About Me, Jessica van Dam

The ‘happy hum.’ This is a concept my mom uses to describe that contented buzz you get while doing work you enjoy. For me it has taken a bachelor’s of science degree, a master’s degree and several internships to discover what elements are needed to give me that happy hum.

As a small child I would often ‘help’ my dad as he crafted beautiful objects out of wood and would have my own canvas to paint on while he painted his latest masterpiece. At the same age I discovered a love of mysteries and logic with my mom, reading mystery novels, and solving word based logic puzzles. On top of these interests I’ve always been fascinated by history, beginning first with Egyptology but slowly expanding to include many eras and locations. Luckily I grew up near Boston Massachusetts which is known for some incredible museums, and I travelled frequently with my family to historical locations, and often prioritized museums of all types.

By the time I was considering what to study at university I knew I needed something that involved hands on work and had mysteries to solve. This led to my BS in Forensic Anthropology. Following this I knew that to be employed in the field I would need graduate degrees, and pursued a MS in Archaeology, focusing on human osteology and museum studies. However, through both of these degrees, something was lacking, I wasn’t getting that ‘happy hum’ from the work that I knew I needed.

What I realized was missing was the art and creativity. Both had plenty of logic, science, and hands on work but without the art I found the work monotonous and boring.

This is when I discovered I could intern at a museum with an art conservator and I was hooked from day one. Each object was its own puzzle; What is it? Where is it from? What has happened to it? How can it be best preserved? And how can I as the conservator help it tell it’s story? On top of this, each day brought new challenges, from in-painting an Indian wooden toy tiger to restoring a ship model. So not only did I get to work on all types of objects, from different times and places I also got to use my hands and apply the many artistic and creative skills I have cultivated through my life.

So finally, after years of searching for that perfect job and that ‘happy hum’ I had finally found it!

This past year (2022) I have completed an MA in Conservation of Cultural Heritage at the University of Lincoln and worked on several small projects. With this degree I hope to pursue a career in objects conservation, with special consideration for organic objects.