Maria Grujicic Studio

🌿 Help shape future Maria Grujicic Studio art programs 🌿

I’m planning the next stage of my Montessori-informed, nature-based art workshops for children and families in Darwin.

I would love to hear what families are looking for — including preferred:

🎨 workshop themes
👧 age groups and class groupings
📅 days and times
🌿 school holiday and weekend options
📚 one-off workshops or longer art programs
👨‍👩‍👧 parent participation and flexible booking options

The survey also includes examples of the workshop experiences I have developed so far, including watercolour, plasticine character-making, tactile and sensory art, natural pigments, colour mixing, nature observation and storytelling through art.

Complete the Parent Workshop Interest Survey here:

https://mariagrujicicartis.wixforms.com/f/7473301633342899202

As a thank-you, participants who complete the survey and subscribe to Maria Grujicic Studio email updates will receive 10% off one eligible digital resource.

Your feedback will directly help me plan future weekend workshops, school holiday programs and possible eight-week art programs for 2027.

Thank you for helping me create thoughtful, accessible art experiences for Darwin children and families.

Maria Grujicic Studio
https://www.mariagrujicstudio.com

🌿 Six months of Maria Grujicic Studio workshop experiences 🌿

Looking back over the first six months of 2026, I’m proud of how much the Maria Grujicic Studio art program has grown.

During this time, I have developed and facilitated creative experiences exploring:

🎨 painting and colour mixing
🌳 Montessori Watercolour Mystery Plants & Trees
🐞 Montessori Watercolour Critters
👐 tactile and sensory art
🟠 plasticine character-making
🍂 natural pigments, nature observation and creative exploration

Each workshop grows from my work as an artist, educator, author and Montessori-trained teacher.

The experiences are designed to support observation, imagination, fine-motor development, storytelling, creative confidence and meaningful engagement with materials.

Children are invited to slow down, notice shapes, lines, colours, textures and patterns, and then transform what they discover into their own artwork and stories.

I’m now beginning to plan the next stage of Maria Grujicic Studio workshops, including future weekend classes, school holiday experiences and longer art programs for children and families in Darwin.

Where stories, imagination and making come together.

[www.mariagrujicicstudio.com](http://www.mariagrujicicstudio.com)

My Darwin Sun wearable art tee 🌿☀️

Created from my original tactile mixed-media artwork, this design brings together movement, texture and the vibrant colours of Darwin.

I love the idea that artwork does not have to remain on a gallery wall—it can be worn, lived in and carried into everyday life.

View the Darwin Sun Tactile Wearable Art Edition here:
https://www.mariagrujicicstudio.com/product-page/darwin-sun-tactile-wearable-art-edition-all-over-print-tee

Nature • Place • Story 🌿

I’ve created a small collection of nature-inspired postcards featuring birds, trees and story-rich moments from Darwin’s Ludmilla bushland.

These postcards are connected to quiet observation, local birdlife, paperbarks, grevilleas, childhood wonder and the small details that often become stories.

They can be used as keepsakes, gifts, small art pieces, nature study prompts, or simply as thoughtful cards to send.

Available now through Maria Grujicic Studio:
https://www.mariagrujicicstudio.com/postcards

Maria Grujicic Studio Magazine — Issue No. 1
Dragonfly Study Collection

I’m happy to share the first Maria Grujicic Studio Magazine — a small seasonal catalogue and artist journal inspired by the beginning of the dry season in Darwin.

This issue brings together dragonfly observations, memories of the Ludmilla bushblock, my picture book Mystery Plants & Trees, and a new collection of wearable art and studio goods.

Artist Designed
Darwin Inspired
Postage & Handling Included

If you know someone who loves Darwin, nature, books, wearable art or local artist-designed pieces, please feel welcome to share this issue with them.

Explore the Dragonfly Study Collection:

Postage & handling included in listed prices Issue No. 1 Dragonfly Study Collection

Montessori observation in practice - a special memory from Germany

A meaningful photo from my years working in a Montessori classroom in Germany.

This moment was captured by a child during a practical life camera activity, and it remains very special to me. It reflects the heart of Montessori practice: observation, calm presence, independence, and trust in the child.

My work is Montessori-informed because I trained in this method and understand the prepared environment, observation, sequence, isolation of difficulty, independence, and hands-on learning. Today, I carry these principles into my visual arts practice and creative educational work.

Observation is such an important part of teaching. When we slow down and truly watch, children show us what they need, what interests them, and how they learn.

Children’s faces have been blurred for privacy.

Sharing this YouTube clip instead, as Facebook was not uploading the original video properly.

This short film shows a child using simple found objects as an alternative to Montessori metal insets — tracing, observing shapes, exploring watercolour pencils, and working with calm concentration.

It is a lovely example of how Montessori-informed art learning can continue at home using everyday materials such as lids, trays, natural objects and quality art materials.

Children do not need a perfect outcome. They are learning through hand control, pencil grip, shape, line, observation, sensory exploration, repetition, independence and creativity.

This is the kind of calm, open-ended creative learning I include in my workshops at Maria Grujicic Studio.

Watch here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3xKfvwayE4I

🌿 Nature walks are full of learning — even when we don’t know every tree’s name.

On my walk, I found fallen bark, long grey-green leaves, red palm fruit, and a fruiting palm. I didn’t know every tree’s name — and that became part of the learning.

Children do not need to begin with all the answers. They can begin by noticing.

What shape is the bark?
What lines can we see?
What patterns do leaves make?
What colours appear in the dry season?
What animals might eat the fruit?
What insects, birds or creatures might live near this tree?
What story could this tree tell?

Each nature walk is different. The weather, light, breeze, birds, leaves, fruit and fallen materials all change. This gives children real experiences to connect with later when they read books, create artworks, hear stories, learn science, or begin asking deeper questions about the natural world.

At **Maria Grujicic Studio**, my teaching is Montessori-informed, nature-based and open-ended. This means children are gently guided through observation, prepared materials and purposeful creative invitations — but the artwork is not predetermined. The child’s own ideas are allowed to grow.

In my workshops, I draw from my experience as an artist, author and educator with more than **20 years of teaching experience** in Darwin and abroad, as well as my Montessori practice and my own original creative processes.

For my upcoming **Mystery Trees: Art, Storytelling & Nature Discovery** workshops at **Musicking Maestros**, I will bring carefully gathered natural samples into the space. Children will observe bark, leaves, fruit, lines, textures, colours and patterns, then use Montessori-inspired techniques, including nature trays and metal insets, alongside my own original storytelling and art ideas.

Children will be invited to observe, explore, create and imagine their own Mystery Tree artwork.

📍 Musicking Maestros, Berrimah

📅 Saturday 27 June
Session 1: 11:00am–12:00pm
Session 2: 12:00pm–1:00pm

📅 Saturday 4 July
Session 1: 11:00am–12:00pm
Session 2: 12:00pm–1:00pm

🌿 A little keepsake from Maria Grujicic Studio 🌿

I'm creating something special for children and families attending the *Mystery Plants & Trees Signing Experience* at The Bookshop Darwin this school holidays.

Children are invited to:

🌿 Draw a Mystery Tree
📚 Share the story
🔖 Receive a personalised bookmark tucked into their signed book

I love creating meaningful experiences around storytelling, creativity and connection to place — small moments children can take home and remember.

Join me for a special **Meet the Author** event:

📍 The Bookshop Darwin
📅 Wednesday 1 July
🕥 10:30am–12pm

A heartfelt thank you to The Bookshop Darwin for supporting local authors, artists and creative experiences for families in Darwin.