When I took Sculpture 1, I was a bit overwhelmed by all of the things I need to know about EVERYTHING in the studio. Now that I've used most of the equipment and tools enough, it doesn't seem so bad. I just had to remember the important things. Like my friend and fellow sculpture emphasis student Kaiti said, "it's easier to remember this stuff because if you don't, you're dead." Or seriously injured.
A guy in my metal casting class last year got his hair caught in an angle grinder. If he hadn't been wearing a face shield, he would most likely be dead. Always keep long hair tied back. Safety is no joke.
I should follow that rule too. A couple weeks ago, I neglected to tie my hair back before a metal pour and I got a chunk of it burned. Apparently it was a laughing matter. And so was getting wax in my hair the next day. I've accepted that I am that student. whatever.
Most people who know me know that I'm a little obsessed with metal casting. It's a very long, process-intensive art which requires patience, skill and creativity--all three of which I am still developing. I like casting bronze for many reasons, one of which is the ability to patina. A patina is a chemical applied to the surface of a metal, in this case, bronze, which oxidizes and causes a color change. Don't even get me started on how I excited I get about patinas. When I get excited, occasionally I get dumb, too.
I was warned about certain chemicals in the patina locker. I should have just treated them all like radioactive waste, but we don't have the equipment for that. I was reallllllly careful with the chemical whose name contains the word "cyanide," however, I was clumsily stupid with the one that is quite possibly the worst chemical in that locker. I got it all over my hands and I didn't think anything of it. Well, until the next eight hours when I felt like I was dying. I gave possible credit to the fact that I really hadn't slept in three days. I looked up symptoms of cyanide poisoning. I really couldn't differentiate my symptoms on any other day. I should have looked up the other chemical.
I drug myself to my room and collapsed on my bed. I'm going to die and no one is going to know for a few days. I was extremely weak. Every muscle in my body was screaming in pain. Anything cool or cold that touched my skin hurt. I was sweating, shivering uncontrollably, and running a fever. My head and eyes hurt so bad it made me want to vomit. I knew what the stomach flu was like, and it was never this bad.
and then I died. just kidding.
This all happened about a year ago. Then last semester, I was using this chemical again. One of my best friends came in to give me some music. I noticed that I had just a bit of the chemical on my hand, so I thought, lets see how bad this stuff is. I wasn't really expecting anything until the first MSDS I clicked on featured a skull and cross bones. shit. Sodium Dichromate MSDS
Sodium dichromate is not to be fucked with, kids. Watch Erin Brokovich.
a month later, I spilled that shit on my pants. Am I subconsciously trying to kill myself?
Moral of the story: Know what you are using and use the proper measures to safely handle the material. GET THE MSDS!
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