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Becoming a more mindful and ethical creative

As creatives and crafters I find it’s really easy to get swept up with hoarding and buying the latest greatest artsy craftsy thing. My studio room is filled with mountains and mountains of paper, paints, brushes punches, card blanks, envelopes, cellophanes …and more paper! We would often joke about the ‘rainforests’ worth of watercolour paper and pads alone that I get through & stash away.

Nottingham Lace
‘Nottingham Lace’ – My limited edition screenprint – printed with water based inks onto recycled board by PrintShop 19

A couple of years ago that started to really bug me, it started to really play on my conscience. Surely if I do this then everyone else with a creative inclination does too, and that adds up to a lot of ‘rainforests’!

So I have begun to look into becoming a carefree creative, a crafter with conscience, an artist with ethics.

I’m researching sources of responsible, sustainable, and where possible, chemical free, paper & paints.  I’m researching sustainable, fair-trade pencils and cruelty free paintbrushes (just think about where those sable brushes have come from!). I’m looking into how toxic our marker pens and inks are, and looking into alternatives. I’m getting samples, looking carefully at suppliers and testing everything rigorously. Eventually I hope to stock my discoveries in my online shop, but that’s a long way off.

This website Eco-Craft  has been a godsend for my craft projects so far and supplied the card for my last batch of Limited Edition screen prints, which were printed using eco-friendly water based inks by Print Shop 19. I’ve already started to produce my art prints and printed greetings cards onto recycled paper and have begun using biodegradable cellophane bags to sell and display them in.

I’ve got a long way to go and there’s a lot of contradictory information and a lot of strong opinions to wade through, but in life all we can do is approach all our endeavors with the very best intentions! I’ll keep you posted! ……….Wish me luck!

x

Charlotte

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