Our goal at Spark & Anvil is to provide the best care available for fine art objects and antiquities. We have over fifteen years of experience providing museum quality display mounts, fine art installation, restoration, and fine art stewardship using current best practices, museum standards, and archival materials. COI is available upon request.
Our primary drive is to insure that your fine art objects are securely and safely displayed, stored, or restored so they may have the longest life possible and continue to bring joy for generations to come.
James Arthur Gielow began working for the San Diego Museum of Art in 2004 as the Lead Carpenter in the Exhibitions and Collections department. He quickly advanced to Head Preparator, leading the museum’s crew of Museum Assistants. During this period, he created the in-house mount making program, still in use today, and became the museum’s Senior Mount Maker. His role then increased once again as Associate Registrar/Senior Mount Maker.
For over a decade and a half, James specialized in custom seismic display mounts for all the 3D objects in the museum’s collection as well as caring for all the conservation and maintenance needs for the sculptures, professional object photography for the digital archive and catalogue reproductions, administrator to the museum’s collection database and much more. In 2016, James branched out even further to include art restoration and quarterly sculpture maintenance services to help preserve and safeguard outdoor sculptures around the San Diego area. These quarterly cleaning, waxing, and condition-reporting methods are essential to the longevity of these priceless objects.
For the last 13 years, James has been working for private clients and other institutions during his nights and weekends, providing all the above to the greater San Diego area and beyond. In 2019, James resigned from the museum to pursue Spark & Anvil full-time and is now available to receive new clients.
Contact us today to receive a quote or to schedule a consultation, and you will see the difference in quality when you receive truly professional art treatments. Day packages are also available for quarterly outdoor sculpture cleaning and waxing, which essential for the salty sea air. We would love to hear about your project!
Some objects are nearly impossible to keep in one piece over their lifetimes. When you have a terracotta from the 8th century, keeping it protected can be rather challenging. More times than not, these pieces are more repair than original. This horse was no exception to the challenge. The client came to me with the …
Another major renovation in an exhibition at the San Diego Museum of Art that was rather mount-heavy. This time I made the cover photo! Very exciting for yours truly.
Not too long ago I was asked by the Asian Art Council to give a presentation on the behind -the-scenes aspects of a large museum exhibition. Namely, how the objects are displayed and secured using seismic mitigation mounts. Thought I’d share this here. Enjoy!
