I am sure I am no different than other artist in that when I am looking for inspiration, researching a technique, comparing new paints or mediums, etc, my first stop is YouTube. YouTube really is a treasure trove of information. Here is the thing. I could NOT focus on hardly any of the tutorials because all I kept seeing were people using tons of plastic cups. Cups and popsicle sticks everywhere. Most do not look reused. I am certainly not here to judge, that's what facebook is for, but my internal anxiety about creating trash would not let me focus on what I was trying to get out of these video's.
I knew if I was going to do any type of significant art, I personally needed to find a way to do minimal harm to the environment, which means keeping as much art supplies out of the landfill as possible.
I knew I would need shop for the right supplies. That was a given. I also knew I would need to learn new techniques. Like, wipe out the resin mixing cup with a baby wipe before you turn it over to let the resin drip out onto the silicone mat. When it cures, you can literally just peel it out of the cup. It is very satisfying. Let me give you a professional tip, prop up one side of the cup on the lip of the silicone drip mat. This helps it cure quicker. If you lay the cup flat it will seal itself to the silicone mat and when you go to pull it off, parts will still be super sticky.
Speaking of Super Sticky, Unicone Art (not a typo, that is legit the label), Magical Resin Remover, is the bomb diggity. Your welcome. That's another professional tip. I am still on the hunt for environmentally friendly gloves. I currently just use the same latex gloves over and over until the resin makes them crack.
No shock, I got most of my initial supplies off of Amazon. I bought silicone cups in all sizes, stirrers, mats, etc. They work ok, however, they do turn yellow and get harder to clean over time. It's also possible I bought some cheap crap.
But what I didn't cheap out on are the Forever Sticks from Ms. Colorberry. They are worth their weight in gold. If you have ever typed the word resin into Instagram or Google, you have certainly come across Ms. Colorberry. If you don't know Ms. Colorberry, you should head over to her Instagram account now. You will not be disappointed. She is also SO environmentally friendly with all her products and art studio, it's incredible.
I have been working now for close to a year with the same cups and stirring sticks. I never dump anything down the sink. I feel like I can safely say I am doing my very best to not be a trashy artist.
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