Health hazards from Heidi's studio

in art •  7 years ago 

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One of the joys of being self-employed is simply that I answer to no one else. My workplace standards are whatever I want them to be. I love this freedom.
Over the years, however, I've noticed that some things are just a bad idea. Here's what comes to mind quickly:

  • sandals/flipflops around broken glass. I patched up my daughters foot just yesterday. There WILL be shards even after I sweep.
  • power tools with guards removed are fine, but not when I'm too tired for adequate control. Got the scars!
  • working with high heat and not enough clothing/protective layering. (It's summer, ok?) This isn't just about burns, it's about not smoking my hair off and keeping my vision from getting destroyed.
  • not wearing a mask when there's a lot of dust going on. At the end of the day, if I squeek like Mickey Mouse, that's not cool. Those are carcinogens in my lungs.
  • fumes: perhaps lead, perhaps resin. Nasty stuff.

Those are just a few. So? I guess it's about how to do the work and not be a complete idiot. Personal responsibility combined with workplace freedom = greater potential for moments of sheer brilliance. My last studio had a sign on the door that stated,

" Closed shoes and silly hats required on this invention site". I think that still applies.

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Wow!

Another great post. I know how easy it is to forget safety when you are deep within your work. As I get wiser and now have others that I am responsible for I Think a bit more before I Do.

Thank you! Absolutely true. Wisdom is foundational.

Had to laugh, when I read some of the things above, since they are all too familiar. For an artist its easy to get carried away in the flow of his/her work... thus forgetting everything around, including safe clothes and handling of tools and stuff... almost got myself killed one time 😨

More luck than brains I guess...

Big thank you to my guardian angel!!!

Haha! no kidding! Sounds like you've probably got some good stories here too! Indeed we must keep the angels busy.

All is true, you should really be careful working with that kind of tools and materials..I quitted oil painting because of evaporations and started doing watercolors because I had bad headache's .. In your case you should protect yourself as much you can, to be able to make more beautiful art I enjoy :)