How to teach art classes at home

This is one business that won’t cost you a lot of money to set up. You don’t need a big budget to manage your own art school. Your biggest expense will be the advertising to draw people in to your classes. You can try to use the classifieds on the internet such as gumtree or craiglists, but using your local newspapers I found is probably your best bet.

Another option is to put adverts up in your local libraries and shops where you know the owner well. There could be someone that has a business and is prepared to display your business cards.

First of all you will need a large enough space to work, which can be converted into an art studio depending on how many students you are prepared to take on. Some people use their garage and add extra lighting and some people make use of an extra room in their house. You could do private lessons and charge more or lessons of up to 6 people. It’s not a great idea to have your classes too big because then people don’t get enough attention and it could become cramped for space.

You will also need some other important equipment such as easels if you are going to teach drawing or painting classes. You should provide a decent palette and then tell the students they will have to purchase their own paints and pencils. Providing this equipment is a once off so the initial outlay is a little higher for your first class. Different equipment is obviously needed if your field is art DIY. So you will have to see what suits the studio the best.

Lighting is another important factor, especially if you are having evening classes. Having spotlights, which you can dim and will be to your advantage. You will also have to have a look at the outside lighting and if it is too bright make sure you have blinds that block out the sunlight.

There are different niches that you can go into. Having a Painting class just for women is quite popular now. You could have kids art classes. This way parents can see that their child has potential from a young age. Teaching 2nd grade art has become very popular and it is a good age to start learning the basics. There are also different styles, techniques and mediums such as people who just want to focus on oil painting , drawing skills or watercolors.

There are also many other forms of art and crafts that are available like pottery, mosaics and silk screen printing just to name a few. Art DIY is very popular now. Of Course you will need more space for these forms of art, but it can be a lot of fun. People may be interested in a sculpture class, stained glass classes or even art foam which is something different altogether and is usually associated with props for film sets and on the stage.

Have a curriculum

It is extremely important to have a teaching lesson plan that describes what you will be doing throughout the course. Being organized in your business and teaching is the key. Students would like to know what they are doing the next time they come and especially for you it is important that you plan ahead so you won’t constantly be thinking about the next lesson. You may decide that your classes will be more relaxed or that they will be structured, but students should be learning something new every time otherwise they may as well be painting at home.

Take the students outside

It is great to learn to draw a still life, but it’s also important to learn different aspects of art, such as nature and a taste of landscape painting. This is especially important for the younger artist. It’s not wrong to draw something from a photograph. Having a model for a session can be a good idea to add some variety to the course. You could have a little background music going as the students are doing their art work.