An Annotated Work of Art

When my kids were younger, they went through a prodigiously creative phase. Daily, they’d come home with stacks of drawings and other artwork they created during school. Being the sentimental sap I am, this was a huge stressor for me. I couldn’t just throw it out, but it felt like a waste to save every scribbled sheet. (Also, I suspected that some of “their” artwork was actually stolen from, or given to them by, their classmates). I eventually landed on a system where I’d keep most of the drawings in a box, labeled by kid and year, and elevate a few pieces to a ringed binder. A very select few, I framed and put up around our place.

But when I looked back at this oeuvre, I realized that, while it was nice to see these creative expressions manifested by my kids’ own hands, I actually had no idea what most of them were about. Surely there was some intention and a story behind each piece, but I was so intent on getting them filed into my system, that I rarely took to the time to understand what they were about.

So, next time my kid comes home with something they’re proud of creating, I’m going to try this: I’m going to record a little video of them explaining what their artwork is about, how they created it, and what they were thinking about when they were doing it. A photo accompanied by an audio clip might suffice as well. And then, of course, I’m going to send it to them.