Ideas for displaying, organizing and cherishing the labors of love that little hands create.

Do you have a small up and coming Rembrandt living in your home?  Or, perhaps a little one that creates abstract pieces that would make Picasso proud. If your children are anything like mine, the amount of art pieces that are completed in a month could fill an art gallery the size of a barn if every piece was saved and displayed on the wall.

     Unfortunately, most of us don't have whole rooms to dedicate to our budding artists. At the very least, the best we can offer is a little space on the good old refrigerator to hang a couple of prime examples. What to do with the rest is usually a tricky proposition that can create a lot of anxiety for most parents.

     At our house we have come up with a number of solutions that have not only decreased the anxiety level to almost zero, but at the same time, have increased my son's incentive for creating even more art.  All of this and I still have a wonderfully organized home with my own choices of framed art by better known artists on my walls. The answer came with the development of the Caleb Gallery located directly behind our family computer in the little alcove just off of our kitchen.

  Each month my son and I hand select four of his most noteworthy works for display. During the selection process, I sit with him and have him explain what he has drawn or painted and have him also tell me why he feels it is a good example of his work as well as why he wants to see it on the wall of honor. After the review we decide what will be done with the remaining art pieces. These are usually the ones that he decides can be tossed. Before the chosen items are hung, he signs them and titles them. During their time on the wall he is always ready to explain them to any friends or family that might drop by for a visit.

     At the end of this period, we repeat the process with a review of new pieces that he has created. We have a file to store these in as he finishes them. Because he knows that they will get their chance in the gallery, he is OK with not seeing them for a while. The work that is taken down from the wall of honor is either placed in his art portfolio notebook or used to make cards for him to mail to special people of his choosing. We just fold the piece in half and he gets to write his own message inside.

Children express so much in their art. Whether it is drawn, painted, colored with crayon and marker or molded from play-dough or clay.  When we take the time to let them know that it is an important to us as well, it allows them another avenue to say what they can't put into words. Find a wall, create a portfolio file and notebook and give your little one wings.

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