Tool Thursday: Trusty Toaster Oven

All this talk of polymer clay and I don’t think I have talked about the safety aspects of working with this material. Generally, polymer clay is considered non-toxic. It leaves a residue on any surfaces it comes in contact with, so I suggest washing your hands after using it, and I personally don’t use any tools that touch the clay with food.

I use an old cookie sheet for much of my clayworking, since it is easy to clean up. And someone might use a fork for texture… or something similar… which is why I mention food specifically.

Most important, to me, is that I do not cure/cook polymer clay in my regular oven. I am lucky enough to have a dedicated toaster oven for my clay baking needs. It came to me for free, but I consider the possible danger of the chemicals it can release during the curing process to be worth the investment.

I will never get into airbrushing because I cannot afford the safety equipment to do it correctly. The most important thing to an artist should be his or her health. Without your health you cannot create! I wear gloves, I have multiple pairs of safety glasses, particle masks, and even a respirator. These are not things I usually wear while working with clay, but I am saying I consider safety equipment just as important as supplies and keep a good stock of both.

Toaster ovens are perfect for polymer clay, unless you are working on a scale much larger than I usually see (in which case, you probably have a dedicated regular oven). Toaster ovens are also more environmentally friendly, as they use less electricity and therefore use less resources to operate.

More on energy efficiency here, if you are interested.

Please remember- you cannot use a microwave oven to cure polymer clay. Microwaves operate in an entirely different fashion to heat things than ovens do, as mentioned in the linked article.

At any rate, please remember to keep safe practices in mind when making! I’ll see everyone Monday for a check in about how things have been going for the business. November is full of shows!

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