Boulder, Colorado, 28 April, 2005 - Heritage Conservation Network is offering a horsehair plaster conservation workshop at Orange Hall, St. Marys, Georgia, October 9-22, 2005. The hands-on building conservation workshop will enable participants to learn first-hand how interior plaster work was applied historically and have the opportunity to practice their own plastering skills as they help restore the antebellum mansion in Georgia’s south east coastal region.

HCN offers an annual series of hands-on building conservation workshops designed to teach traditional building skills and essential building conservation technologies. Participants include preservation students, building contractors who work with historic structures, and do-it-yourself historic home owners.

Orange Hall, site of the workshop, has enjoyed a colorful past as a focus of social life in St. Marys throughout its history. The building is now owned by the City of St. Marys and is used for a welcome center and city museum. The Orange Hall Foundation is responsible for maintaining the site and is working to turn it into a first class museum site; workshop participants will be restoring the interior plaster in the music room as they learn to work with the material.

The workshop is being co-sponsored by the Association for Preservation Technology International, and AIA Continuing Education credits will be available. Jimmy Price of Virginia Lime Works will be the technical expert leading the workshop. Virginia Lime Works is the nation’s premiere producer of traditional lime and oystershell putty products for the preservation of historic masonry systems, and Mr. Price is the recipient of numerous preservation awards.

The workshop consists of two, one-week sessions and participants may attend one or two weeks. The cost of the workshop is $950/week, which includes lodging, some meals, insurance and workshop materials and instruction. The fee for participants not requiring lodging is $475 per week. Pre-registration is required. For information and details, see HCN’s website, www.heritageconservation.net, or contact them directly at 303.444.0128.