A List of Art Supplies for the Classroom

Art teachers can be some of the of the most creative and influential educators students have and can be a wealth of knowledge and inspiration for all things art related. The supply list for an art classroom can be never ending and daunting to imagine, so it’s important to create a list and get supplies that are mostly needed based on the curriculum. Supply lists can help all teachers become organized, especially first year art teachers. For a great year of teaching and guiding young minds, craft a list to make your year as a teacher even more successful.

What does my art room need?

If you think back to art class in grade school whether that was the early years or even high school, the art room was most likely the classroom that had the most stuff when it came to materials used by students. An art room tends to have both a large variety of art supplies as well as large numbers of each item because unlike a regular classroom that only houses one or two groups of students, the art room is one of those classrooms that has all students in the school filter in and out per week. Your art room needs to have storage for all the supplies so that students can access them quickly and learn to put them back where they found them. If you like labeling and giving items a proper home, you’re in luck! Labeling closets and bins can be a great way to make sure your students put items back in their correct places to use again next time.

Design Elements for Learning

It’s important that art classrooms are open and spacious so students can have room to create and be free to make a mess with the materials. Before tackling your art classroom supplies list, you need to set up your classroom in order for it to be functional, inspirational, and organized for your students.

Classroom furniture such as long tables with stools where multiple students can work at without being too close to one another is a key design element to keep in mind when setting up an art room. Individual desks can be too small for students to spread out and work on their projects, so tables are a better option.

Storage shelves are also a great way to keep students’ work organized and makes the room appear bigger. Large tall shelves that can be pushed against the wall can make the room more spacious for students to create, and certain shelves can be dedicated for each class to house their projects for the duration of the time they spend in the art room each year.

Having examples and art along the walls, as well as color wheels, posters, and other forms of art are great for inspiring creativity amongst your students. Basic supplies such as pencils, scissors, erasers, and markers being in the middle of each table, perhaps in some sort of caddie can be useful for students so they don’t have to get up from their seat every time they need one of these items.

Art Classroom Supply List: The Basics

An art teacher’s job is to bring creativity and passion for art into young minds and try to instill problem solving skills and critical thinking through artistic forms. Just like regular classrooms needing an abundance of school supplies, the art room supply list can also be long, but sharing your knowledge and wisdom with these materials as learning tools is worth it. The supplies you need as an art teacher can vary depending on the level at which you are teaching. Elementary, middle, and high school art classes are very different, but surprisingly, they all use similar supplies due to their versatility. Here is a list of art supplies for your classroom and materials that you might need all year long no matter the grade level:

• Paint, watercolors, oil paint, and paintbrushes
• Pencils, markers, crayons, chalk, colored pencils, charcoal pencils
• Clay, clay tools, glaze
• Paper, canvas, construction paper, old newspaper, recycled materials, cardboard
• Glue, scissors, paper cutter, sponges, rubber gloves
• Easel or some sort of display for you to show the students the process

You can purchase art supplies in bulk from W.B. Mason to save time and money on shopping your teacher art supply list. Other fine retailers sell art supplies for the classroom, but W.B. Mason offers thousands of products to make shopping quick and easy with discounted low prices. So, if you have an art teacher wish list of supplies that seems impossible to attain, check out W.B. Mason to find everything you need in one place.

Just in case things get messy (and they will), be sure to stock up on stain remover to get rid of clothing and carpet stains. Having a good quality stain remover on hand is convenient to catch the stains right when they happen and can help encourage students to be as creative as possible. If students are aware their teacher has something to get rid of an accidental stain, they might not think too much about getting messy.

Organization for the Art Room

Organization can be tricky for people but organizing your art room is a whole other obstacle because of how much you need to store. Developing organization strategies for your art room doesn’t have to be a daunting task, because with organizational supplies and storage to help make the transition smoother, every art supply will have its own home. If your room has closet space to store materials and supplies, try to utilize it to your advantage with plastic bins labeled with the item’s name and organize them based on usage. Having a whole row of a closet dedicated to painting supplies, another dedicated to paper and things to create art on, and so on can make it easier for students to find and put away. If your room doesn’t have built-in closets and has tall standalone shelves, try to organize items by height based on how often they are used. Having dangerous or sharp objects locked away can be helpful for preventing injuries or spilling of any kind, and making sure students are well supervised when using these items is key.

Equipment for Art Education

Art supplies that every teacher needs like paint and paper aren’t the only items used in the art room to create masterpieces. There are also pieces of equipment that can be found in the art room that assist in the art-making processes. Here are some pieces of equipment that can most likely be found in an art room:

• Pottery wheels for throwing pottery and a kiln for firing it.
• A projector, or another piece of technology used for teaching processes and steps of an art project or giving a lesson on various artists and famous artwork.
• Large lights to display shadows on canvas.
• Printers for printmaking and photography printing.

If you are a high school art teacher and teach more advanced or specific types of art classes, there may be more equipment you might need. Safety equipment like fire extinguishers, exit signs, hand wash signs, goggles and aprons can be used in an art room to ensure the safety of students. For example, if there is an accident with the pottery kiln there should be a way to put out a fire and an exit route for students.

Art for All!

Whether you teach elementary, middle, or high school art classes, there always seems to be an ongoing list of must have art supplies for the classroom. Be sure to check out W.B. Mason for all things art supplies and creative components to get your art classroom stocked and ready to go for the school year.