Art Folio

Over the last year, Annabelle has produced alotta artwork.  I kid you not.  We’ve got piles and piles of paintings, collages, drawings, and sticker creations that she’s crafted over the last 8 months.  As much as my little girl loves to make and do things, I have a hard time letting go of her many many creations (even though I know that it is okay to let go of a few).

At the holidays and for special occasions, I’ve been known to wrap gifts with Annabelle’s paintings, however, the abundance of her paintings has exceeded our family’s need for gift wrap.

Meanwhile, a mommy friend who admired our art room set-up asked me how I manage all of Annabelle’s artwork.  I told her that we recycle her work and mail some of it to her nanna and grandma, both of whom live several states away.  To be honest though, sometimes, I decide to really recycle her artwork with our newspaper.  Curbside, that is.  And oh, I feel my heart aching to even talk about this, but well, this is what happens.

So, I decided that we needed to come up with a system that highlighted her more expressive pieces (aside from hanging them on her art wall) and yet will still allowed us to part with some of her artwork.  My solution?  An Art Folio.  I purchased a 3 ring binder from the office supply store (though the Goodwill does carry smaller scale versions of what I selected) and went through her artwork with her.  Together we selected our favorite pieces and then placed each one into a sleeved paper protecting sheet (this is also a great way for organzing lesson plans for all you homeschoolers and teachers out there, :-)).

Now, Annabelle proudly carries her folio around with her, proclaiming it, “My book!”  I’ve noticed how she’ll curl up (usually on my bed or a big chair) and just browse through her book.  Just seeing her do this makes me smile.

One of my favorite drawings that we selected for the folio is that of the Smithsonian’s Annual Kite Festival, which we attended this past weekend.  I have to say that despite the amount of time I spend with my little girl, she never fails to amaze me.    What do I mean by this?  Well, as we tromped through the muddy grasses surrounding the Washington Monument, we watched many beautiful kites flying over our heads.  We spotted amazing kite tricks and observed a kite flying contest.  But, we only stayed for ten minutes before Annabelle fell down and got covered in mud.  I really hadn’t thought that the kite festival had made such an impression on her.  But when we came home, she sat down and drew this picture:

The light lines connecting to a diamond-ish circle is Annabelle’s rendition of a kite.  The zigzagging lines are other kites flying through the sky.  You probably feel the same way about your own children . . . aren’t they amazing?  Aren’t they brilliant?  I was just stunned by this drawing.

I don’t ever want to forget these moments with her.  Her amazement with the world, the way that each and every moment she seems to be absorbing so much of existence, connecting with it, even though she is 2, even though she is experiencing so many new feelings, sensations, and learning, learning, learning.  So much is going on in her world.

It is my impression that many mommies blog to keep a record or diary of their time with their little ones.  Are you documenting your time with your little ones?  Also, if your little one creates and collects artwork, how do you display or store it?  I’d love to hear your thoughts on this, :-)

Jessica