Mum came over for tea recently and brought along some artwork which she’d found at the bottom of a cupboard somewhere. My daughter Ivy had created it – probably whilst at childcare many years ago – and mum had somehow ended up with it. We had a bit of a chuckle over it, and I was glad that mum had given it to us rather than throw it out, as Ivy was referring to our dog, Billy, whom we lost a few years ago.
This got me to thinking about a job that I need to do – I’ve made a start, but have a long way to go. Over the years, since my daughters started childcare, moved onto kindy and then school, I’ve collected their artwork and have it all sitting in large black folders in the spare room. A couple of pieces are also framed and hanging on the wall of our home. My plan is to digitise them all and to then make a photo book for each daughter showcasing the progression of their artwork from childcare through to highschool. We were lucky in that the primary school they went to had a terrific art teacher, and some of their paintings were really very good – bright and colourful. Neither daughter went on to be an artist, so the artwork came to a grinding halt after they both hit mid to upper highschool!
The way all of their paintings are stored at the moment makes it very difficult to go through them at a moment’s notice, and they also take up quite a lot of room. Once I digitise them and create the photo books, they will be there to look at any time, taking up a lot less room (although whether or not I’d actually be able to throw out the originals remains to be seen – maybe I’d keep a few of the best)!
So this is my plan and for me, the best way to digitise them will be to take a photo of each of them using my DSLR camera. I’ll find a wall in the house that faces a window, allowing for plenty of natural light. I’ll blue tac them to the wall one by one and take a photo of each of them. As mentioned earlier, I’ve actually started the process, but haven’t got very far. Scanning the smaller A4 artwork is also an option, as is using my iPhone instead of the camera, but I know that I’ll get the best results with my camera and tripod.
Once digitised, I will then organise all of the image files into chronological order, and sort them by daughter. This will make it easier for me to create the photo books. I’m looking forward to continuing with this task and will share once completed!
If this is a project that you have in mind too, but don’t know where to start, I can help. It might be that you’ve already digitised the artwork, and would like me to create a photo book. Alternatively, you might not necessarily want a photo book, but would like help in digitising the artwork – I can do this using the method described above. You might want help with both the digitising and the photo book!
If you’d like to discuss with me the ways in which I can help with your project, please contact me.
p.s. a small tip for those who are still in the process of collecting their children’s artwork – when the artwork comes home, if their name isn’t on it already, quickly jot their name and date on the back to make life easier when it comes time to digitise and organise.
Simone
