Sturgeon Glue Workshop Abstract
"Sturgeon Glue ... What's New?"
by Cynthia Kuniej Berry, Painting Conservator at
Kuniej Berry Associates, LLC
 
Elena King presented a workshop to the CACG on the history, preparation and applications for sturgeon glue based on twenty years experience working with it since earning her Master of Arts degrees in conservation and in painting from the Academy of Art in St. Petersburg, Russia and working at Yoder Conservation, the Chicago Conservation Center and in her own practice. A history and description of natural glues and their properties, specifically sturgeon glue, pure collagen made from the air bladder or membrane, which has been used for centuries in Russia, was provided. King demonstrated preparing the sturgeon air bladder as glue including: soaking, mashing, cooking, straining, and drying processes. The workshop concluded with other demonstrations using the glue for stabilizing flaking paint on canvas through facing tissue, setting larger sections of lifted paint on a panel painting using a syringe, and stabilizing gilding or making molded fills for gilded frames. She also described how sturgeon glue could be used for lining paintings. Open dialogue allowed participants to see and experience how the processes worked, and to exchange ideas about the uses of the sturgeon glue. It was an informative and enjoyable workshop, which left everyone enthusiatic about working with sturgeon glue.