Art shelves are always so lovely to look at. Always so colourful and full of texture. We still have most of our art supplies downstairs (you can see a bit of the shelving here) however we have created a little art nook upstairs which is smaller in size and really only contains what the boys are using. I can see (supervise) this area from the kitchen so it gets used a lot. It is so important that we use restraint here. I could easily fill this area ten times, but the boys would get overwhelmed - this area is for them to be able to find and look after the materials they are most interested in right now. 

I cannot stress how significant it has been for us to have a dedicated art table (they also use it for letter writing and other crafty endeavours). The boys can paint, use clay, spray watercolours and I am not stressed. When the boys are working on other activities or reading a book they need a super clean surface. Good books and art tables do not mix. A dedicated art table has meant little spills, drawing off the paper, clay everywhere is pretty much a non-issue. And they can leave their art there for as long as they want - which is great with clay as this is often an all day affair. No problems and no interference with the rest of their learning or with the rest of the family. Also I've stopped being concerned with scratching or staining the table - it's an art table, it needs character.

Ferby pencils, crayons, sponges (for painting), wooden discs (these have holes for threading), paper paste, charcoal, natural and pink jute twine (for threading and hanging materials), strong/tacky glue (for collage), small wooden pegs and paint brushes (for paint and glue). Whenever I am in Ikea I always get a set or two of their paint brushes - love how soft they are and the various shapes/sizes.   

The paint centre on the top right has tempera paint with the water in the middle. This is new (we hadn't used tempera paint before) and has been a huge hit, it's so handy for Otis to get out and use (it has been used daily but looks fantastic after a quick wipe over with a damp cloth). 

The second shelf has a clay tray with clay and tools. This work is mostly done in the tray especially if water is added. We have natural wooden beads for threading (Otis is in a huge threading stage), natural tone pastels (a nice relief from the standard rainbow colours), coloured stocking pieces (for collage and so much more). To the right of the stocking pieces (as above) are A5 pieces of wood - these are the base for our natural and heavy collages - another fantastic idea I picked up recently.

On the very bottom shelf to the right is a tray with leaf shaped colour diffusing paper and spray water colours. 

My next revelation in putting together this area together is these little drawers from Ikea (you can also get them in 2x2). We need so many more! They are the best idea ever for holding collage materials! We have been working a lot on collage with natural materials - think wood pieces, feathers, gum nuts and seed pods, mini pinecones, mosaics and glass tiles. Otis pulls out which drawers he wants and returns them when he is finished. I love the timber minimalist look. 

You can see the art centre at our previous house (and when the boys were younger) here. 

Paint centre, branch cuts, mini pinecones, thick twigs, feathers, strong craft glue, colour diffusing leaves and table top easel are c/o Child.com.au. 

Now it's your turn! Please feel free to join the link up and leave a link to your blog or Instagram. I would love to see your Montessori inspired shelves, baskets, trays or activities!