The wood shop teacher's message on my voicemail was cheery and brief: "Your son Reed's project is ready to be picked up." Picked up? I called Tim back to ask, “Can't my son just bring it home on the bus?” After a short pause, he said gently, "I'm afraid you'll need a van." We did, and now the bench, shown left, lives in my kitchen until we figure out a better spot for it in our small apartment.
Fortunately, most of my children's art projects aren't this large, but they do have a way of accumulating to the point of threatening to bury the entire family. Some can be winnowed out (yes, I admit it; sometimes I throw them away), but favorite pieces deserve a better fate.
Clamshell boxes are great for storing small drawings, booklets, three-dimensional pieces, seashell art, etc. I made a set of boxes for each child. As each box fills up, I just add another one to the set. The art is protected from light and dust, and can be easily retrieved and enjoyed.
Another idea is to designate a cubicle or part of a bookshelf specifically for a child's work. My younger son, Derek, took a book-making class after school, and it captured his imagination so completely that he started making everything into a book—takeout menus, UPS delivery slips, envelopes, you name it. Once I realized I had about 25 different books on my hands, we set them up on display in a cubicle in his room. “Just like the library,” he said happily.
Your suggestions for a permanent home for the bench gratefully accepted.
—Art and a Half
This is a digital solution to showcasing, storing and archiving your children's artwork without the clutter and without the guilt of throwing it away.
Posted by: The ART:archives(tm) | February 08, 2008 at 08:48 PM
that bench is HILARIOUS! why do they even let kids make benches at school?
Posted by: casey | February 08, 2007 at 02:20 PM