The Healthy Artist Guide to a Less Toxic Studio
What You Can Do:
- Educate Yourself and Be Aware Of Toxic Hazards in Your Studio
- An Artist’s Lines of Defence Against Toxic Materials
- The Healthy Artist Guide to a Less Toxic Studio
- Staying Alive! – Health and Safety Workshops for Visual and Media Artists
- Resources for Further Information
Illnesses caused by toxic substances have plagued artists throughout history. The artists Rubens, Renoir and Dufy suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, and Paul Klee was plagued by scleroderma, both of which are now known to be caused by toxic heavy metals used in the bright colours of their paints.(1) In the mid-1980s, the US National Cancer Institute also conducted two studies that found higher risks of urinary bladder cancer, leukemia, and arteriosclerotic heart disease among painters.(2).
Artists are at particular risk of developing health problems associated with exposure to chemicals for several reasons, including:
- Artists frequently get little or no training in the hazards of their materials and processes . As a result, artists are often unaware that the materials they use contain toxic ingredients, including those that are not permitted in other types of consumer products. For instance, lead has been banned from wall paint but is still used in artist paints and inks. In order to protect themselves, artists first have to realize that there are dangers.
- Artists often do not take precautions to protect themselves from the hazards associated with the materials they use, and in many cases they cannot afford expensive safety equipment. While a chemist using exactly the same substances would protect themselves with goggles, gloves, fume hoods and other safety equipment, artists will often not only fail to take these precautions, but also partake in activities that actually increase their exposure to harmful substances, e.g., eating and drinking in the studio, pointing their brush with their lips, etc.
- Artists often have much longer and more frequent exposure to harmful chemicals than the average person because they frequently work with hazardous materials, often for extended hours.
- Artists often work and live in the same place, and the toxic substances used in the studio can spread throughout the home leading to constant exposure from which the body does not get a break.
- Artists can be exposed to asbestos because many of them live in older buildings that can contain friable asbestos, usually on boilers and piping. “Friable” means that it breaks apart and can produce dust, which can therefore be inhaled. Asbestos can cause cancer 20-40 years after exposure, so it is wise to have it professionally removed or encapsulated (permanently sealed).
If you have decided that, as an artist, you will no longer let your work compromise your health, this web page is for you. Taking reasonable precautions usually does not mean that you have to make significant changes to your creative processes. Below you will find a Guide to help you identify materials in your studio that may be hazardous to your health, as well as safer alternatives. This guide is by no means exhaustive, entire books have been written on the hazards of artist materials and processes. Please refer to the many resources listed below for further information.
Educate Yourself and Be Aware Of Toxic Hazards in Your Studio
This web page is not meant to provide all the information artists need to protect themselves from the many hazards they may encounter in their work, it is, however, a good starting point.
Every artist should EDUCATE THEMSELVES about the hazards they may encounter when working with their specific mediums, techniques and materials. Artists should also educate themselves on common safety precautions (e.g., reading all labels and following use directions, using proper ventilation systems, labelling all containers/materials, disposing of old and unspecified materials, not storing substances in old drinking bottles, etc.). Please refer to the resources listed below for some useful books on artist health and safety.
Every artist should MAKE AN INVENTORY of the materials used in their studio. That inventory can be used to identify and research hazardous materials/substances in the studio. This knowledge can be used to identify necessary safety precautions and in some cases may lead an artist to search for safer alternatives.
- Download a quick QUIZ to find out if you’re a safe artist or could benefit from some modifications in your creative practice.
An Artist’s Lines of Defence Against Toxic Materials
The quick guide below of toxics in the studio is relevant for an artist’s first line of defence against toxic materials. The three main lines of defence are:
- Substitute hazardous materials with safe or less-toxic alternatives.
- Enclose harmful substances where you can and create a barrier between yourself and the source. Ventilate appropriately.
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) , e.g., gloves, goggles, apron, respirator. Always wear appropriate PPE for the materials and techniques you are using.
