Essential Safety In The Creative Workplace

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Whether your work solo or employ people to help you make your gorgeous creations, its vital that you pay attention to safety. After all, many art mediums from working with scrap metal sculptures to the use of white spirits to clean brushes, come with an element of risk and can be hazardous to health if not used correctly. To that end keep reading for some essential tips that you need to know to keep your creative workspace as safe as possible.

Know how to use your equipment

First, it is vital that you know how to correctly and safely use your equipment. Now, this may seem obvious, but if you are using a new material or medium or you have a new machine, you may not always have the money to afford the training that goes along with it. After all, making a living from creative pursuits can be hard.

However, you must remember that it is vital to know how to operate equipment and use materials safety, both for your own well being and the wellbeing of anyone that is working for you. In fact, you could be falling them legally and morally if you don’t provide the correct training.

Therefore if you are working with kilns, power tools, at heights or with chemicals be sure that everyone knows and adheres to correct safety procedures.  

Safety gear

Also, don’t forget that when working with particular materials and equipment it is vital to provide the correct safety gear for you and your staff. Of course, what you need will differ from studio to study and depend on exactly what combination of items you are using.

For example, those working with oils, resigns, or with solvents may need to have chemical spill kits on hand, as well as provide protective clothing, gloves, and eyewear. However, those building installations and sculptures require more of a focus on productive headgear and steel toe boots to prevent any injuries if a piece of the work is dropped or comes loose.

One way to establish what you need for a particular situation is to perform a risk assessment. A risk assessment is where you identify the possible hazards in your studio, and then you can decide what measure you need to take place to minimise this risk and keep everyone as safe as possible

Regular rest and breaks

Lastly, the life of an artist may not be a regular 9-5 one. In fact, we can often find ourselves working late into the night or in large chunks with a minimum of rest. However, it is worth bearing in mind that if you have to operate dangerous or heavy machinery or work with hazardous materials, this might not be the best idea.

After all, you will need to promote the safe working practices for you and your employees even if a gallery or client deadline is looming. What this means is that regular breaks and not working when you are exhausted is essential, because a piece can always be finished later, but injuries or worst can never be undone!