MED'A Conjunctions

by Mary Ellin D’Agostino

Where there is fire…

…there are smoke and fumes. Plus, we have to deal with dust from metal clays, enamels, and other materials we work with in our studios.  This is the first installment in a series on the health and safety issues metal clay artists need to consider.

While the binders in silver clay are non-toxic, fumes and particulates from firing are not great to breathe.  Smoke from metal clays is similar to those you get when burning food.  Those are not great to breathe either, but not necessarily something to cause panic (unless the burning goes too far and your house catches on fire!).  You can read reports on organic gasses released during firing on the PMC Guild website.  The Manufacturers’ Data Safety Sheets (MSDS) for PMC Silver and Art Clay Silver may also be useful.  All confirm the non-toxic nature of silver clay binders.

All of them also say to have “adequate ventilation” when firing.  So just what is adequate ventilation?  Linda Kaye-Moses believes that we should be thinking “active” rather than just “adequate” ventilation. An open window and/or doorway make a good start, but not usually enough for even “adequate” where toxic fumes are involved. A fan that blows air from an open window or door toward another open window creating a cross breeze and flow of fresh air is a lot better for general room ventilation.  However, if your work creates a localized source of dust or fumes, a fume hood or filtration system that will suck away the contaminated air is a good idea.  Such a system may also be required in cases where there are not multiple windows and doors that can be opened or when weather makes open windows not an option.  Excellent discussions and advice can be found on the Ganoksin jeweler’s forum by doing a search on “ventilation,” “workshop safety,” or scanning their archives.  Two excellent places to start are Charles Lewton Brain’s articles on Basic Safety Principles, Ventilation in Your Jewelry Workshop,   Jewelry Workshop Safety Report, and Brandney W. Simon’s  Workshop Air Quality.  When you read these articles, you will find links to paid advertisements selling ventilation equipment. There are is a whole lot more on the Ganoksin archives, including discussions and directions for building your own fume hood.  Ganoksin and its Orchid discussion forum is the best resource for jewelers on the web.

If the only concern is dust rather than fumes, a true HEPA air filter of the type sold for home allergy sufferers may be sufficient for your needs.   These can be placed in front of your work area to suck up any airborne dust down to 4 microns in size.  I use HEPA air filters originally purchased for my house-dust allergy.  These are an economical solution for the hobbyist and small scale artisan who is not working with materials that produce fumes.  High production studios, may want to investigate further and purchase filters designed for industrial use.  No matter what type of filter you have, be sure to change the carbon pre- and HEPA filters regularly.  For studio use, you may have to replace them more frequently than for standard household use.

If the concern is also fumes from the materials being used (resins, soldering, firing, & etc.), you should have a filtration system or fume hood that pulls both dust and fumes away and either filters them before returning the air to the room or vents to the outdoors.  Brands include HAKKO, Sentry Air Systems, Electrocorp, Vaniman, Lab-Air, and others—I know, I should include links here, but I am lazy and these names give you a place to start an internet search.  Some of these units are portable and have hoses that can be positioned to focus on your work area.

Further Reading:

The US EPA has an excellent  page with information on comparing the various air purifying technologies and a guide to issues in indoor air quality.  I know the government info is far from perfect, but these sites are great places to start lo0king for reliable information before moving on to the industry, muck-raking, and alarmist sites that pepper the internet.

Coming Soon:
Dust, Fumes, Smoke, and Fire: Part 2:

A discussion of the health and safety risks surrounding the powdered silver, gold, copper, and bronze used in metal clays.

© 2010 Mary Ellin D’Agostino

By Mary Ellin D’Agostino

I have known for some time that one can revitalize old dried or partially dried cork clay by adding wanter, letting it sit, and kneading relentlessly.  But now that wood clays have supplanted cork clay, many of us want to know how to rejuvenate the wood clays.  Since wood clay made an entrance, there have been two brands used and sold by metal clay suppliers.  The first was a Japanese brand that came in packages of similar size to the cork clay (about 8 oz).   The most commonly sold current brand is from Spain and is called Patwood by Jovi®.

Neither of the wood clays could be successfully rejuvenated by adding water.  In fact, I had been having trouble with the Jovi brand sticking to itself even if it was just a little dried out.  Adding water did not seem to help.  Glycerine didn’t seem to help.  Then my friend and colleague Judy Pagnusat said she had tried adding common school glue.  That did the trick.  She used the Elmer’s® blue school glue.  I tried white glue and found the same thing.  I also tried rehydrating some completely dried Patwood and found that by adding water, letting it sit for a while, adding glue, and kneading, it came back to its original pliable form.

So, to rejuvenate wood clay, when it gets annoying, just knead in common white glue.  If it is really dry, add water and glue.  It is a messy process, but the results are worth it.

PS:  Thanks to Linda Kaye-Moses for the reminder:  Be sure to check out the ingredients and MSDS of the glue you use to make sure it is safe and will not produce hazardous compounds when burned.  Elmer’s Glue-All, School Glue, and their blue gel school glue are not particularly hazardous when burned (no hazardous polymerization and the decomposition compounds are CO and CO2), but you do need good ventilation, as you do anytime you burn something.

