When your child enjoys art, it’s such a joy to watch them create – they go into their own little zone, seeing where their imagination takes them one swipe of the paintbrush, or a stroke of a pencil at a time. And if they’re lucky enough, they may well be creating art not only at home, but also at school, and at an after school art class.
I’m Becky, the Marketing Director here at Cygnets, and I speak from experience on this topic – my 5 year old daughter is a prolific little artist; busying herself with making and creating is the first thing she does when she wakes up most mornings; I am always finding new creations in her book bag from school; and I am amazed at the finished pieces she brings home from art class. It’s wonderful, and I’m delighted she’s putting so much energy into art – however, I am quite literally drowning in her artwork. I often feel guilty throwing things away, or better yet recycling things, so in the past I ended up with piles of her artwork on the kitchen table, paper overtaking the fridge, and swarming out of cupboards. It might sound dramatic, but as a busy mum it became a little overwhelming, and something needed to be done. I wanted my daughter to be able to see her art and be proud of it, but for it not to take over our house!
So over the last year I’ve put in place five helpful ways to celebrate her art but in an organised way that has quietened the chaos of having a little Picasso on my hands. And I know lots of parents face the same, so here are my tips:
1. The Interchangeable Picture Frame
You can buy interchangeable picture frames in lots of places now, and they’re very affordable. They not only allow you to easily switch in a new piece of art to go on display, but they open up and allow you to store a whole heap of art inside – genius in my eyes!
2. The Art Folder
I also bought an A4 folder with plastic wallets inside, and every time a new artwork is handed to me I can easily slot it into a plastic wallet, knowing that it will be tucked neatly away, but that my daughter can also flick through the pages at her creations.
3. The Collaged Canvas
The mounting pile of artwork was so high that I needed a way to reduce it all down quickly, and find a way to celebrate it too – so I created a collaged canvas of all her art. I’d seen this done lots of times online, so I thought I’d try it, and it was actually great fun – my daughter could get involved too. We set about cutting out all the characters or focal points in her artworks: colourful rainbows, heads on legs, blossoming flowers and abstract shapes. I ordered a large wooden canvas, which I then painted pink (a non-negotiable, apparently!). Then we arranged all of the cut-outs across the canvas to show as few gaps as possible, and used Mod Podge glue to stick it all in place. It wasn’t as quick as I’d hoped, but it reduced the pile of artwork down massively, and now it proudly hangs in my daughter’s room.
4. The Framed Art
And next, I had a multi photo frame that I wasn’t using, so I gave it a lick of paint, then cut some of my daughter’s artwork to size and was able to display 8 small artworks in one go. This one sits at the end of her bed so she can easily see it.
5. The Large Cork Board
This is one that I haven’t tried yet but I think it’s a great idea: getting a large cork board and lots of colourful pins to put up new artworks as and when they’re made. I think it’s a really nice carefree way to arrange, organise and display their artwork on the wall. Once it’s there, it doesn’t require too much thought, and your child can even be in charge of displaying the artwork themselves.
I hope that was helpful, and if you have any great tips of your own for displaying your children’s artwork, we would love to hear from you.
