Safety First

Hypothetical Question:

Would you rather spend time making art or going to get cancer treatments?

I'm guessing your answer is "making art".

Friendly Reminder: WEAR PROTECTION

I work with paints (acrylic, oil and pastels) and several supposedly non toxic sculpting mediums; polymer, apoxie and monster clay.

I start my process by putting on a layer of protection, on my hands or I wear gloves.

I do this for 2 reasons, 1) I live in a dry climate and 2) for protection against any harmful substances leaking into my hands.

As uncomfortable as gloves may be, I remind myself it beats going to get some sort of treatment.

Ultimately, its YOUR responsibility to keep yourself safe.

If you're a clayer, make sure you have proper ventilation when baking.

If you can't find gloves that fit, you can use a layer of protection like aquaphor or gloves in a bottle. Even a thin layer of protection is better than no protection.

Make your health your first priority. We often don't get a 2nd chance at getting this right.

Your friendly reminder to be safe with your art making.

And before you come at me with "polymer clay is non-toxic", let me ask you another question.

How many times have manufacturers (who's priority it is to make money) told us that something was safe only to find out later it wasn't safe?

Let me refresh your memory:

- lead paint
- bpa in water bottles
- certain food additives and dyes
- high levels of mercury in certain fish
- asbestos
- phthalates (originally included in polymer clay)
- even cigarettes were once advertised as healthy at one time.

Sometimes health studies take years to recognize a pattern or health concerns. Wouldn't you rather be safe than sorry?

I care about you. Be safe out there.