Research Interests

Aaron has wide ranging research interests related to the scientific analysis of art and archaeology.  He has ongoing research towards the development of non-destructive techniques of analysis including X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF), fibre optic reflectance spectroscopy (FORS), hyperspectral imaging, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Raman spectroscopy.  Aaron ongoing research interests include historic artist’s pigments and their degradation pathways, and inorganic material sciences as applied toward the study of ancient metallurgy, ceramics, glazes, glasses.  He also is interested in the technical history of artifacts and their manufacturing processes. 

Biography

Aaron received his honours H.B.A. in Anthropology and Law & Society from York University and his M.S. in Archaeological Materials from The University of Sheffield. Aaron received his Ph.D. in Archaeometallurgy from University College London.  He co-directed the Archaeometallurgy Laboratory at Lehigh University, was a guest scientist at NIST, and a research associate at the Smithsonian Institution.  He serves on the Scientific Vetting Committee for TEFAF and as a forensic materials export for the Court of Arbitration for Art.  Aaron was the Mellon Foundation Professor in Conservation Science at Buffalo State University, and he is currently the Bader Chair in Art Conservation at Queen’s University. 

Stream: Treatment
Specialization: Paintings
Areas of Interest: Italian baroque art, materials analysis for authentication and exploration of forged works, conservation ethics

Tailor Choquette graduated from Niagara University in 2023 with a BA in Art History with Museum Studies and a minor in Chemistry. Through a campus work study position and an internship, she worked at the Castellani Art Museum where she was able to assist with collections cataloging, art installation and storage, and other clerical duties to grasp institutional experience. Prior to her acceptance to the MAC program, Tailor was fortunate to gain pre-program experience through Aurora Art Conservation, West Lake Conservators, and unDunn Art Services.

Stream: Treatment
Specialization: Paintings
Areas of Interest: Technical art analysis, sustainability in conservation, 19th century European art, history of materials and techniques, wall paintings.

Sophie Morris graduated from the University of Victoria in 2023 with an Honours BA in Art History and Visual Studies. Prior to this, she obtained a diploma from Cégep John Abbott College, where she completed the enriched Arts and Sciences program. During her time at university, Sophie volunteered at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, where she gained valuable experience in collections care, conducting condition reports on a range of historical paintings and drawings in preparation for upcoming exhibitions.

Most recently, she completed an internship with ArtCare Conservation in New York City, where she contributed to a diverse range of projects both in the studio and onsite, deepening her interest in wall paintings. In addition to her professional endeavors, Sophie is committed to developing her own artistic practice, focusing primarily on acrylic, watercolor, and gouache landscape paintings.

Stream: Treatment
Specialization: Artifacts
Areas of Interest: Contemporary arts and crafts, modern materials.

Sonia Gaiess is an art historian, appraiser and emerging Conservator. She graduated from the University of Winnipeg in 2022 with the Gold Medal for Achievement in the Honours History of Art and Architecture Program. She has been working in the heritage field since 2019, with collection management, exhibition development and public programming at various institutions. She has also had the opportunity to mentor students and volunteers through her work in these settings. Sonia has been an active member of the Winnipeg arts community for many years and has enjoyed serving as a board member, advisor, collaborator and volunteer with a cross-section of groups and artists.

Stream: Treatment
Specialization: Paper
Areas of Interests: Photographic materials, manuscripts and ephemera, book conservation

Mallorie received a B.A. in Anthropology with a focus on Museum Studies from the University of British Columbia in 2019, following which she participated in a museology field school in Turin, Italy through the Institute for Field Research.
After graduation, Mallorie worked as a collections technician for the City of Richmond where she assisted with variety of tasks including cataloguing, condition reporting, artefact packing, exhibit installation, and more. In May 2021, she also began working as a museum assistant and later assistant curator at PoCo Heritage Museum and Archives, where she was involved in writing collection policies and overseeing the completion of a LAC grant-funded digitization project. During this time, Mallorie also explored her love for archival materials through printmaking, bookbinding, and film photography.

Stream: Treatment
Specialization: Artifacts
Areas of Interest: Ceramics, contemporary art, archaeology, sustainability

Joseph graduated from Columbia University in 2015 with a BA in Visual Arts and a minor in Russian. While an undergrad he worked as a bibliographic assistant at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Watson Library and volunteered at the Bozeman Public Library and the Montana State University Archives in Bozeman, Montana. He worked for several years as a Collections Associate at the American Academy of Arts and Letters in New York City, assisting with contemporary art exhibitions and care of their art collections, library, and archives. He has also worked as a studio assistant for artists and a fashion designer in New York. His own studio art practice includes ceramics, drawing, and egg tempera painting.

Stream: Treatment
Specialisation: Paper
Areas of interest: Works on cardboard, Dry pastel, Photographs and Modern materials

Gabrielle Rodschat graduated from Marianopolis College in 2019 with a Diploma of Collegial Studies in pure and applied science. Combining their interests in art and science, they graduated from McGill University in 2023 with a B.A. (honours) with Distinction in art history with minors in science and German language. Her undergraduate research focused on gender and queer studies with an intersectional approach. Through their studies of late 19^th-century art, they gained an interest in materials used by Modern artists.

Stream: Treatment
Specialization: Artifacts
Areas of Interest: preventive conservation, conservation of archaeological artifacts, conservation of organic materials

Emily completed a Bachelor of Design: Graphic Design for Marketing at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in 2015. After a few years of working as a graphic designer, travelling in Europe, making pottery, and volunteering at art galleries around Vancouver, BC, she began pursuing a career in art conservation. In 2021 she earned a Diploma in Art History at the University of British Columbia. She began volunteering at Fraser Spafford Ricci Art & Archival Conservation Inc, where she was later hired as part-time Pre-program Conservation Intern. Emily's unique background has given her a stable foundation from which to build her skills as a future art conservator.

Stream: Conservation Science

Specialization: Early modern art, sculpture

Areas of interest: Organic coatings and patina on bronzes; material science and technical studies of art, early modern painting and sculpture, with a focus on bronze sculpture and polychrome sculpture

Elizabeth Provost is a writer, editor, and early modern scholar. She earned her Honours Bachelor of Science with high distinction majoring in chemistry and art history from the University of Toronto, where she worked as a research assistant on the Bernini's Bronzes project. Now a research fellow at Queen’s University under the guidance of Dr. Una D’Elia, she is contributing to the Renaissance Polychrome Sculpture in Lazio database project.

In her final year of the Master of Art Conservation, Research, under the supervision of Dr. Aaron Shugar, Elizabeth is developing a non-destructive analytical protocol for studying organic coatings on Renaissance bronzes.

Elizabeth shares her love for art through writing, editing, and hosting her podcast, Matter of Art. As a teaching assistant, she emphasizes object-based learning, encouraging students to engage directly with concepts of materiality, immateriality, and intermateriality.