How to Set Up An Art Cart

A Copyrighted Article Re-posted with Permission from Shelley Klammer

http://www.expressiveartworkshops.com/how-to-start-your-own-art-program/how-to-set-up-an-art-cart/

The following is a list of items that you may want to use when setting up an art cart for institutional and medical settings such as hospitals and care homes. I work in a hospital setting with the older adults so I include a variety of pre- prepared projects on my cart, as well as materials for spontaneous art making.  Some elders with dementia need a great deal of assistance and some like to paint within pre-drawn lines. Others prefer to work utterly spontaneously. Your art cart will look different than mine but I will share some of the materials and projects that I use with you here. 

Art Cart Example

Projects Cart and Accessories:

• Commercial cart can be purchased 
• Plastic bins and containers to hold art supplies. 
• Walker baskets, wheelchair bags to hang on front and sides.
• Large plastic trays for paints and brushes. 

Art Supplies

• Acrylic paint, watercolor paint, fabric paint in plastic containers with lids
• Pencil crayons, oil and water-based pastels, pencils, permanent black markers for pre-drawing designs for painting projects.
• Brushes for water-based paint.

Spontaneous Art Projects:

• Sketchbooks and paper for people who like to draw.
• Watercolor paints and circle template for free-form mandalas and spontaneous paintings.
• Collage materials: magazines, color photocopies, scissors, glue sticks, card stock for backing.

Structured Art Projects:

• Cardboard covered in brown or butcher paper to mount projects on (you can use this to make a lap easel)
• Pre-drawn paper and fabric designs such as geometric mandalas or still-lifes
• Small wood projects and terracotta pots to paint with acrylic paint.

Paint Protection :

• Plastic table cloths from the dollar store
• Paint aprons to protect clothing
• Plastic, custom “sleeves” can be sewn to protect the painting arm with elastic at the wrist

Miscellaneous Art Supplies:

• Masking tape
• Scissors
• Glue sticks and white glue
• Glue Guns
• Tissue paper for collage
• Art and picture books for inspiration
• Stamps and stencils
• Large envelopes for collage ephemera and bits
• Sandpaper to smooth out wood projects
• Varnish to clear- coat terracotta pots and wood projects
• Small ruler 
• Small paint trays and palettes
• Chunk of wax for resist paintings and to apply to wood projects for easy sanding between different coats of color
• Spray bottle for wetting paper and paint
• Tablespoon and paint scraper for cleaning up paint spills
• Small notepad for attendance and client progress notes
• Plastic water containers for washing brushes