Florence Deeble created miniature scenes of places that she had visited or read about in her Lucas backyard. Our first step in approaching the restoration project was getting Florence’s site listed in the State and National Register for Historic Places, then securing funding for a partial restoration of the most at-risk elements.
Restoration started in August of 2021, continuing through the end of 2024. A triage of need directed focus areas, with Erika working on surface and commercial reconstruction, and Matthew focusing on large stabilization and reconstruction.
Role: Two-person object conservator team, research, site prep, structure stabilization, surface treatments, postal card scene preservation, commercial statuary repair & rebuild, texture matching, documentation.
The site consists of two section - an interconnected Postcard section, and an assembled History section.Many of the commercial statuary had suffered from age and Kansas weather, requiring significant rebuilding with outdoor-appropriate materialRadically different building styles require radically different approaches to stabilize.
Concrete samples were produced to match color and texture, utilized to formulate appropriate repair material
Surfaces were consolidated after cleaning to reveal deeper colors and preserve surfacesExisting paints were color matched for reapplication where neededMany awkward constructions were disassembled, repaired, and reassembled once the bases were dug out and new slabs poured Much of the work involved filling gaps where sculpture areas had settled, with an intial cleaning and consolidating to prepare the area. Ideally, the work should be invisible, only noticeable in before-and-after images . The area below this sculptural ‘pond’ area had large hollows, filled with a mixture of sand and portland, then left to settle before being refilled again and again until all voids are secure.Commercial statuary elements were cleaned, assessed, and repaired or restored offsite overwinter before being reinstalled
Restored sculptural elements are set in place with monument glue