Tough Love for Art

It’s not every day that you read an article that goes against the grain of what a parent is supposed to do with the reality of the situation and asks the question, “Do you save all your child’s artwork or do you pitch?” This New York Times article about when art takes over by Michael Tortorello and what to do about saving children’s artwork resonated with me; even though, my boys are nearly all grown up, or at least are both in college. Maybe it wasn’t supposed to be tongue-in-cheek but I loved its humor, for instance, this is the cover photo, with little Elizabeth displaying a piece from “her blue period,” as her mother says.

I had mixed reactions to this piece because I did save a lot of my children’s  artwork but I also was very selective and threw a lot of it away as it was coming in daily with no space to save. I think there must be a way to find a balance in doing this. I remember my mother, who is a trasher (opposite of a hoarder), actually saved some of my artwork. I was surprised when she presented it to me when I was an adult. I was moved that 1) she had saved it all those years and 2) that it sparked some reflection back in my childhood that seemed already so distant and removed. It brought back chuckles and a sense of innocence as well as some heartfelt emotion that helped temper the stresses that the adult world and responsibilities of living in it bring. It was nice to have that keepsake and then I promptly, being a practical person and aware of my limited space for clutter, pitched it. OK, I may have saved one that wasn’t a stick drawing. Now I know what to do with the two jam-packed portfolios of “masterpieces.” I’ll return them to their creators, for they may get more meaning out of them than I and it can be their responsibility to decide to keep or trash. Either way, the early artwork saved does serve a reflective purpose down the road — if you have a place to save it.

* Here’s some artwork that I get to enjoy everyday, as I turned my older son, Piers’, imaginative artwork of a pirate ship into a magnet. I think he was using pirate Legos at the time when he drew this and I’m sure still has that built ship somewhere. He’s now nearly 23 and getting ready to graduate from the University of Virginia with a degree in Civil Engineering. Through his early artwork, I can see the developing stages of that mind for creative construction in the making.

This song, Sour Girl, by the Stone Temple Pilots has been playing in my head all week. Funny that it’s one of the few songs where I do not like the video but here’s the link that coincidentally, reminds me of Telly Tubbies (for children), so may be weirdly appropriate for this post + it has better sound quality. However, I thought this was a better one to be able to concentrate on their music for Kick Starting the Weekend.