on it, only the images. I want to send the flier to several people as an invite. Is it my browser? Are we going to get postcards tomorrow? How many do we each get?

Lab Hours due March 17

Team 2 has been working extremely hard and we've been sending emails back and forth so much that I think I have 60 emails in my hotmail account for this project! I lost track of the time I spent after 12 hours, so I'm guessing a conservative figure is 14 hours. That includes reviewing literature, writing panels, proofing and editing text, and email discussions on images, etc. I was fortunate to contact the Grace Hudson Museum and got a portrait of John Hudson and a photo of Carl Purdy. The registrar kindly gave me a discount on the fees because we are using the images for a university exhibition. I had to sign a Use Agreement Form, which I will try to attach to my blog, so everyone can view it. The director of the Grace Hudson Museum is Sherrie Smith Ferrie who was very interested in the connection between Hudson and Cotton. I invited her to our exhibition, but I haven't received a reply yet. I also told her that her article is required reading for our class.

Lab Hours March 10th

I spent all 6 hours this week researching and working on storyboard ideas. Team 2 met today at the museum and will be meeting tomorrow to complete our storyboard. I'm responsible for discussing how Cotton acquired the objects, so I'll be presenting Carl Purdy and John Hudson. I was lucky to find and download Purdy's "Pomo Indian Baskets and Their Makers," but I couldn't find an image or portrait of Purdy. If anyone has any suggestions, let me know because we'd like to include a picture of him. I still have to read all of the materials I have, including his booklet.

Hours spent this week

I spent 3.5 hours going to the library and reading blogs. Laura and I met up at the Sacramento Room at the Central Library, and I already had the librarians working hard for us. Unfortunately, the consensus was that we needed documentation on Fort Bragg, which they didn't really have. The librarians found some information in the California Historical Society Quarterly on Fort Bragg, but I have to read between the lines to see if any of it really applies to our collection and exhibition. There were two articles on Sloughhouse that mention the Sheldon scandal. The biggest score was the booklet on the Pioneer Cemetery, but it's really just about J.S.C.'s grandparents - mostly Sheldon, of course. I'm really sick with the flu and not thinking clearly, so this info. has to do for now.

Log hours due Feb 24

I spent 2 hours this week trying to find the Pioneer Cemetery key; setting up RSS feeds for everyone's site on my blog; reviewing the next steps and selecting my object for a possible postcard image; and glancing over the accession file.

Schedule a visit to Sloughhouse Pioneer Cemetery - unsure of access

My boyfriend and I tried to find another phone number for the inn and found an article stating that the inn closed. I don't have time to try to find another contact out there to see where the key is or if we can still get into the cemetery. I suppose we can just head out there and try anyway. Has anyone found contact info?

Schedule a visit to Sloughhouse Pioneer Cemetery

Laura and Miranda, my schedule is free this Saturday, the 20th and the following Monday and Tuesday afternoons (I have class in the morning, out by noon) to drive to the cemetery. We can take my car if you want, but it's a 2-door, Honda Civic (so not tons of leg room in the back). I tried to call the Sloughhouse Inn to see if there were any restrictions on day and time to get the key to the cemetery, but the number on the Internet (916-423-2115) had a recording for a hospital. Let me know when you both are available to go.

Post due February 17

I spent 3 hours at the Maidu Museum's new site. I'm including drive time in those 3 hours, because it was really far for me to drive and there was a traffic accident (man, I hate driving). I went on the docent-led tour, which was really wonderful and informative. The docent was great. I also enjoyed the second floor art exhibition. However, I didn't get very many ideas for our exhibition from my visit. I was disappointed that there weren't more display cases containing the kinds of materials that will be in our exhibition. I did like the way they used mirrors - one underneath and one behind - certain baskets so that viewers can see the intricate designs. We may want to do this for a few of our objects.

I spent an hour and a half reviewing everyone's blogs and some museums websites for exhibition titles. I'm working under the impression that we will be proceeding with Carrie's idea of exhibiting the journey of the Cotton collection from maker to collector to donor to museum exhibit(which will enable us to incorporate NAGPRA concerns). I thought a title such as "Exhibiting Native America: The Journey from Maker to Museum Display" would convey more of a pedagogical leaning. If we are going to focus more on how the objects were made (and the Cottons) and less on the behind-the-scenes processing of museum artifacts, then I'd like to work with Nessa's titles (love them, Nessa!).

Class on Feb 10 - Objects and Exhibition Concept

I was not able to stay after class today to pull my objects. I had to take my car in for a new battery. Luckily I made it out of the CSUS parking lot!

I agree with the rest of the class during class discussions today about moving forward with Carrie's idea. We discussed incorporating both the step by step journey of a donor's object into a museum's collection and its journey through the NAGPRA process. There were some suggestions for next steps including coming up with a title and an outline. It's been my experience that the next step is to create a list of tasks with associated deadlines. However, I assume that Professor C. will tell us how she expects us to proceed.

Post due Februrary 10

My blog is up and running. I spent two and a half hours customizing and building my blog as well as doing some research for the class exhibition assignment. I added two links to websites I found for exhibition ideas. One is from the Eleanor Wilson Museum, which has a brief description of a student curated exhibition titled, "Behind the Scenes at the Museum..." I liked the title, but also thought that we may want to move in that direction. The second link is from the Institute of Museum Ethics on a discussion of open storage displays. I thought it might be easier to do an exhibition on open storage. There's mention of consultation with First Nation communities and how others use this form of access to collections.

The accession numbers for the Cotton collection pieces I will be processing are:
40 FIB0016 74-30-98
35 BEA0052 74-35-66
2 BAS0013 74-32-2-15