What to do with all your child’s doodles
From the time your children start doodling, you can expect to add several pieces of art to your collection on a daily basis. If you’re kids loves to draw, like mine, you’ll probably get10 to 20 master pieces presented to you daily. What I love is that each drawing comes with a story – I like to write the story on the back of each drawing so I can remember it, but what do you do with all the art work you accumulate? Here are a few tips to help keep these memorable pieces of art for years to come.
Create an online gallery:
Since my kids first started doodling, I’ve kept every scrap piece of paper, every drawing, every sculpted master piece or glued creation. They get tucked inside a box in the back of each child’s closet, but I’ve come to the realization that I can’t keep everything and the box is quickly exceeding its maximum capacity. A friend of mine recommend the brilliant idea of creating a digital gallery. This is my winter project this year. I’m going to take a picture of each and every pieces of art, edit them, and then create an online photo album. I want to create a small 4×6 album for each kid, so they can look at their art work whenever they want. As for the actual pieces of art, I’m going to keep the ones that have the most sentimental value and the rest – well, I may have to enlist my husband’s help to dispose of the rest – I may not have the heart to do it myself.
Frame exceptional pieces:
Aside from a handful of famous artists, not every single piece of art that is created is framed and hung on the wall. This is reserved for awe inspiring pieces that you want to showcase. We’ve framed a few pieces – the first recognizable drawing of a person, the first spelling of their name, the first drawing of a favourite animal, or a note saying “I love you, Mommy.” These pieces are framed and hanging throughout the house. As I walk by them they bring a smile to my face and the kids love to show them off to anyone who visits.
Take a deep breath and purge:
It’s easier said than done, I know, but you can’t keep every single piece of art that your child creates. The accumulation of the past five years has already surpassed several large boxes. If I kept everything for the next 10 years, closets would be brimming. It’s hard to let go, but unless you want to collect every single pieces, you have to start getting rid of some – but make sure you do it discreetly. There have been a few times where art has been presented to me and I’ve owwwed and awwwed at the incredible detail and skills required to create said art work, and then I’ve had to explain to my child how their one-of-a-kind creation found its way into the recycle box. Believe me – I would keep everything if I could. I imagine myself in 20 years sitting with a big box in front of me filled with art created at various stages of my children’s life. As a riffle through papers, memories are triggered of specific conversation and explanations behind the drawing in my hands. I don’t keep every doodle, but I still keep ones that I know I would look back on and cherish the memories.
