How to Create a Child's Art Portfolio
If you can no longer see the front of your refrigerator because of the number of drawings by your children that are taped to it, maybe it's time to start thinking about a less cluttered way to preserve their artistic endeavors. For a relatively small expense, you can create a special portfolio for each child that will keep the contents free of smudges, spills and rips and can also be easily transported to Grandma's house so that she can enjoy their progress as budding young artists.
Instructions
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Collect all of the artworks that you want to place in the portfolio. This is a great project to work on with your child, because she has probably already formed definite opinions about which pictures are her favorites.
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Decide how you want to arrange the content in a binder. For instance, does she want to have all of her horse pictures in one section or display her work in the same order in which it was produced?
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Place each work of art into its own clear plastic sleeve. For artwork that exceeds the 8 1/2-inch by 11-inch dimensions of the sleeve, you'll either have to carefully fold the page, purchase a separate large-format scrapbook, or buy an artist's portfolio to store them. Note: The latter option can be pricey, besides that these carrying cases are roughly 2 feet by 3 feet in size. Another option for large pieces, of course, is to have them matted and framed. Most families, though, have even less wall space than they do space on the front of a refrigerator and might be wary of inviting the argument that the "art" should be prominently displayed in the living room.
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Have your child write a brief narrative to go on the back of each piece of art in her collection. The items to include would be the title of the art, the date that it was created, where it was created, and what inspired the child to come up with this particular image.
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Consider scanning the art and saving the images as JPEG files on your computer. Should anything happen to the originals (i.e., the portfolio gets dropped in a mud puddle or is taken to school and gets left behind on a bus), you'll still have a record of the work. Another great idea is to scan and upload the images of the art to an online service such as My Publisher (see Resources), which will assemble the images into a softcover or hardcover coffee table book that resembles an "official" publication. Additional copies can be purchased as gifts for relatives or viewed online.
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Tips & Warnings
Be generous with your praise but also offer constructive criticism if you think there are ways that your child could apply the ideas and colors and perspective in a finished drawing to a future work. Unless you can't bear to ever part with it, consider presenting the childhood art portfolio to your son or daughter when they turn 21. It's a lovely way to give them a piece of the past they'll long cherish. Consider turning 12 of the images into a photo calendar. Online print companies such as Vista Print not only make the process remarkably easy, but it's also inexpensive. Further, you can make a new calendar every year and select the 12 best drawings for inclusion.
If you have two or more children who are budding artists, be careful about comparing their talents in front of each other (i.e., "Why can't you draw horses as well as your sister?"). This is a sure way to make them want to stop expressing themselves altogether.
