When I was 18, my day job was to retrieve reasearch materials for the Wisconsin Historical Society's visiting scholars. This was a great job. If for some reason you're an incoming student at the Univeristy of Wisconsin, I'm instructing you now to apply to this job. There, I met some of the coolest people, eavesdropped on wildly interesting conversations, learned multiple courses worth of information on the state and university and didn't break a sweat once in the process (except for from fear of the death mask #iykyk). In any case, it was here that I first learned about the profession of book conservation. Now, as an artist who loves old things and prides myself in attention to detail, this seemed like a great option for me. Luckily, in September, I was able to start as as a book conservation assistant for the UW-Madison Libraries, and it has been GREAT. I love this skill and I am excited to continue learning more about it and getting better at preserving literature for the next generation. Unfortunately, I didn't take any chemistry courses or many art history courses in undergrad, so I won't be able to pursue graduate conservation programs right now, but depending on how the next few months shake out, a few community college courses might be on the horizon. In the meantime, poke around here to see what I've been working hard to repair and stabilize.