Originally posted 1/29/09. Re-posted by request.
Emptyeasel has an article up detailing “vegan friendly art supplies”, and when viewed though the narrow lens of “made from animals/not made from animals”, it’s accurate. I’d say it’s also pandering to the princess sparkle-poos out there who don’t wanna hurt the animals but apparently thought that “rabbit skin glue” was just a funny bit of marketing, and a “sable/squirrel/ox hair brush” was just really good for painting that particular animal. You’d think I was making those up, but no – actual conversations overheard at Pearl Paints.
I will give a pass on the average artist not knowing where sepia ink, real shellac, or any number of organic pigments come from because the average artist is pig-ignorant when it comes to these things, and it’s not completely their fault. Art history, IMO, should cover the technical as well as the creative trends, and art students should be required to take *actual* history classes, as well as a few practical chemistry classes, and should certainly get pop quizzes on the hazmat ratings for their materials, and… where was I?
Anyway, people go vegan for any number of reasons. Maybe you’ve gone so vegan that you want every single thing you come in contact with to be cruelty free. That’s an admirable goal. However, if you’re combining your vegan leanings with a green/reduce the carbon footprint consciousness, (as Small Footprints seems to be doing) you might want to stop and think about the part where you’re promoting petrochemical art supplies over organic art supplies.
Note: The fact that I’m about to sideswipe a number of materials should not be taken to mean that I disapprove of these materials OR their synthetic counterparts. I’m a fan of the “whatever works” school myself. My problem is with the idea that merely lacking animal components makes a material animal/vegan friendly, regardless of the rest of the material’s footprint/environmental impact. It’s a very narrow, simplistic view of a very complex ethical model.
Graphite is a mineral. What surrounds it may not always be animal-free, but by itself, it is.
And it has to be mined out of the ground. It’s about as green as anything else that gets commercially mined (not much) but it doesn’t contain animal bits. Go you. Of course, animals sicken and die when their habitats are destroyed for mining, yes? Shouldn’t that matter to a conscientious artist?
Conte Crayon is made from natural pigments (iron oxides, carbon black, titanium dioxide), clay (kaolin) and a plant-based binder (cellulose ether). Damar Varnish is made entirely from a plant source.
Same deal. These materials still have to be harvested from the earth, often from areas of the developing world. The carbon footprint is not minor, especially after you factor in the post processing that must be done to convert raw materials to finished product. Most industrial process in many parts of the world are not animal or planet friendly no matter how you cut it, so I call BS on this.
Fixative sprays by Krylon (many of them, at least) do not contain animal ingredients.
Spray cans. Not animal friendly or planet friendly, and that’s before you have to worry about disposing them!
Yupo paper is made from 100% polypropylene and is suitable for all watercolour techniques. It?s good for drawing and fixatives stick to it as well.
It’s. Made. From. Oil. Things made from oil are not good for happy fuzzy bunnies.
Raw fabrics such as unsized organic hemp, bamboo, linen or cotton can all be used for supports and contain no animal products.
A cautious thumbs up on this one, but if you’re going to beat your virtuous chest on this, don’t you think you should make sure it’s free trade?
Golden’s Absorbent Ground instead of gesso. Golden?s Absorbent Ground is 100% polymer and absorbent for watercolours.
Say it with me kids… things made from oil are not good for the bunnies. Hurting bunnies makes you a crap vegan even if you aren’t eating them.
To sum up, to be a good artist vegan you have to avoid organic materials… just take everything you learned about shopping for good food and reverse it! The more manufactured and synthetic you can go, the better!
::headdesk::