The Healthy Artist Guide to a Less Toxic Studio
Top 5 Tips for Using Less Toxic Art Materials
- Know the relative hazards of your materials.
- Use water-based materials where possible.
- Avoid powders and dusts.
- Choose the safest process.
- Be patient as you learn how to use safer substitutes.
Click on a medium to learn about hazards and less toxic alternatives:
| Paint and Drawing Materials | Glues and Adhesives | Alkalis |
| Dusts and Powders | Plastic Resins | Sprays |
| Dyes | Acids | Photochemicals |
| Ceramic Glazes |
You can also download a printable version of the Healthy Artist Guide to a Less Toxic Studio. You will need Acrobat Reader to read this document. You can click here to download the program for free.
*The Healthy Artist Guide to a Less Toxic Studio is adapted from information provided in: Rossol, Monona. (2001). The Artist’s Complete Health and Safety Guide. 3 rd Ed. Allworth Press. New York. & McCann, Michael. (1992). Artist Beware: Fully Revised and Augmented Edition. Lyons and Burford. New York.
Staying Alive! – Health and Safety Workshops for Visual and Media Artists
Staying Alive! A Health & Safety Workshop for Visual and Media Artists will be presented in several cities in Ontario throughout the fall and winter, including:
- Timmins in November,
- Ottawa in January,
- North Bay in February, and
- Thunder Bay in March.
The workshop explores the consequences of repeated exposure to potentially harmful chemicals and situations encountered by artists. Presenters include Ted Rickard, MLS, MEd, CRSP, Manager of Health and Safety at the Ontario College of Art & Design; and Dr. Jean-Jacques Dugoua (Dr. J.J.), BSc, ND., naturopathic doctor with the Artists’ Health Centre.
These workshops are presented by CARFAC Ontario in partnership with the Artists’ Health Centre Foundation and Environmental Defence.
For more information and to register, please visit: http://carfacontario.ca/about/staying_alive or call 416-340-8850 or 1-877-890-8850 toll free.
Resources for Further Information
Toxic Nation Fact Sheet: How to get information on the hazards of arts and crafts materials – Material Safety Data Sheets 101. (See for list of links to online Material Safety Data Sheets)
Health and Safety in the Arts, City of Tucson, Arizona
A searchable database for artists of health and safety information by medium.
US National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine, Household Products Database
A searchable database of household products, provides information on product ingredients, potential health effects and safety and handling. Search Arts and Crafts Products.
Books
Mccann, Michael. (2005). Artist Beware, Updated and Revised: The Hazards in Working with All Art and Craft Materials and the Precautions Every Artist and Craftsperson Should Take . Lyons Press. New York.
Rossol, Monona. (2001). The Artist’s Complete Health and Safety Guide. 3 rd Ed. Allworth Press. New York.
Shaw, Susan and Monona Rossol. (1991). Overexposure: Health Hazards in Photography. 2 nd Ed. Allworth Press. New York.
The Art & Creative Materials Institute, Inc. (1994). What You Need to Know About the Safety of Art & Craft Materials. Boston. (A 12 page booklet on the approval seals of the ACMI voluntarily used by members of this non-profit trade association of manufacturers of art, craft and creative materials. Includes basic safety tips and toxicology information connected with art materials. Free from: The Art & Creative Materials Institute, Inc., 1280 Main St. P.O. Box 479, Hanson, MA 02341. Tel: (781)-293-4100.
This paged was developed in partnership with CARFAC Ontario and the support of the Ontario Trillium Fund.
Much of the material has been adapted from:
Rossol, Monona. (2001). The Artist’s Complete Health and Safety Guide. 3 rd Ed. Allworth Press. New York.
References
Fields, Scott. (1997, March). Exposing ourselves to art. Environmental Health Perspectives. Vol.105, No.3, p. 284. < http://www.ehponline.org/docs/1997/105-3/focus-abs.html>