Art classes start Monday and I just put the finishing touches on my art room. I love all the art room photos everyone is putting online. Here are a few shots from room 13!

Organizing samples:

I don’t use my filing cabinet for all my sample art projects. I store samples in boxes, one per grade level. The boxes fit perfectly in my cubbies.

Within each box, I store samples in individual manilla envelopes (I got this idea from Deep Space Sparkle).

Although I label everything, I do not have sets of beautiful full-color labels. I don’t have plastic tubs for everything (yet) – I am reusing old copy paper boxes and used manila envelopes.

Storing bulky work in progress:

Our weavings and sculptures in progress are just too bulky for table folders and flat files. Projects are stored individually in labeled gallon size Ziploc bags, clipped together by table and stored in a color-coded table box.

Color-coded table boxes store bulky projects in progress.

Organizing student work:

I have a ‘roly polies’ with one (labeled) flat drawer per class. They hold ALL the 2-D student art all school year until our spring art show. I store big boxes of watercolor paper underneath. I use the top of the cabinets as a place to dry our plaster masks and plaster sculptures.

We store student portfolios in the flat files. The are labeled with the name, grade, teacher. The student’s first initial goes in the upper right corner. This helps me find portfolios quickly.

Decorating cabinets:

Do you want to hang art on your slick laminate cabinets? I use a system of medium clear Command hooks and binder clips. It is really easy to change out art.

Tiny, clear Command hook and binder clip allows you to hang posters on laminate.

 Scrap paper:

I store scrap paper under the paper cutter, sorted by color (thanks to The Art of Ed for this tip).

Scrap paper is sorted by color and stored under the paper cutter.

Encyclopedia:

Even though my 1975 (!) childhood encyclopedia set is out of date, it has TONS of photos and illustrations perfect for reference. As a bonus, it teaches kids how to use reference books.

My childhood encyclopedia set has tons of reference photos.

More art room photos next time!

More art room organization tips on this post.