The many shades of green art

When faculty members in the School of the Arts realized that they were spending nearly as much time preparing for and controlling the hazards associated with working in an art studio as they were preparing a creative curriculum for their students, they knew they had to make a change.

So they went green.

Not normally thought of as a high risk to the environment, art-making does have the potential to produce a great deal of waste through the use of chemical cleaners, paints and solvents used in the studio. To address this issue the School of the Arts implemented the New Environmentally Responsible Art (New ERA) initiative and tasked Undergraduate Student Research Award recipient Jocelyn Chen with developing ways to make its studios more environmentally friendly.

"The philosophy is to actively seek safer and much more earth-friendly alternatives in everything we do on a daily basis," said Judy Major-Girardin, associate professor of art. "We need to fully understand the environmental impact of manufacturing art materials."

They began over a year ago by rethinking their cleaning practices, replacing hazardous chemical grease cutters with baby oil and using vinegar and baking soda as de-greasers. They also eliminated the use of varsol and mineral spirits, opting for the biodegradable Estisol instead.

"We realized early on that the only way to get and keep everyone on board was to take a gradual approach," said Major-Girardin. "With careful research, we're able to offer alternatives that are not a sacrifice to traditional approaches and also offer new opportunities for learning."

Among the initiative's successes are the establishment of a recycling area which, in conjunction with a reuse strategy has resulted in waste reduction and monetary savings, the purchase of a chemical-free printer and the implementation of environmentally friendly alternatives to processes such as acid etching.

The new green thinking has even entered class curriculum, with instructors introducing the concept of sustainable thinking into studio courses and through assignments that require students to research the effects of the materials they choose to work with.

"There has been a dramatic shift in attitude in the art studio," said Major-Girardin. "This really signals a commitment to long-term and continuing improvement to the environment on the part of artists."

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