sofapillows:nathanallardart:Pale violet from mussel shells. There is something beautiful about color
sofapillows:nathanallardart:Pale violet from mussel shells. There is something beautiful about color when you know its origins - it was made in the ocean under the waves.sorry if this is preachy butyou probably shouldnt continue to work with muscle shells anymore. you should either seal or safely dispose of the pigmentmuscle shells can contain heavy metals which, when you are grinding them down like this, it can lead to heavy metal poisoning. it is extremely serious. it can cause damage to your organs, nervous system, and can kill you.a sculptor who contracted heavy metal poisoning after working with muscle shellsif you want to continue to grind down muscle shells (which i wouldn’t recommend) it is possible to take steps to work with them safely: this is about lead but pgs 6-9 have safety notes. the protective steps and equipment needed though is very intense.I appreciate your concern and care. I am aware of the potential dangers of working with shells as well as other potentially health damaging substances. I work with a few toxic paints that are lead, cobalt, and cadmium based, and I take appropriate caution like many other artists working with them. Her unfortunate heavy metal poisoning was due to much different conditions than I work with over a long period of time. She was inhaling shell dust for sometimes up to 12 hours a day over the course of a few years - she says her arms were coated in shell dust when working to give an idea of her exposure rate. This is a pigment that I obtain by wet grinding as much as possible, and then I mix it into water and a binder to be use as paint - both of those methods controll and eliminate dust exposure, and when dust containment isn’t an an option, I grind pigments outside and with an N95. -- source link