The artistic process can be many things: frustrating, fulfilling, compelling, and addictive. But it can also produce noxious fumes,especially if your work involves painting, developing photographs, welding metals, printing silk screens, and others. The gases produced by these processes may harm your lungs with prolonged exposure. This is why proper ventilation of your art studio is very important.
1. Choose a room that has windows, and open them as much as possible. If it is too cold to open them all the way, just open the windows a little bit, so that the fumes can have an exit.
2. If it doesn’t bother you or mess up your concentration, it is also advisable to keep your doors open as this allows more air to pass through the room than windows do.
3. If the fumes are not that toxic, you can dilute the fumes with fresh air by putting a large fan inside your studio. The currents from the fan will encourage better air circulation and push contaminated air outwards.
4. If you are working with materials that produce seriously dangerous chemical gases, you need to install an exhaust ventilation system to properly deal with the fumes. These systems have a hood and filter component that the air has to pass through before it is released back into the atmosphere.
5. If the fumes ever get too strong and you feel overwhelmed or dizzy, leave the room at once and get some fresh air outside.