Product Info Tip of the Week 8/8/12 - Q&A - Beat the Heat

[Blick Art Materials]

Tip of the Week – Product Information Q&A – Beat the Heat!

We are adding a new dimension to our Tip of the Week with a monthly Q&A with our Product Information Specialists. This month’s question is “As an artist, how do the heat and humidity of summer affect your work, and how do you deal with it?”

Jim – As the long hot summer days drag on I find myself drawn to my cool basement to work on print making projects. Doing printmaking in the summer is sometimes a challenge. I find drying the prints takes longer and the humidity in the air reminds me that my prints need to be hinged carefully behind the mat with T hinges so that the paper print can swell and contract without tearing loose. Blick has one of my prints of an angel on display that wrinkles in the summer but lays back flat in the dry winter air.

Audra – For the most part it doesn’t affect my work because the majority of the work I do is done inside where it is air conditioned. That being said, I have to be careful with traveling with my art supplies and making sure not to leave colored pencils, markers, or oil pastels in the car. While colored seats sound pretty, it is not something I want to do accidently.

Becky – I love the heat, but humidity is not friendly to many of the materials I use, notably paper. Air conditioning helps, but I tend to avoid projects that will be affected by the weather during the summer because I prefer not to use air. I like to do my dyeing and weaving outside, so summer is when I work on textile projects for the most part. Summer is also when I collect a lot of the materials I use for assemblage/collage. And I go through a LOT of sidewalk chalk.

Andrea – Luckily, oil paint isn’t much affected by either heat or humidity. The increase of moisture in the air could mean less oxygen, which would tend to slow oxidation, but the increased heat would act as a catalyst to speed it back up, so the drying rate for the paint really doesn’t change. The only area that could become problematic is varnishing. Resins like the ones in varnishes (or even casting resins, for that matter) can cloud if they cure in high humidity. That’s easily resolved, though, by just paying attention to the humidity and not varnishing anything when it’s too high.

Acacia – The humidity plays havoc on drying time for clay. I find that without air conditioning, it seems impossible to move a piece of greenware from leather-hard to bone dry! Even though the drying time is extended, you can’t rush the process because this could cause the piece to crack. When firing glazeware and glass pendants the summer heat can slow down the natural cooling process of the kiln after firing, making you wait longer to view finished pieces. Whether you are firing clay or glass, it is always best to allow extra time in the summer for a project to be completed, rushing the natural process of drying and cooling could result in damaged pieces.

Some of the things an artist does to deal with environmental conditions such as heat and humidity depend on their chosen medium, but simply staying conscious of how our materials react to our environment is something we can all do. This allows us to change our environment, schedule extra time, or choose what we do according to changing conditions, and to protect our materials and artwork as needed. We hope our fellow artists find this helpful, and enjoy creating and expressing themselves despite the summer heat!

For further assistance using art supplies, feel welcome to contact our Product Information Department at 1-800-933-2542 or e-mail us at info@dickbick.com. Hours of operation: M-F, 8:00am-5:30pm CST.