Art Table

Something that is proving incredibly fruitful for the whole family is a space I have named “art table.” It resides in the formal dining room at my MIL’s house (where we are staying while we figure out where to live). On the table is a basket of crayons and colored pencils, paper, and a tray with watercolors we bought at OC Creative Reuse last week.

Having an art area available and ready to go at all hours means everyone is doing more drawing and painting than we were previously. The three-year-old is filling 10-15 pages a day (good thing most of it is scrap paper!) and the adults are averaging one page per day. It’s been a joyful space. We love that it doesn’t have to be cleaned up and put away after every use.

Some days we bust out a tray with beads and string to make bracelets and I’m considering what other supplies to add to our rotation. Ideas? Leave a comment.

1. We are so lucky to have the space for a whole table, but maybe you have a coffee table that’s not getting much love or a section of the kitchen counter that can be transformed? It doesn’t have to be big, just accessible. It’s worth giving up something you rarely use, or some surface that has become a storage unit to have an art table if you want to make more art.

   

2. If the kids joining you are young, get a couple of these brushes that have water inside the brush. These allow the kids to immediately sit down and paint without any help from adults.

3. Cheap paints are great for the young ones because if they are anything like mine, they paint somewhat aggressively and might ruin a fancy watercolor set. No need to get upset about wasted paints if they are thrifted and affordable.

4. A tray (like a baking tray or any tray that can hold water) for the paints so you keep that wet paint contained in one area.

5. Everything has a tray! The beads have their own tray that can be put away when our attention moves onto other mediums. I keep only a small number of beads in the tray at any given time so no one suffers from decision fatigue (or if we dump the whole thing, the clean up is easier).

Use the piles of artwork to make other things! I took a pile of paintings and cut them into these butterfly shapes to make a garland for my son’s new room. Admittedly 95% of the paintings go to the recycling bin, but it’s nice to find clever ways to display some of the stuff.

• Buy a basket!

• Become a paid subscriber (no, there are no real benefits other than the self-righteous knowledge that you are a patron of the arts.)

• Forward to a friend that might enjoy receiving these emails :)

Shoutout to The Workspace for Children! Lizzie is constantly writing about creating an “invitation to play” in the home and her philosophy inspired me to create our art table.

See you next Sunday

Bekka :)