Teaching with Heart
Teaching with Heart: From Mystery Plants & Trees to Tactile Wall Art
Children’s Art, Creative Confidence & What Comes Next
Over the past few months, Mystery Plants & Trees has grown from a picture book and an idea into a series of small creative gatherings with children and families in Darwin. Through drawing, colour, natural materials, storytelling and observation, I have been exploring how structured artistic guidance can give children the confidence to experiment — and ultimately make something that is entirely their own.
Today's workshop: A Small Group, Carefully Prepared
Today, 22 August, I returned to UNTiTLED gallery+studio for another Mystery Plants & Trees workshop.
Before the children arrived, I prepared each place carefully: drawing materials, colour-mixing experiences, natural objects and visual prompts were arranged so that we could move gradually from observation and experimentation towards individual art-making.
My teaching is Montessori-informed, so I introduce ideas and techniques in clear, manageable steps. Children have an opportunity to watch, listen and practise — but what happens next belongs to them.
They are not asked to reproduce my picture.
Instead, the techniques become tools they can use to develop their own ideas.
Preparing the Mystery Plants & Trees workshop at UNTiTLED gallery+studio, Coconut Grove, Darwin.
Every Child Sees Something Different
One of the things I have loved most about these workshops is seeing how differently children respond to the same starting point.
We might investigate the same colours, lines, textures or natural forms, but the finished artworks are never the same. A child may notice something another child has overlooked, invent a story, transform a shape, build an unexpected three-dimensional idea or take a technique in a completely new direction.
This is why process-led art education matters to me.
Children can learn artistic skills and techniques without losing ownership of their work. Structure and creative freedom do not have to compete with one another — carefully chosen structure can give children the confidence they need to explore more independently.
A Little Creative Community Is Growing
Today also brought a particularly encouraging milestone: my first five-star Google review specifically about a Maria Grujicic Studio workshop.
The parent described seeing her child completely engaged in the creative process and particularly valued the progression from colour mixing, line and texture exploration into his own imaginative “secret tree”.
What meant the most to me was her recognition that the children were not expected to create identical pictures. She saw exactly what I hope to achieve: children learning through guidance while retaining the freedom to think and create for themselves.
She also shared photographs of her child's finished artworks with the review — a wonderful record of his ideas and the experience.
Beyond the artworks themselves, something else has begun to happen. Children are returning. Parents are talking. Families are getting to know one another. A small creative community is beginning to form around these experiences.
Teaching with heart is at the centre of what I do.
WHAT'S NEXT
From Workshops to Books, Art and Community
Although this particular series of Mystery Plants & Trees workshops has come to a natural pause, the ideas behind them continue through my picture books, resources, workshops and community arts practice.
The next few months will bring new opportunities to meet, make and experience the work.
From Workshops to Books, Art and Community
Mystery Plants & Trees Book Signing
Although this particular series of Mystery Plants & Trees workshops has come to a natural pause, the ideas behind them continue through my picture books, resources, workshops and community arts practice.
The next few months will bring new opportunities to meet, make and experience the work.
Join me at Bookshop Darwin for a local author and illustrator event celebrating Mystery Plants & Trees: Adventures in the Ludmilla Bushblock. I’ll be sharing the book and a creative activity for children.
October–November 2026 — UNTiTLED gallery+studio
The Tactile Wall Art Project
My next major participatory project brings children, teenagers, parents and educators into an evolving tactile art experience through materials, sensory exploration and collaborative making, culminating in an exhibition at UNTiTLED gallery+studio.
Looking Forward
These experiences are helping me understand more clearly what Maria Grujicic Studio can become: a place where my work as an artist, educator and author comes together — through books, workshops, exhibitions and opportunities for people to create alongside one another.
I am grateful to every child and family who has taken part so far, particularly those who have returned, shared feedback or recommended the workshops to others.
There is much more to explore.
