Celebrate Green Blog

If your mom loves to craft, I’ve got a great Mother’s Day gift suggestion-the book, Green Guide for Artists: Non-Toxic Recipes, Green Art Ideas & Resources for the Eco-Conscious Artist by Karen Michel. (This is Lynn speaking, the crafting half of the duo.)

The title says artists (twice!), which might be a little intimidating for those of us whose painting skills are exceeded by most five-year-olds (that would be yours truly). But believe me, if you’re a crafter and looking for eco-friendlier alternatives to VOC emitting paints and glues, you’ll appreciate this book.

One of the things that always stuns me is discovering how uncomplicated it is to make something myself that I’ve been buying. I remember my shock when reading Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, to discover how simple it is to make cream cheese! Why, I wondered, would anyone buy it when it’s so easy to do it yourself?

I had the same reaction when reading Green Guide for Artists. Its non-toxic recipes are, for the most part quick to put together from (mostly) common ingredients. For instance rice paste, a heavy-bodied glue analogous (at least in my projects), to “Aleene’s Tacky Glue” is made from rice flour, sugar and essential oil. A nice varnish can be crafted from egg whites! Why, when it’s so easy, would anyone choose to use foul smelling, VOC-emitting commercial varnish?

Admittedly, not every homemade recipe will work for every application, but isn’t experimentation part of being a crafter? Trial and error often lead to the best work we do, so learning to work with materials that are better for us and the planet and which can help us grow as artisans, appears to be a win-win-win.

While it’s great to use materials you commonly purchase like eggs, milk and flour to whip up art supplies, The Green Guide provides a nice resource section for ingredients you may not find locally as well as for eco-friendlier alternatives for pre-made paints, glues, canvas, stretcher bars etc.

As much as I enjoyed and appreciate the recipes as well as the education about problems with common art supplies, the second half of the book with projects and “artist’s gallery,” felt like it was added on just to turn the information from a pamphlet into a full-length book.

But even if you ignore the last half, I think Green Guide for Artists is worth the cost. Not only will making some of your own supplies save you money, but it may even improve your health by turning your work area or studio into a toxic-free zone!

If, even after reading my enthusiastic endorsement of do-it-yourself, you still want to purchase, here are two of my favorite outlets for eco-friendly art and craft supplies:

Eco Green Crafts Wonderful choices hard-to-find eco-friendlier alternatives including pigment inks and recycled glass embellishments

Stubby Pencil Studio It says “art supplies for kids,” but I’ve found useful ones here and while I’m a kid inside…I think I qualify as a grown-up (at least that’s what my Medicare card says!).

Earth Safe Finishes Actually found this one after this post was already up and haven’t tried their paints yet, but they look fantastic

One last point about greener art supplies. If you shop at a local art/craft store, ask for eco-alternatives and if they don’t carry these lines, request that they do so. The power for change lies in our wallets.

Do you have a favorite “recipe” for an art or craft supply? Tell us about it.