Art Attack
864
That’s the number of masterpieces per child you’ll end up with if you keep just three artistic creations a week, nine months of the year from nursery to grade six. That’s an awful lot of art.
So ‘tis the season to get your artwork management system in place for the oncoming deluge of creativity. It’s a good idea to establish a system that works for your family and your space, make sure everyone’s on board with it and avoid the piles (and the guilt). It’s a four-step process—Display, Decide, Store and Destroy/Recycle.
Display
Establish a place where the daily art that comes home can be displayed. Beyond the usual fridge door or bulletin board, there are other creative and simple options:
- Hang ‘em high – string a lightweight clothesline in the corner of the child’s room or playroom and clip on with clothespins
- Wall for all – designate an entire wall in an out of the way place such as the back entrance as the family art gallery and give each child a section, using sticky tack to attach the art to the wall
- Under glass – slip art under the sheet of glass protecting your coffee table or dining table
- Stick up – install a magnetic board (we like the clean lines of the Spontan from IKEA in each child’s room and allow them to display the week’s worth of art there
Decide
This is the most crucial step in your system. On a weekly basis, review the artwork and be ruthless in choosing only the best to keep. Remember…864 is a number to be avoided. As your children get a little older, involve them in this process. (You’re bringing out their inner art critic and teaching them how to organize, a valuable life skill which will come in handy when they are older and have to sort their mail or sort out their closet.)
Store
The key here is to limit the space you’re willing to devote to storage so you’re forced to be selective. Try to stick to one large box per child and one large envelope (10.5 x 15 works well) per school year. Look for acid-free storage envelopes, art portfolios and boxes which will help in preserving the paper. Label the box with the child’s name and put the date on the outside of the envelope and decorate with a school picture, a piece of art or other vital statistics. Remember to date every piece of art placed inside the envelope.
On a yearly basis (over the summer or at the end of the school year), sit down with your child and go over everything one more time—you may find a few more pieces that can be removed from the collection and it’s a nice way to review the year together.
Destroy/Recycle
If you really can’t let go of something but you know you should, go digital. Scan a copy of the art and set up digital files for each child (just be sure to name all the files so you know what they are and when they were created)—you can even use 12 of these images to create a calendar through sites like Snapfish.com and KodakGallery. Or, take a picture of the budding artist holding the masterpiece—especially good for clay and popsicle stick creations—or of the gallery wall with the art on display and save those images electronically as well (printed copies can go in the envelopes).
The art you’re not keeping can also be used as wrapping paper or notepaper—just write a letter to Grandma on the back and send it off. Another fun idea is to laminate pieces and turn them into placemats (you could have a few sets by the holiday season—makes a great gift). And for the rest, you may be able to repurpose for other crafts or into the blue box it goes.
We all know a picture says a thousand words. So make your child’s artistic growth story a short novel, not an encyclopedia, with these systems in place.
 |
Tested by Alexa N. and Christine H., Toronto |  |