Your shopping cart is empty.

Your shopping cart is empty.

Creating a Healthier Studio Environment

In my studio, I work in tacky media like wax and paint as well as dusty media (papier mache, paper carving, wood carving, sanding.) I also use materials that create smoke and fumes, like encaustic, alcohol inks, varnish and flame. It’s important to keep all these materials from contaminating each other, as well as keeping the dust and fumes out of my lungs.

A few years ago, I purchased for my home studio a fume extractor which moved air out a louvered port in the window, but it didn’t help with the dust particles. I kept a dust-buster handy at all times. When I moved to a larger space this year, it was partly to give myself room to spread out my workstations and partly to have room for visiting artists and collectors. Either way, it was time to overhaul my exhaust systems!

I was lucky to have been awarded a Get Ready grant from CERF+ to improve the air quality in my studio. (CERF+ is a non-profit organization that supports artists working in traditional craft mediums, with resources for health, business practices, disaster mitigation and overall sustainability of their art careers.) I did a lot of research on the best way to accomplish this in my particular studio, but the information I collected is useful for any artist working indoors. Some of the considerations were: existing ventilation, types of filtering units available, type/size of contaminates, size of the room, and the size and placement of workstations.

I learned that it would work best for my practice to combine targeted dust collection with a broader air purifier to capture the small, invisible contaminates floating around. Because the HVAC system is shared throughout the building, I am limited to making changes within my space. I created a 2-3 phase plan that would make the biggest change right away and allow for finer adjustments of air quality in the future.

In the end, I chose to target the origin of the dust with a single-bag dust collection system that can be aimed at the tool I am using. Because my work ranges from small to life-sized, I added a boom arm attached to my worktable and a wheeled stand for the option of moving around the room for bigger pieces. The next upgrades I will make is to add a down-draft table on my work surface and an air purifier to continuously capture the remaining minute particles floating in the air.

The following is a breakdown of my thought process in creating my system. It’s a basic overview and a list of resources that you can check for a deeper understanding of the issues. (Disclaimer: I am not an HVAC professional!)

 

LINK 1  HOW BIG IS A MICRON, ANYWAY?

LINK 2  GASES 

LINK 3  WHAT THE HECK IS ACH, BESIDES ELECTRONIC BANK PAYMENTS...?

LINK 4  FUMES VS VAPORS

LINK 5  THE DOWN AND DIRTY ON FILTER FABRICS

LINK 6  WHAT MASK DO YOU NEED?

LINK 7  SYSTEM COMPARISONS, INCLUDING DIY BOX FAN FILTER

LINK 8  MERV FILTER RATINGS 

Trusted Art Seller

The presence of this badge signifies that this business has officially registered with the Art Storefronts Organization and has an established track record of selling art.

It also means that buyers can trust that they are buying from a legitimate business. Art sellers that conduct fraudulent activity or that receive numerous complaints from buyers will have this badge revoked. If you would like to file a complaint about this seller, please do so here.

Verified Returns & Exchanges

The Art Storefronts Organization has verified that this business has provided a returns & exchanges policy for all art purchases.

Description of Policy from Merchant:

WARNING: This merchant has removed information about their returns and exchanges policy. Please verify with them directly.

Verified Secure Website with Safe Checkout

This website provides a secure checkout with SSL encryption.

Verified Archival Materials Used

The Art Storefronts Organization has verified that this Art Seller has published information about the archival materials used to create their products in an effort to provide transparency to buyers.

Description from Merchant:

WARNING: This merchant has removed information about what materials they are using in the production of their products. Please verify with them directly.

Cart

Your cart is currently empty.

Saved Successfully.

This is only visible to you because you are logged in and are authorized to manage this website. This message is not visible to other website visitors.

×

Import From Instagram

Click on any Image to continue

Create a New Favorite List

×
Name

Badge ar compatible

This Website Uses Augmented Reality to Live Preview the Art

This means that you can superimpose any piece of art onto a wall that you view through your phone or tablet, without downloading an app!

Just look for the "Live Preview AR" button when viewing any piece of art on this website. You must have the camera enabled on your device.

×

Manage Favorites

Below, select which favorite lists you would like to save this product into.

×

This Website Uses Augmented Reality to Live Preview the Art

This means that you can superimpose any piece of art onto a wall that you view through your phone or tablet, without downloading an app!

Just look for the "Live Preview AR" button when viewing any piece of art on this website. You must have the camera enabled on your device.