Hahnemühle Bamboo is the first paper quality in the Hahnemühle Traditional FineArt Collection made of Bamboo fibres. We put this paper in focus for ‘Art in Action’ where Hahnemühle UK will exhibit. Read more on our commitment to ecofriendly and vegan art material as questions pertaining to these topics are mounting up, we like to inform you with this blog article.Hahnemühle Bamboo paper also has a Certificate of Conformity to show that is it vegan friendly. This means that the Hahnemühle Bamboo Sketch Paper and Mixed Media Paper for traditional working artists does not contain raw materials from animal sources or gene-modified sources. Therefore this media is perfect for artists that care about how their lives have an impact on the lives of animals. Leigh Sanders, the creator of ‘The Arty Vegan’ Facebook group explains more about veganism and traditonal art: “Veganism is defined by Wikipedia as ‘the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products, particularly in diet, as well as following an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of sentient animals’. They go on to say, ‘The term ethical vegan is often applied to those who not only follow a vegan diet, but who extend the vegan philosophy into other areas of their lives and oppose the use of animals or animal products for any purpose’. Vegans care deeply about the environment and the lives of other sentient beings. Transitioning to veganism starts with looking at what you eat, giving up all foods that contain meat, eggs, dairy products, honey, etc… Anything and everything that was once alive is no longer a foodstuff. A person with an ethical vegan mindset will then also start questioning the impact their day-to-day lives have. The clothes they wear (leather, fur, silk, etc), the cleaning products and toiletries they use (many are tested on animals), cosmetics (many contain animal-by products) and so forth. As an artists, we want to use art products that are in sync with our vegan principles. For example; •
- Watercolour papers that are not sized using gelatin
- Indian ink that doesn´t contain a shellac binder
- Sepia ink that isn´t made from squid and cuttlefish ink
- A full range of black pigments that are not made from charred animal bones, as in bone charcoal
- Red paint pigments that are not made from ground up cochineal beetles
- watercolour paints that don´t contain ox gall
- Artists’ pencils that don´t contain beeswax
- canvases that haven´t been sized with rabbit-skin glue
- natural Gesso that doesn´t contain gelatin
- paintbrushes that are not made from animal hair like sable, squirrel, mongoose, horse and pig hair, to name a few.
To a person that cares deeply how their lives affect the lives of animals, this information is disconcerting and deeply unsettling. Our art is an extension of who we are, and needs to therefore reflect our ethics. How can we in good conscience paint a masterpiece knowing the material we use indirectly caused the death of animals and insects? We can’t. We need vegan art material, quality art material at an affordable price so that we can create and express ourselves freely.’ You can read more from Leigh Sanders on the following blog makeconsciouschoices.blogspot.com. To read more about Hahnemühle and sustainability please click here.
That is awesome! It makes me love this paper even more!
Hi.
Is this the only vegan paper of the range?