I was a recipient of a CERF+ Get Ready Grant in the summer of 2019. The funds from CERF+ helped me to purchased a fume extractor for my studio. Previously, I had been relying on fume extractors at work, limiting what I could do in my home studio and even relying on fans and other methods of fume extraction during soldering away from work. My practice was shaped and held back because I did not have the proper gear to safely work. Check out what Ethical Metalsmith’s Critical Research report on flux and safety use in the studio here.
Purchasing the Fume Extractor
Here are some photos of the fume extractor that I purchased from Rio Grande. The link to it is here. I will be uploading photos of my studio (I am re-configuring at the moment!) and a video of it in action soon.
I strongly urge any artist to consider their current studio equipment and practices and think about how it might be affecting their life. Check out some of the awesome resources organizations like CERF+ has, consider what you have always known you needed to do in order to improve your life and studio practice, and then apply for your own Get Ready Grant with CERF+.
This grant has been a catalyst for me to really examine other areas of my studio practice and has resulted in a longer term personal goal to combine resources with a collaborator so that we both can have a safe studio to work in.
Project Name
A description of the project and the works presented.
Rachel Suzanne Smith 