We’re all connected to the materials and objects around us. How we interact with our environment can make a positive difference for the future we share.
Art does not have a great track record with this, traditionally. There is a lot of potential for waste and harmful materials when making, shipping and showing artwork. Unsafe (but beautiful) pigments, single use (but effective) plastic packaging, and the fuel used to transport people and art for one international art fair are a few of the issues I struggle with in my own studio practice. While I alone can’t change all of that, I do try to limit my individual footprint.
I feel closest to this goal when I re-tool, re-use, and experiment with how I use materials in the studio. That might mean building custom stretcher frames from trees I helped plant, exploring recycled canvases, or mixing my own inks. I try to use this same approach when shipping my paintings and prints.
When appropriate, I build custom shipping boxes by hand from recycle-able cardboard. And although larger paintings often need art handlers to move, considering the weight of the materials upfront allows me to help reduce the overall shipping costs and footprint an artwork will have over its lifetime.
And If you’re ever curious about how your painting will arrive and what the environmental footprint will be, please reach out to me.
Below are examples of a studio-made custom crate for smaller paintings along with the cardboard slipcovers used for moving larger work.
