ABOUT ME

Katey Darago

Fifteen years ago, I started what would become a transformative apprenticeship in a small paper conservation studio in Hell's Kitchen.  Beginning as a studio assistant, I soon moved on from washing brushes and unframing objects to making paste and choosing lining papers; learning to mend tears, remove hinges, fill and inpaint losses; discovering the effects of moisture on different types of paper. 

I came to understand that paper is alive. 

I worked closely with the chief conservator, soaking in everything she taught me.  Under her watchful eye, I had the opportunity to work on myriad works of fine art, historical documents and sentimental ephemera, from Warhol drawings and writings by Galileo to marriage certificates and family photographs.  This apprenticeship provided me with tens of thousands of hours of hands on experience with every kind of paper and media imaginable.  It instilled in me a passion to use those skills to help preserve the physical documentation of our human experience and history.