I clearly remember Lola’s pre-school teacher presenting me with an enormous bag full of her artwork just before the holidays. I was absolutely at a loss at what to do with it. I already had dozens of her masterpieces stuck up all over the kitchen (I could barely open the fridge), and now this bag of finger painting and splatterings, which I was clearly supposed to treasure. I picked out a few creations to put in an over-stuffed art folder and guiltily tossed the rest of them into the recycling bin. Of course, the next day I heard shrieks from the laundry room – 3 year-old Lola, crumpled artwork in hand, wailing on the floor by the recycle bin, “Mommy, you tore up my paintings” she sputtered. I tried to assure her that I hadn’t torn up all of them, just a few – oh boy, how do you explain that to a toddler! So when a couple of months later when the next enormous bag was presented to me by Miss Bernie, I knew that I’d have to try to keep it all. However, if I had really kept all her artwork since the age of 3, we would’ve literally had to buy another house – or one with a massive attic.
So I’ve now got a system going: the pieces that she’s clearly labored over get put in large art folders (from a proper art store), and every 6 months or so we do a sort-through/throw- out together – not an activity I relish, as we have somewhat differing opinions, but it works. The best part is that we pick out 3 “outstanding” paintings and these masterpieces get to be prominently displayed.
Just recently, I was more than delighted to find Wexelart, which solves the hanging problem completely. These genius frames made from recycled acrylic, enable me to display her art, and if I want to, easily switch them out weekly.
You don’t have to take the whole thing apart when you switch them out, as the artwork is held in place by an acrylic panel with magnets – so cool. Since they are made in the U.S. and are BPA and phthalate-free, they get my seal of approval. I’ve also found out that a regular framing business creates a tremendous amount of waste, which is usually not recycled.
We plan to give away a set of these frames around Mother’s Day, so make sure you’re a G.G. newsletter subscriber to find out all the up-coming giveaway details.
Very cool! A real problem solver, and as you point out, no glues, no off gassing. Green!
I like the clean look, as well as the freedom Wexelart
provides to change how I decorate the walls.
Lola Patterson