© 2010 Mary Ellin D’Agostino

Spring is here and lots of things are growing, including mold. Questions about mold in metal clay come up regularly this time of year.  Here is probably more than you ever wanted to know about mold in metal clay.

 The health issues related to mold revolve around breathing the mold spores and the mycotoxins they produce. Unless you have allergies, asthma, or other respiratory problems, minor exposure is usually just irritating. Mold is everywhere, so I don’t want to be an alarmist, but some molds are toxic and you do want to take some care (links to info on toxic mold are at the end of this missive). Wear a dust mask when you start working with the moldy clay–if you are “smelling” the musty mold, you are breathing mold spores. If you are sensitive, wear a HEPA grade dust mask. Be sure to wash hands and use a good air filter or positive ventilation to keep from breathing mold dust.

Personally, I am very sensitive to mold and dust and try to open up and do the initial working of moldy clay outside to keep from adding mold spores into my studio. If there is a breeze, I may not bother with a dust mask. I usually scrape off and dispose of the worst of the mold for aesthetic reasons and then knead the clay. Once it is thoroughly mixed in, the chances of getting mold spores in the air is a lot lower, and I take it back into my workshop and try to use it up quickly (within a few days).

Keeping the clay tightly wrapped so no air gets to it will help limit the mold growth as well. White vinegar can be added to kill the mold. Simply add a few drops of white vinegar to the clay and let it sit overnight; small spots of mold will often completely disappear.  Larger incursions may still be visible, but can just be mixed into the clay.

Lavender essential oil also seems to retard mold growth (it may kill it as well).  I haven’t had a problem with mold since I started using the lavender oil.  I add it to all my slip because it makes the slip stick better to both fired and unfired silver clay.

After working with moldy clay, you will want to clean your tools and work surfaces to remove mold spores. Bleach or strong white vinegar can be used to sterilize tools and work surfaces. If you have a HEPA air filter, you should run it in your working area before, during, and after in order to remove as many of the spoors from the environment as possible. These steps may help prevent future mold outbreaks.

The absolute best way to prevent moldy clay is to not let wet clay sit around for long periods of time after it has been opened (factory sealed packages are usually sterile). So use that clay up! Alternately, if you have leftover clay that is pretty dry and do not intend to use it for some time, let it dry out completely and store that way. Dry clay, will not grow mold, but does give you the challenge of reconstituting it–break it up into small pieces or grind it in a silver clay dedicated coffee mill, add (distilled) water, mix, cover tightly, and allow to sit for one or more days to allow the moisture to fully penetrate the binder. After that, it is a matter of kneading (in plastic), and adjusting the moisture content to the desired consistency. Glycerin can be added to make the clay more workable.  Adding a few drops of lavender oil or white vinegar can give you some mold insurance.  Pick your smell!  Other essential oils (such as citrus) will probably do the trick, but I haven’t tested them.

You can also sterilize moldy clay by heating it. This means that you are going to dry out the clay and will have to reconstitute it. To sterilize the clay using heat, you will need to heat it over 130F (56C) for a minimum of 30 minutes. Heat for longer to ensure the entire piece has been sterilized. I usually use my oven or toaster oven to do this at its lowest setting–about 200-250F. A good dehydrator will allow you to adjust the heat to specific temperatures as well and will give good positive airflow. Don’t heat much hotter than this or the binder will begin to darken and burn. To read more about heat sterilization, check out: http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/nreos/wood/wpn/pallets.html.. This is written for heating and sterilizing wood, but will give you a lot of information on sterilization, heating and drying that can be applied to metal clays (or at least their binders). Apparently this is a big issue in the wood pallet industry! Who knew?

Finally, keep in mind that the mold is using the binder in your clay as a food source. If you let it keep growing on your clay, it is degrading the binder. This is probably not an issue unless you let it grow for a *really* long time though! 😉  I had a tub full of moldy clay that has been sitting in my studio for a couple of years and it was still ok to work.  Keep in mind that the binder in the metal clay does start to break down after 6+ years, so any *really* old clay you have should be used as soon as possible.  Don’t let it sit around too long.

If you know that your working environment is contaminated with toxic mold, you need to take appropriate precautions. A quick Google search found the following sources on toxic mold:
http://homebuying.about.com/cs/mold/a/toxic_mold.htm
http://www.mold-help.org
http://www.homehealthscience.com/toxicmold_inhouse.asp
http://www.toxic-black-mold-info.com/
http://www.inspect-ny.com/sickhouse.htm

I originally wrote this post in February of 2008 for the Metal Clay Yahoo group and have updated it.  It was written with silver clay in mind, but the advice should transfer to the other metal clays as well.  If anyone has additional knowledge regarding mold in the base metal clays, please let me know and I can include it here.  Bronze and copper clays are probably resistant to mold as copper tends to be toxic to growing things—it used to be used in bottom paint for boats to prevent stuff from growing on them, but has been banned because it sheds toxic residue wherever boats are regularly stored.  The replacement paints are not nearly as effective at retarding marine growth.

Send me your questions regarding this and other issues and I will research and answer them.

Mary Ellin D’Agostino