My childhood memories are scattered and few, but one thing I remember clearly is the rain barrel that sat at the ourside corner of our barn.  It was always there, collecting rain water. 

I love to listen to music while I work. It relaxes me, puts me into the right frame of mind and blocks out all the noise. However, there is only so much classic, and lite Jazz a man can take in one day. The British Library has released a new CD called “Sounds of the Deep, An exploration of life in our seas”.

An old letter, a crayon drawing, a sketch by Leonardo da Vinci.  These fragile artifacts require special care.  The professionals at the American Institute of Conservation offer these guidelines.

The professionals at the American Institute for Conservation offer these guidelines for taking care of clothing and fabrics.  Since prehistoric times, textiles have played a rich part in the lives and traditions of people of all cultures. They have been constructed using myriad materials and techniques, and they have been made from natural fibers such as cotton, flax, silk or wool or from man-made fibers such as rayon, nylon, and polyester. Textiles can be simple in structure and composition, or they can be composite objects incorporating many materials like quills, beads, metals, paints, bones, shells, feathers, and leathers.

We have great opportunities and technology for capturing moving pictures, but making sure they'll last is not as easy as taking care of print photos.  The professionals at the American Institute for Conservation offer these guidelines.   

With the rise of digital photography, we sometimes forget about the chemical processes needed to produce print photos.  Photographs are important storytelling tools, after all, a picture is worth a thousand words.  The professionals at the American Institute of Conservation offer these guidelines for taking care of your photos.

The paintings we display often tell much about who we are.  Whether it's a masterpiece by Matisse or a good effort by cousin Lucy, paintings require special care.  The American Institute for Conservation offers these guidelines. Paintings may be objects of great beauty or of historical importance, providing an important cultural link with the past. They may have great monetary value or have sentimental value to their owners. Whatever the case, paintings are fragile creations that require special care to assure their continued preservation.

Admit it -- as the Keno brothers of the Antiques Roadshow admonished yet again about what overzealous but well-meaning care can do to the value of a table or chair, you have cringed thinking about what you've done to grandpa's chair.  Well, now you know better, and after you read this article from the professionals at the American Institute for Conservation, you'll know even more. 

From the "good dishes" to those little "what nots," we've all got special artifacts made of clay and glass.  The American Institute of Conservation offers these guidelines for keeping them sparkling.  Many special objects are made of ceramics or glass. These materials cover a tremendous variety, including porcelain, earthenware, “crystal,” Depression glass, pottery, and art glass to name just a few. Jewelry, dolls, sculpture, tableware, tiles, kitchenware, and many other items can be made from ceramics and glass. Ceramics are made from different types of clays that are modified and colored by additives. The clay mixture, also called the body, is formed into shapes using a variety of techniques such as coiling, turning, and molding. The shaped objects are heated to drive off water and realign the crystalline structure of the clay. The clay is compacted, and sometimes melted, during firing, which results in shrinkage of the object. Ceramics are often classified by their body type. Earthenwares are porous and often coarse-bodied ceramics that have been fired at relatively low temperatures. Stonewares can also be coarse-bodied, but are fired at a high enough temperature that the stoneware body is impermeable to water. Porcelains are very fine-bodied ceramics that are fired at very high temperatures to create a vitrified, or glasslike, body. Ceramics are often decorated with colored slips and glass slurries and are then glazed for decorative purposes or, in the case of earthenwares, in order to provide water impermeability. Glazes are usually slurries of ground glassy materials, often mixed in water, that are coated over ceramic bodies and fired into a glass layer on the ceramic body. Colorants and other minerals modify the glaze to produce different colors and effects. By controlling the amount of oxygen in the kiln and the firing temperature, the potter can produce a variety of wares even from the same clay. Raku is a form of Japanese ceramic that has been fired in an oxygen-low reducing fire in the kiln. Glass objects are made from a mixture of ground silica (sand) and other mineral modifying agents (usually metallic salts) that are melted together to create a molten glass. The molten glass is formed by a variety of methods, including molding and blowing. The shape is then allowed to cool and harden. If a glass object is not allowed to cool slowly and properly by a process called annealing, it will crack or shatter from uneven internal stresses.

Books -- don't you just love 'em!  The American Institute for Conservation has ideas for how to maintain your collection.  The book is an ingenious invention. Compact and portable, it has been the primary means of transmitting and preserving mankind’s accumulated knowledge for hundreds of years. Throughout that time, printers and bookbinders have used a wide variety of materials and structures. Some have proven to be remarkably durable; others have been vulnerable to chemical deterioration and mechanical stress. While these problems can be quite complex, a few simple preventive measures can greatly extend the life of a book. A great deal of damage to books comes from improper environmental conditions, shelving, storage, handling and use, and can be avoided by following basic, commonsense recommendations for preserving books and book collections.