It's good to be reminded of the safety precautions that pastel artists should employ. However, recent articles are particularly alarming to many of us. It not only sounds as though we shouldn't work in our house, but more like it should be in another country. We are beset with conflicting information. Nevertheless, it does make good sense to keep that powder out of our lungs, while the pundits argue the problem.

Women and luxurious studios do not seem to be the ones I know, nor does it describe the environment of some of the best pastel artists in the country. Women have never had the luxury of doing one thing at a time, but split their time and attention in many ways. This requires being in the home; sometimes overseeing the lives of many. Therefore, current articles raise anew some common concerns to alert us to the continuing dangers inherent in the medium.

We have come a long way since the days when a pastelist's tools consisted of dusty pastels, replete with poisonous compounds, being layered on paper a little faster than it fell from the it. Those were the days when ignorant of the horrors of spraying in the studio, pastelists glued their images down with sprays containing toluene, benzene and other highly toxic chemicals. Guess what? The sprays are still highly toxic, destructive of lung tissue and the future consequences yet to be seen. Their destructive capabilities dwarf the damages that pastels will cause the lungs and sinuses. Does anyone worry that those buttery pastels containing pumice might do harm to the lungs?

We have been careless in remembering that granular particles can cause havoc to our lung tissues. Therefore reminding us to be cautious gives us another chance to reconsider the issues and how they relate to each one of us. My husband, an anesthesiologist, was always most interested in the chemical makeup of the sprays, and admonished me to protect myself from poisonous compounds and clouds of pastel dust, and to keep the materials away from food and drink. Therefore I was cautious from the time I used my first glorious sets of Nupastels and Rembrandts.

Here are some of the ways that I practice safety measures, while I emphasize that all of my clothing, when working at home, is deposited in a special laundry bag for the week and washed separately. My nose and mouth are covered with double surgical masks (Niosh for particulate matter). My other clothing is covered with a carpenter's apron, which is thrown in the studio laundry bag and changed every working day. My hands are sheathed in vinyl gloves (available from a beauty supply store) because the floppy "gloves on a roll" don't fit and rubber gloves decompose if kept too long.

Humming quietly next to me is an air cleaner....not the kind that takes up a whole studio and costs a fortune; but one of the tall, thin ones that are next to noiseless; that attract flying particles to a metal rod which is removable and washable. It runs cheaply for hours, without annoying noises. My easel tray is protected by a large trash bag clamped over the tray. When dust hits the tilted tray it falls forward into the bag. I use an old toothbrush to hasten any recalcitrant particles into the bag. My feet are covered with large baggies, fastened at the top with the double red elastics used to bind manuscripts. In a word I look wierd.

I will now add a shower cap to complete my costume. Might as well look like a colorful artist. Please note that when doing demonstrations, classes and workshops in public, I clean up my act. Beneath my feet lies a cotton rug that goes into the laundry bag at the end of the day....when I damp mop the studio floor to remove any vestiges of remaining dust after using a Hepa-filtered vacuum. No one is ever in my studio. It's not for show and tell either for adults or children, but my private working space; not spacious or roomy. Disruptions cost you working time. Children and others do not need to be in this room for anything.

Most pastelists have evolved from using simple surfaces and pastels to sophisticated gripping surfaces covered with vegetable matter, aluminum hydroxide, pumice, marble dust etc. With more gripping power less of our very expensive pastels end up on the floor or in the plastic bag. Many of us underpaint with acrylic to establish the image. This may or may not conserve on pastels. Not only are our painting surfaces covered with pumice, but there are pastels containing pumice, which promote better coverage of the pastel surface, but free-flying particles may pose a threat to our lungs. Rough surfaces maintain a thicker coat of pastel with less falling into the collection bag.

Most of us, even in the dead of winter, take out pastels out every hour or so to the yard, and soundly beat the loose dust by hitting the back of the artwork. Our neighbors also know when we work late, and they have learned to identify that peculiar hollow whacking sound at two o'clock in the morning when all else is still.

We probably all need to review our safety records; to protect our skin, block the dust from our lungs and keep it away from everyone in the house. We need to be careful not to foul the air with dust. Although pastelists are insisting on safer, less toxic pigments, there are colors and brands that fight the battle between strong pigments that will not fade and materials that are not toxic.

We cannot switch to oil pastels, although intriguing paintings are being done in that medium. We love the properties of pastel; its glow, malleability, ease of working and portability. Being able to approach in so many ways either inside or en plein air is why we work in the medium. It is always an adventure to use the techniques of stippling, layering, rubbing, stroking crosshatching and putting down layer after layer of complementary colors. Hand me my mask as I can barely wait to get back to my easel.