Studio Tips: Babies in the Workspace

I have several jobs that I love. I love to paint.  I love to teach.  I love caring for my long awaited little miracle – my son.  Here are some thoughts on managing the studio with a young baby.  I have had to learn to work hard in short spurts of time between meeting the needs of the baby.  When I first arrive at the studio, I squirt out my paint and make a plan in my head for what needs to be done to the painting that day.  After that, it was time to take a break and care for the little one.  It is possible to paint and be a mom – although I have less time and energy for the former. I have included notes on safety and gear that I think was particularly helpful.

Safety First

Everyone uses different materials and methods of paint, so you need to research the materials that you use and find out what steps you need to take to make your air and space safe.

Some of the steps I take are the following: I use water soluable oils for my first layer and linseed oil (vegetable oil) on later layers.  I don’t use solvants.  I don’t use pastels or dry pigments.  I have windows and fans for ventilation.  I wear nitrile gloves when painting and take the time to wash my hands after removing the gloves before touching the baby. That is not as easy with a toddler that can get into trouble, but the baby can cry an extra minute while I wash my hands.  There are other things I have done as well, but you need to research the safety of your materials.  Because some pigments could be hazardous watercolor and acrylic artists should do research as well.

Set Up the Studio

When my son was very little I had an extra bouncer in my studio that he could sit in as well as a pack n play.  I also had a Boba wrap that I could wrap him in while I was painting.  I am an extremely neat painter and the only time I ever get paint on me is when I am squirting the paint out of the tubes, so I won’t have him on me when I was setting up and I use different gloves when I get the paint out and when I am actually painting.  I also have learned to turn my body at an angle to the canvas when he started grabbing towards things.  He was a very small baby, but I have an office chair to sit on when he is attached to me while I paint.  Once I scooted back in the chair and he laughed – everyone is a critic.

Baby Area

I created a baby area separate from the area that I painted.  I had a pack n play with toys and changing area.  I also would bring a stroller with me each time we went to the studio so that I could push him to sleep at nap time.  Sometimes I would have a paint brush in one hand and be pushing and pulling the stroller back in forth with the other hand!

Useful Gear

Playpen

Bouncer

Baby wrap carrier

Stroller

Safety Gear (Gloves, smock if you are messy, etc)

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