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by Peyton Baker
Little Billy drops his book bag and lunch box and proudly shows you his latest creation—yet another handprint turkey. Now you have enough handprint turkeys to wallpaper the hallway. And little Molly, in all her 5-year-old artistic glory, proudly displays to you her latest piece of what she thinks your family resembles—sticks. Is your home being taken over by the colorful, glue-sticky, children’s art monster? Here are some tried and true organizational tips from local moms who have learned which pieces are important to keep and which ones are okay to part with.
Start by asking your child what he or she thinks of the art they bring home. You might find out things about your child that you didn’t know. Such was the case with the giraffe 5-year-old Avery brought home one day. Courtney Ellis, Avery’s mom recalls, “My favorite piece is a giraffe painting Avery made in the fall. The children in her class at school were asked to paint their favorite animal. My husband and I didn’t realize this was her favorite!”
When Avery gets home from school, Courtney will ask her about the art she has made that day. Courtney says this is a great way to tell if the piece is worth keeping. “If Avery just kind of tosses it down when she comes in the door, has no story to tell about it, and heads off to play, I know it’s okay to not keep that one around forever. But if she makes it a point to show me the artwork and tell me the story behind it, I know that one needs to go on the art wall.”
To save fridge space, the Ellis family has smartly employed the use of a wire photo hanger in their family room to display some of Avery’s favorite pieces. This way, she can contribute to the room’s décor. “Using your child’s art is a great and inexpensive way to decorate,” Courtney suggested. “It can really brighten a room. I love being surrounded by art, especially Avery’s.”
Avery is no stranger to a paintbrush. Her grandmother and Courtney’s mother, Helen Johnson, is a local artist whose work is displayed and sold at The Galleria and who holds art shows in the Overlook neighborhood with other area artists. Avery gets a lot of artistic practice when she goes to see her “Mee-Mee,” who has turned their upstairs into an art studio. “Art gives my daughter great pride,” Courtney said, “which builds her confidence and self-esteem.” And these practices are perpetuated by her grandmother.
One of Courtney’s favorite pieces, a beautiful watercolor that is now framed and hangs in the family room, was created by Avery with help from her grandmother at the beach last year. “My mother believes there is no better way to decorate than using original pieces. It’s all the more special when a family member has created the artwork,” Courtney said.
Stacy Johnson—mother to three boys, Tom, 10, Jack, 8, and Phillip, 4—also employs the use of an “art wall” in their home, where she hangs framed pieces her boys have made. For the framing of the boys’ artwork, Stacy uses a service called “Square1Art,” a fundraising company that your child’s school may use to raise money for their arts program.
Square1Art can pretty much put a piece of your child’s artwork on anything. You want that handprint turkey on the linen napkins you will be using on Thanksgiving Day? Done. You want a family reunion t-shirt displaying your child’s stick figure family? Done. Magnets, key chains, luggage tags, notecards, calendars, potholders, aprons, pillow cases? Done, done, done…well, you get the idea. This company can do it all. And sure, if you are not into having every square inch of your house covered in little Billy’s handprint turkeys, they can simply just frame your child’s artwork. The best part is that 33 percent of the money you spend on these goes back into the school’s art programs. Stacy’s two oldest boys attend Brookstone School, whose art teachers use the program to boost school revenue. (If you want to know more about this program and how your child’s school can start raising money for their arts programs, visit square1art.com.)
Stacy puts it realistically, “I have three children and can’t possibly keep every single piece of art they have made.” Having certain pieces framed keeps Stacy and their home organized. “You can definitely tell which ones they’re most proud of, and those are the ones that I have framed and hung throughout the house. Tom is obviously very proud of his piece that hung in the Columbus Museum, and he wanted it hung in his room.”
Stacy’s other organizational tip is, at the end of every school year, separate your child’s work into three piles: frame, trash and keep in a large storage box. That way, you can make room for next school year and not have too much of a pile-up.
Moms, Courtney and Stacy, agree on keeping handprint and footprint pieces. Stacy says, “I keep everything that has handprints or footprints, regardless of how many I already have. If Tom made a handprint turkey every year for five years, then I have five of them.” Much the same, Courtney said, “I keep the special pieces where her handprint or footprint is the art.” This is a great policy because when little Billy is all grown up and looks back through his art that you kept for him, he will be able to see how he—and his handprint turkeys—grew through the years.
And finally, one last tip from the mom experts: Snap pictures of the pieces that you want to remember but just can’t make room for. Print the pictures and then place them in a photo album, date them, and write an inscription to remember why you and your child liked the piece.
Follow these tips and you are sure to be safe from the pesky, storage-space-stealing, colorful, glue-sticky children’s art monster!
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