Scott Polar Research InstituteCathy Tully, our conservation intern, explains what she has been doing behind the scenes:
"My first day at work at the Polar Museum was eventful, working with three other conservators to investigate the mannequin underneath the fur parka on display.
That was just the first step in a great project. The fur parka will be coming off display soon and replaced with a gutskin parka. It is my job to devise a way to mount the parka for display, since the mannequin for the fur parka is too large.
The parka is made of sea mammal intestine, sewn with sinew and constructed so that the interior of the intestine is the interior of the parka. This design takes advantage of the natural qualities of the intestine: it allows moisture to escape, but not enter, making the parka waterproof. It’s like a natural version of Goretex used in waterproof clothing. The parka is lightweight, flexible when damp and stiff when dry. This parka would have been worn over a fur parka to create a waterproof layer while the owner was hunting from a kayak.
Gutskin parkas are often displayed with the arms straight out, like in this photo. However, the space in the display case is too small for this, so the arms have to be repositioned at the sides. Once the arms have been humidified and repositioned and the parka is dry, the entire garment becomes rigid and inflexible. Therefore, the parka cannot be put on a mannequin like a normal piece of clothing.
Since the mannequins available would not work, I decided to make a custom mount for the parka. But before constructing the mount itself, I made a basic copy of the parka:
The copy allows me to test the size and shape of the mount without endangering the parka by sliding it on and off many times. Making it also gave me a chance to improve my rudimentary sewing skills!
The hood was left off the copy because it was not needed to fit the slope of the shoulders and the size of the torso.
The mount needs to be lightweight and made of material that will not harm the fragile parka material. The arms of the mount also need to be easily attached and detached while the parka is on the mount (more about that in Part 2). Taking these requirements into account, I decided to make a paper maché mount using conservation grade materials. I started with a basic polystyrene mannequin as a base and padded it out to the shape and size I needed for the parka:
The most important part of the mount is the shoulders, since they will hold the weight of the parka. I extended the shoulders and padded out the sides to make the mount larger:
I tested the size and shape of the mount multiple times as I was padding it out, using my copy of the parka:
Once the shape of the shoulders and width were correct, I wrapped the mannequin with cling film to smooth down the padding and provide a release layer between the mannequin and the paper maché:
I started applying the paper tape in strips on the shoulder. The paper came in a roll with adhesive on one side making the application easy. Just add water and apply!
After a few days of applying the paper tape, the result was a rigid mount with a soft texture.
The scariest part of the process was removing the paper maché from the mannequin. I cut the paper maché mount down the back and had to open it extremely wide to get the mount over the shoulders. Amazingly, the mount flexed and came off the mannequin and went right back to its proper shape.
I closed up the back of the mount with another application of the paper tape and held it together with ties while it dried.
The end result is a light weight, rigid mount that is safe for the gutskin parka both chemically and physically. I tested the mount’s size and shape with the parka for the first time and the shoulders fit great!
The next steps are to make the detachable arm and hood supports – read more about that in Part 2!"
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