Hands up, Who Thinks Art is too Messy?
Photo by Senjuti Kundu on Unsplash
Boy, do I know how you feel! It seems like you just got the house cleaned and now you want to do what? Art? Oh boy! What’s a busy mom to do? Well, I have a few ideas for you to try!
Designate a spot in your home where art can be done.
Choose a place that is easily cleaned with uncarpeted flooring and a smooth cleanable tabletop surface. Also, a place where you are alright if something does gets spilled or gets paint on it.
Another great option is if it is a space where art can stay out if it needs time to dry or you need to come back to it.
Cover the surface with paper to make clean-up extra easy.
Set a specific time frame
Sometimes we need parameters. It is alright to set a timer and have the kids work to that point, clean up, and let the project dry. Coming back to a project on another day is a good practice because we often see our work with different eyes. This means we see things in our artwork to correct or we see it better than how we originally saw it.
Breaking up the process into doable chunks of time can also help with the feeling that art has taken over and we no longer have a kitchen table to eat at.
Create an art cart in your home
Create a designated place, container, bin, closet, or cart for all those wonderful art supplies. The beauty of this is that it gives a place for these things to stay when you need them and are ready to do art. For example, art scissors stay on the art cart and sewing scissors stay in the sewing box. It is really alright to have more than one pair of scissors, I promise. You will spend much less time looking for everything you will need for a project and more time enjoying the creative process if everything is already in one place. Trust me nothing kills the creative spirit more than doing a search and rescue for the paintbrush you need or dare I say it the …scissors! It just takes a bit of planning and you will be glad you did.
Here is a great example of a cart idea
or an art box idea.
Another idea is to create an art caddy for each child.
I hope this gives you permission as well as inspires you to make a creative zone to cultivate creativity because you never know when it will strike and having the space, time, and supplies at hand will actually save you time in the long run. In addition, it will give ample opportunity for you to train your children to clean up after themselves. Happy Creating!