The Kids’ Collage Corner
Executive summary: Despite not planning to retain any of the kids’ artwork, I’ve recently started to keep a few pieces to tape up in a growing gallery wall. Idk if this is here to stay or a passing fancy, but the process has been fun and not too onerous yet.
As befits a minimalist, I’m generally not sentimental about physical objects. I care a lot about memories (and the family pictures that capture them), but I don’t keep a collection of anything else except our travel magnets (which also fall under memories). I’ve never retained a single piece of the kids’ artwork, until a few months ago. My 5yo doesn’t seem to care, and my 2yo is too young to care about saving their “art,” so it’s been my decision to immediately recycle creations as they’re brought into the house from school. But when my son began to bring home monthly calendars that he made in kindergarten and wanted to use them to keep track of the date (or count down to special events like holidays, trips, birthdays, etc), I decided to hang it above his bed for easy access (so he can cross off each day). Then I thought, maybe it would be nice to save a few other pieces to keep his calendar company, especially now that he is creating art that looks more and more like recognizable things. And if I’m going to make a gallery wall/ collage corner for him, then I better do the same for little sis so she doesn’t feel left out (if a 2yo can comprehend such a sentiment). Yes, I’ve been sliding down a slippery slope since November, and I don’t yet know where the bottom is.
I’ve begun to tape up a gallery wall above each child’s bed, and we’ll see how it evolves.
My thought right now is that we’ll rotate out the pieces as new ones come in, if it becomes too cluttered. I’m not sure if I have any designs (har har) on the number of pictures we’ll tape up — I suppose the ceiling’s the limit. When we move next month, it’s unclear to me if we’ll keep the existing art, or start a new collection (kids can be very prolific). I don’t do anything fancy with the pictures — I just add a “frame” by taping them to a sheet of colored paper, then tape the whole thing to the wall. They are not meant to stand the test of time. If we wanted to keep the pictures more permanently, I’ve heard of people making “art books,” where they snap a photo of the art then have them printed in a book, so you don’t have to keep the original material but retain a picture of the piece. Unless my kids start crying over me tossing their art, I don’t think I’ll do that, because if they don’t care, then I don’t care. Not sentimental, remember? My parents never kept many of my childhood creations either, and it doesn’t bother me at all.
I took oil painting lessons when I was 7, and my mom decided this was my masterpiece, which is why it survived. Otherwise, I wouldn’t expect to ever see it again, which is totally fine.
I’ve been making plans for our new place, and I’ve designated wall space for the kids’ art, so I’m clearly sticking with this exercise for a bit longer. Even though we’ll have enough bedrooms to give each kid their own, they like sharing a room – they think it’s more fun, even though they often end up on top of each other as kids are wont to do. The new bedroom is shaped quite differently from their current one, so a different furniture and decor layout is called for, but I’ve made sure to leave space for each child to hang their art collection above their beds once more. I like the pop of color, whimsy, and personalization that it brings to a room that’s just for them.