12:46 p.m., Aug. 17, 2009----Art conservation knows no borders, but coming from the Himalayas to the University of Delaware was a long journey for Utsha Gurung, an art conservator in Bhutan, a country lying between China and India. It was a special challenge since she had to leave her family, including her 18-month-old daughter, behind.

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At UD, Gurung said she is working to acquire new skills and knowledge in the field to help preserve Bhutan's rich and varied cultural heritage. She is sponsored at UD by Friends of Bhutan Culture.

A major in biology and chemistry at Sherubtse College in Bhutan, Gurung was job hunting after graduation and thought she was applying for a job in wildlife conservation -- instead she was hired for Bhutan's emerging art conservation program in the Department of Culture. She is one of two women among the nine conservators in the country and has been involved in a wide variety of projects in Bhutan.

She has been involved in the preservation of Thangkas (Buddhist scroll paintings from both Bhutan and Tibet bordered and covered in silk), sculptures, clay statues, canvas paintings, murals, textiles and historic objects. She works in the conservation laboratory at the Department of Culture but works on location for the murals. They are usually found in monasteries and have suffered over the centuries from the use of butter lamps that emit smoke and soot, which is a challenge for conservators working to restore the paintings, she said.

Gurung has attended training sessions in India and South Korea. Some Americans, as well as Indian conservators, have come to Bhutan, and Gurung has had opportunities to work and train with them on textile conservation, mural painting conservation,thangka conservation and paper conservation.

Gurung also served as a courier for a traveling Bhutan exhibition, The Dragon's Gift, which began its tour in Honolulu. Gurung organized and attended conservation workshops related to The Dragon's Gift held in Bhutan.

Working with American art conservators led to her being recommended and selected to come to the Winterthur/University of Delaware's Program of Art Conservation program for a year.

Conservator Mark Fenn taught seven monks and four conservators, including Gurung, in workshops in Bhutan. Her background in chemistry was a plus in the class, he wrote, and she also served as translator and as a liaison with the Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs, getting paperwork done, locating materials and generally keeping things running smoothly. In recommending her, Fenn wrote, "When she returns to Bhutan, she will raise the bar for all Bhutanese conservators."

Katie Holbrow of the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco met Gurung when she was courier for The Dragon's Gift. Gurung helped with analysis of metal alloys in the sculptures. Holbrow pointed out the importance of conservators, like Gurung, in Bhutan, who serve a "critical function as a contact point between the monks who care for the art and the outside world."

Julia Brennan, a textile, conservator, offered a training course and wrote that Gurung has helped to set up the national lab and implemented rigorous record keeping and documentation in her work for the Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs in Bhutan. "Utsha is a diligent conservator, with attention to detail" and "intellectually curious and open" she wrote.

According to Vicki Cassman, assistant professor of art conservation, who is a mentor to Gurung and helped her get established in Delaware, Gurung will learn about different fields of conservation, including paper, textiles, library materials, photos, organic and organic materials and paintings, and she plans to finish up her year at UD with a hands-on internship. Currently she is in an intensive chemistry course that is required of all conservation students and will begin conservation studies at Winterthur this fall.

Article by Sue Moncure
Photo by Kathy Atkinson