Art Subscription Box Solutions for Keeping Organized

 After a year of having an art supply subscription box, I want to try again.

An Art Subscription Box is an Investment in Myself 

The whole idea was to create drawings using only the tools from the box for that month. 

• it would force me to make a drawing I liked well enough to post,
• give me new evergreen material for the blog, and  
• create new opportunities to provide reviews for the tools I especially liked.

The subscription turned out to be well worth the money, and I had something to look forward to every month.  It came with random supplies that I may not have purchased if I had gone to the store myself.  These supplies that I had never tried would stimulate my art and cause me to make new marks. 

It was SO difficult for me. The tests piled up.  There were months when I knew that the box had arrived, but I was unable to get it from the mailroom.  Can you imagine the frustration of that?  Each month I underestimated the amount of time that it would take to test out the materials, make a drawing, then give the drawing a photo shoot and post. 

Other times after completing a drawing that pleased me, the tools that came in that month’s box came up missing.  Once I lost the candy that came with it.  In a 420 square foot apartment, it was extremely stressful to seek and not find a piece of candy.  A missing piece of candy was the hold up to progress.  The flat lay sat there with a finished drawing, the natural light was perfect and I was stuck.  This is enough to make you sick and disgusted.

About the Drawing

This drawing made it all the way to the last step but I never posted it.  It is a perfect example of being hindered by a lack of process and respect for the amount of time that was needed.  I didn’t have a plan for the constant incoming of new supplies.  In my struggle to come up with an idea for a drawing I chose a composition that I didn’t have to give much thought. It was for the March 2019 Artsnacks box challenge.   

The featured drawing is a repeat of this tiny painting which is one of my all time favorites.  It came out better than I expected both times.  

Four Lessons Learned from the First Subscription 

It took a whole year of having the art supply subscription box to figure out how to keep everything organized.  As I sorted all the supplies I received that year, I discovered that the boxes glued together nicely to form a tray.  That will be my plan for next time. 

1. Keep the contents of each month’s box in this tray.  This way I can quickly find and reference the materials, the candy and the sticker that came with each box. 
2. Now I know that I will receive supplies that I don’t like, and that is OK.  I have two nieces and several cousins that will be very interested in the overflow. 
3. It may take two or more attempts to get a result that I would post.  Time has to be built in for this possibility.  Getting started also took way too much time each month.  I should rush to open the box and make marks of any kind.   
4. Each month I spent (wasted) time considering what to draw, when each month there is a built in subject in the form of tools and candy.  Next time the candy can be the subject for each drawing as well as a prop for the flat lay.  Or I can draw the tools that came in that box.  This way I have nothing to think about. 

Do any of you have experience with art supply box subscriptions?  Would you consider it?  Do you have any recommendations?  Please let me know in the comments!