The New York Times recently published an article about displaying, organizing and archiving children's art work. The author described a mother - and artist - who goes to great lengths and expense to display and save her child's work. Another mother immediately tossed each and every piece. I fall somewhere in between. I once had grand plans for saving my kids' creations, but that was before I realized my young artists would be so prolific. With a bit of time and perspective, I can see now that art for young children is mostly about the process.
To lessen the use of our printer paper, I encourage them to add more colors, to fill up the negative space, to use the back of the page, too. My oldest will search the recycling basket and draw on the backs of flyers and other scraps. Sometimes we he uses a journal, which I love for the simple fact that this avoids piles and piles of loose paper.
With all this creativity, we needed a place to display recent works. A pile on the counter has long been unacceptable. (The refrigerator is stainless steel - not magnetic - and therefore displays a carefully curated collection of cards, photos and other ephemera.) With a few eye hooks, a length of wire from the picture hanging kit, and some small but surprisingly strong clothespins, our family art gallery was created.
From this spot, we can now discuss recent works - simultaneously building an artist's eye and self-esteem. I can photograph exceptional works in a paperless archival system, and not feel guilty about sending so much creative output to the recycling bin. On the list of someday projects, I'll eventually collect all these photos into a catalogue of his early works.
