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ARTICLE Organizing Children's Artwork Don’t find yourself knee-deep in leaf rubbings by Thanksgiving! Here are some helpful hints for organizing and managing the onslaught of children’s artwork that comes home during the school year... Sort and Purge Keeping every drawing, painting, and papier-mache creation will turn your house into a messy art studio instead of a home. Sorting and purging will prevent this from happening. When Junior walks in the door everyday with five drawings that look like ‘scribbles’ or if your teen is studying fashion design and her 1001 sketches are strewn across the sectional, it’s time to sit your child down for a talk. It’s important to involve your child in the sorting and purging process. After all, it is their artwork. Every child is different. Some may not care about their ‘works of art’ while others may treasure every piece they make. Tell your child that you would like to create a safe home for their artwork but not all pieces can stay. Gather the artwork in question and ask your child which pieces they like the best—those will be displayed or stored. Involving kids in the sorting and purging artwork will help them to enhance their decision making skills as well as develop their ‘inner art critic.’ Show it Off Once the pieces have been chosen, create a gallery space in your home—it can be in the child’s room or a more public space such as the kitchen, hallway, or family room. Some ways of displaying artwork are: • Install two teacup hooks on either side of a wall and tie some yarn from one hook to another. Add clothespins to hold up flat pieces of art. • Pottery Barn (www.potterybarn.com) has a product called ‘Wire Wall Décor.’ It is a 10’ strand of cable that comes with clips. • Teachers swear by ‘FunTak.’ Either blue or green in color, it is a sticky substance that will adhere to both the artwork and the wall without leaving a mark when it’s time to take it down. When in doubt, there’s always the fridge... Store It Your child will probably create a few works of art each year that you deem worthy of keeping for posterity. But where will you keep them so they don’t get ruined? A few options: • For those who wish to keep flat pieces of artwork, check your local art supply store for plastic or cardboard portfolios. These will protect flat paintings, drawings, etc. from getting ripped and bent out of shape. • If you wish to preserve some art pieces to pass down to your grandchildren, choose acid-free storage envelopes or boxes to prevent yellowing or deterioration. • To save money, consider taping two large pieces of cardboard at one end to make your own ‘portfolio.’ If you have the space, keep portfolios lying flat under a bed to prevent them from being damaged. • For three-dimensional pieces, designate a shelf or use a bookshelf in your child’s room as a display case. Photograph It There may come a time when artwork comes into the house that is bigger than your designated storage space or it begins to pile up quicker than you can process it. Photography to the rescue! • Buy a photo album and create an ‘art album’ for each child—involve the child or teen in the search for the ‘ultimate’ photo album. • When photographing the piece of art, take one picture of just the art and (if they’d like) one picture with your child standing next to or holding the piece. •When the photos are printed, make a ‘family time’ project out of placing the photos in the albums. Jot down facts about each piece—the information will be valuable years later when you look back and try to remember the details. • If you lack storage space for photo albums, take pictures of your children’s artwork with a digital camera. Most cameras come with the software needed to set up ‘albums’ on the computer that won’t take up space on your shelves. Uses for children’s artwork • Select twelve pictures and make a calendar as a gift • Use as gift wrap • Send to relatives Take the time to organize and recognize the artistic accomplishments of your budding Picasso. Displaying, preserving and photographing their artwork will honor your children’s artistic spirit and transform your home. *Browse the Article Archive for Organized Artistry's time, money, and sanity-saving tips and ideas... | ||||||||||
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Editors/Publishers:You are granted permission to publish the above article in its entirety provided that the following 'footer' is included after each article: Article by Stacey Agin Murray, professional organizer and owner of Organized Artistry, LLC. Visit http://www.organizedartistry.com for your FREE e-list of 'Top Ten Tips for Organized Living.' A courtesy copy e-mailed or snail mailed to the address below is appreciated. | ||||||||||
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Organized Artistry LLC • PO Box 2682 Fair Lawn, NJ 07410 • 201.703.8438 stacey@organizedartistry.com | ||||||||||
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