I’m trying to keep a safe studio for my own health and wellbeing since working with certain ceramic materials can be toxic. Every so often I get a little paper cut or other small wound that doesn’t look terrible, but hurts like the dickens - especially with constant use when working with clay. When this happens, I can’t exactly wear a bandaid since it would come off due to the wet nature of working with clay. My hands are constantly in water or clay or both. My most recent wound happened 2 days ago. I was removing a stilt from the bottom of a ceramic piece and it slipped and cut my thumb. Not fun.
Finger cots to the rescue. Though I don’t like wearing them, they do the job. And yes, they look a little bit like a condom. Oh gee, I hope I don’t get a ton of spam from this post! They’re not terribly comfortable, much like I imagine the real thing would feel…. But, the cots do serve as a barrier between potential chemicals and what not finding free entry into my body via the cut.
Et Voila! What other safety precautions do I take? I use a respirator when mixing glazes, gloves when glazing, glasses and a mask when sanding greenware & bisque, and goggles when checking cones in the kiln. As an independent artist, I rely on my health to have a long career. It’s really important to take care of my body, especially if I were to find myself without health insurance some day. My husband currently has me covered, but he dreams of being self employed some day and our health coverage could change at anytime.
Meanwhile, I attended my monthly garden club meeting last night and visited 3 amazingly beautiful gardens. I’m getting the bug to really dig in the soil and plant. Sunday, I’m going to play in a different kind of mud and plant a small vegetable garden near the back door of our house. I’ll need to fence it off to keep the dogs out of it but the rewards of fresh salsa and herbs will be wonderful come July and August!
Till later,
~Cynthia
Hi Cynthia,
sorry ’bout the cut. another thing to do is to use super glue. i once heard it was developed as a quick suture. my daughter bumped her chin and the doctor in the emergency room used what he said was a medical version of super glue. anyway, i’ve enjoyed reading…
No spam from me.
I thought the same thing about the cots. I have noticed that cuts on my hands are taking longer to heal as I have aged. I need to be more vigilant about wearing gloves when I make art.
Evenin’ Cynthia
Have been using the cots, too. For the same reasons.
During the last year my hands have gotten so rough that the computor won’t recognize my fingerprint !!! (It’s a Think Pad that my son gave me from his business and automatically came with a fingerprint sign-in which is a real nuisance!)
Do you use any kind of hand cream? Which one is the best?
Hugs
Chae
I swear by them. And if your cut is bigger than a papercut, those finger cots work great over a bandaid, keeping it nice and clean. I keep a bottle of liquid bandage from the pharmacy section on hand that works great for papercuts and other small cuts including raw hangnail spots that happen from time to time. Less cumbersome than a bandaid.
Hi Michael! Not sure I have any super glue on hand - but what a great tip. That stuff doesn’t come off anything.
Hey Chae - My hands look 20 years older than I do! I’ve taken to using a lotion bar. It’s a super emollient stick that I rub into my hands and feet at night. I’ve purchased some online from Pixie Soap on Etsy
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=102703§ion_id=5198613 and have also found some locally that I like.
I can’t think about spam now without thinking about you Janet!!
Hi Anne - I tried some liquid bandage yesterday and by the time I was done working on my clay pieces, it was gone. I didn’t wear the cot yesterday. Too constricting on my fat thumb!
Wow, I was going to suggest the liquid bandage, also, as it helps to keep out the stuff which I’m not sure that medicial super glue can do. Super glue really hurts and reacts terribly with my body chemisty and is worse than going without, but, like it or not, I’m afraid you’ll have to use something to protect yourself.
I use Eucerin Extra Lubricant hand cream at night and body butter from Bath and Body during the day. Otherwise my hand just crack open on the thumbs and finegers. Painting, drawing, beads and clay all use a lot of water so we all get ancient looking hands before our time. Especially in the arid west! Yikes. Do everything you can to protect yourself.
Cyn, I’m so glad you’re thinking of your safety in the studio and those finger cots look like a very good idea. As much as we love making art, I guess we have to remember the dangers in the mediums we use and sometimes it’s easy to forget safety when in the passion of artmaking. I used to be guilty of putting the end of paintbrushes in my mouth and found out that’s not a good idea.
Safety First!
I love your mother’s day present too! 
Good idea, but I’ve only seen them at drugstores, in very small quanities, at a high price. It looks like you bought them by the bag. Can you tell me where? and how much there were? Thanks. Tim~~