Are you like me? And you've had lots of kids in your life. Whether you are a parent, a favorite aunt or uncle, a teacher this episode is for you. If there's one thing that I know that gathers just as rapidly and possibly encroaches, even more in our physical space than photos, it is kids artwork. If you are like many other kid lovers and supporters. And you don't want to crush the little artists hearts. But you want to find a better solution than the dilapidated piles of artwork then this episode is for you./ This first season of picture love podcast has been such a blast and such a journey. I was really delighted to find that the single most popular episode of picture love podcast was what to do with school portraits. And I thought to myself, well, if they're interested in kids, school portraits, you know how they pile up. Then surely those are the same people who have kids artwork. You know, those treasures, the things with macaroni, the things with glitter, the things made out of clay. The things that actually were not fuzzy originally, but over time, they seem to be growing hair because of the layers of dust that collect well, you and I both know that is not how they were originally designed to. To be enjoyed. And so I'm hopeful that this conversation will give you some inspiration and maybe make it feel a little less guilty about finding a new, better solution. So you can continue to celebrate the young artists, even if they are now in later decades of their life. Here are my top three favorite solutions for what to do to honor the artist and yet your space at the same time. My first favorite solution is of course displaying the artwork now. If it's wall hanging artwork, this makes it easy. Choose a section in your home. It could be something as simple as a playroom. It could be a game room, a family room. It could even be the walls of a stairway going from one floor to the next. And in that home art gallery. You can have frames that are large. That are not custom frames, but ones that have removable backs. And then depending on how many artists we're talking about, you might have a frame per child. That can be rotated and you could change it with the seasons. So you have a fixed place where something of that child is on display at all times year-round. And if you've got multiple kids, One frame per child can work great. And if it's a large frame and you have smaller pieces of artwork, you can just layer them in and have multiple items displayed behind glass or plastic where they will be out of harm's way from rips and tears. So that is one useful way to honor the artists, but not necessarily display everything all at once. The items that are not on display can be saved. And if you go to a home office store they have a teacher in an education section and usually. You can find these large portfolio boxes with gigantic folders where the artwork can actually be tucked inside. Like a file folder. And then just rotating them out. That could be one way to display things. And honestly, if you're doing this and you're honoring your artists, you could probably choose things according to what you can actually. Save in that folder. And release the rest and don't just throw them away. We'll get there. But by culling it down to things that can fit in one nice, neat box with a folder per child. If you're one of those families, that's literally got a dozen kids or a dozen grandkids, you can have to be a little bit more selective or else have multiple boxes. But that is one way to actually. Display and have the flexibility to rotate out. What's the content of those frames. And I'm sorry, adults. I'm not meaning to leave you out. Adult artwork works the same as well. As long as they are on medium, that is flat enough to actually fit in this kind of a system. Um, this box system could actually work without the folders. If we're talking about stretched canvases as well. My second favorite solution is albums, honestly. When something is small enough to fit into a large 12 by 12 album. Um, a big book. If you want to call it. That's such a flattering way to celebrate an artist, to see their artwork, curated and pages. And sometimes they do get aged and damaged. And if you did need to scan or photograph them and reprint them, There's an option to, we are going to get more into the scanning talk shortly. But by simply curating them on pages, you'll be able to neatly and protect. And honor the artwork in ways that actually foster storytelling between the artist and the. Admiring fans, grandparents, parents, aunts, and uncles, or theirself. And you can do it scrapbook style. If they'll fit. And if not, then by photographing that artwork. Or scanning them that will give you the opportunity to actually have them printed in digital books. You know, the kinds that you actually designed with software. That a PO that a professional printer will print and bind and mail to you. Those are digital books. And, um, definitely one of my favorite solutions when we were talking about things that are just way too big to fit on a scrapbook page. So that is another way. Two. I honor the artist. Now it may go without saying, but if you're new to my audience on picture love, this is what I love to do for my clients. And together I can help guide them through this, the selection process, or maybe they want to do all the choosing themselves. The time you design a book for them, but this is, this is the stuff that lights me up. I'd say this is one of my superpowers for sure. But let's talk about the things that are actually just torn and non-practical, maybe they're a dimensional. Maybe they have things that were glued on them. Maybe they were made with materials that are not aging. Well, they're at risk of chipping and breaking or there's macaroni popping off in that case. That is a great opportunity to digitize them and have them. Like I mentioned before printed in albums, or maybe you like to have a professional collage made for you with, um, resized. Versions of the select items now. I'll be honest. Some of my kids' artwork really just. The substitute teacher stepped on the clay land formation, and I thought there was going to be drama. But there really wasn't. And when I asked him, I said, You know, would it be all right if we took a picture of it and then just let it go because it, it got a little bit ruined and. I can't hang it on the wall. It was amazing to see how at ease my kids were. So don't ever, um, assume the worst when it comes to crushing hearts and hurting feelings, sometimes a candid conversation with the artist. I will help them assess what are their favorites. You can literally make it a bonding experience and just say, Hey. Let's make a date. You know, let's, let's sit down, let's go through what your favorites are. And we'll make we'll design a gallery for the, for the living room or we'll design it. I'll have a book made with your very favorites, but can you help me pick them out? And then they're not feeling like, oh, my art's being thrown away. They're feeling like celebrated. And you and the process are going to feel so much relief because then you're not going to worry about. A, the clutter be the damage and see the unknown because things age. And even faceless paper. Fades. It just happens and there's no shame. Um, but above all, I think that. The, the opportunity to show the young artist. Or artists of any age? That their artwork matters is just a way of affirming and validating them and creating new moments in the sharing of the stories. You can even, I'm going to link up in the show notes. Um, I'm going to give you a little handout for those who would like it on questions to ask the artist about the artwork. And if you are the artist, these are questions you can ask yourself. And include them in the album or in notes like that. Like you would on display in a true art gallery. These are the three things I think are the most widely universally helpful when it comes to minding the space and the artist's feelings. I would love feedback from you. If you've had success in other approaches. And if you need some help with either your precious art, please do not hesitate to contact me. Here's to celebrating art of the past, the present, and picturing love in the future through all of it.