I make an effort to harvest leaves, flowers, wood, bark, and all my “art supplies” as sustainably as possible. I avoid uprooting plants or stripping bark from living trees or disrupting the natural processes of decay and reclamation. I do my best to gather live plants in ways that promote growth whenever possible.

Carbon Footprint22

• Canvas –  I currently use tempered hardboard (essentially ground-up wood fibers held together with resins) as well as pine board for framing. My research is limited, however, a 2014 USDA Forest Service Laboratory report concluded that “[w]ood products, such as hardboard, used in building construction can store carbon for long periods. The amount of carbon stored in hardboard if allowed to decay naturally is equivalent to about 75% of the total carbon dioxide emissions released during hardboard manufacturing. Therefore, hardboard’s ability to store carbon when in use as a building product is a positive environmental attribute.”
• Carpentry Nails for framing

Toxicity

Three manufactured/synthetic materials I use are:

• PVA glue  – white glue and yellow wood glue. Unclear about the manufacturing carbon footprints of these ubiquitous products. But the Safety Data Sheets published on Elmer’s glue website seem to indicate they are pretty non-toxic.
• Polycrylic water-based finish – Based on my uninformed reading of the GHS Safety Data Sheet on Minwax Polycrylic, I would love to find an alternative protective finish.
• Aerosol  UV-resistant clear acrylic coating – Based on  the GHS Safety Data Sheet, this stuff is hazardous. And while I have excellent protective gear and measures in place, I’m looking for a more environmentally benign alternative.

What’s left on the studio floor goes directly into my garden compost pile.

If you have suggestions on alternatives to any of the materials listed here, keeping in mind some minimal archival and durability requirements, please contact me.