Ventilation Safety and Encaustic
This summer at one of the workshops at the Encaustic Conference, there was a big debate over encaustic ventilation safety. It’s a hot topic because people have different opinions about the damage that working with encaustic can cause. I’d like to get an idea of what our team members think about this, and hopefully we can all learn a little more about the process. To get started, check out R&F’s helpful fact sheet on ventilation here.
How do you ventilate when working with encaustic?
Do you wear a mask?
Have you noticed any symptoms of encaustic irritants over time?
In my home studio, I ventilate with a fan and open window, but as the winter gets closer and the temperature drops, I am unsure if I will be able to continue to paint with encaustic through the winter months. For those of you who have years of experience with encaustic, how do you deal with the cold during the winter?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this!
Kathryn
Bring on the comments
Wednesday, October 14 11:53 am
Hi Kathryn,
In my old studio I had picture B which seemed to work really well. So I had a hood vent (like over a stove) over my heated palette and then had an enormous window which opened on one side. Now I am working inside a tiny one car garage in which I roll open the door all or 3/4 of the way and have a fan set up behind me to blow fumes out…so I’m almost working outside. But yesterday when the leftovers of a typhoon blew through town I was limited to working without my palette (scraping, incisising, etc…)
I look forward to hearing what others have to say on the subject.
Beth
Wednesday, October 21 10:54 pm
I sort of have the second picture as well. I work on the counter at the end of my kitchen and have the door open to my right and the stove fan on to my left. On cold days I have the door just cracked (if at all- I know that is terrible). I have never worn a mask. When I paint for a really long time, I have noticed headache’s, however, I am not sure if that is due to fumes or b/c I am sitting with my head bent forwards for so many hours in a row and the muscles in the back of my neck are strained, which often gives me headaches.
Thursday, October 22 4:29 pm
Hmm… I get the headaches, too, but I wondered the same thing: could it be the physical strain, not the fumes? I also sometimes wonder about the carbon monoxide coming from the propane torch, but that’s another story entirely. Laura, do you find that the fan draws enough of the fumes away with your door just cracked?
Tuesday, December 1 3:04 pm
Hi, The way I deal with the cold is to let the heated pallets (4) and torch provide warmth. I live in Tennessee and the summer heat is more of a problem.
Charles
Wednesday, May 19 11:59 am
I sort of have the second picture as well. I work on the counter at the end of my kitchen and have the door open to my right and the stove fan on to my left. On cold days I have the door just cracked (if at all- I know that is terrible). I have never worn a mask. When I paint for a really long time, I have noticed headache’s, however, I am not sure if that is due to fumes or b/c I am sitting with my head bent forwards for so many hours in a row and the muscles in the back of my neck are strained, which often gives me headaches.
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