Art Gallery Wall!

 

I finished it! 

 

And boy!  It was no small task.

But I’m sooo glad I did it. 

I love seeing the girls’ artwork on my way up and down the stairs to their rooms.  (Noah had a special one he wanted included, and so it was!)

I started with an assortment of frames, collected over time and from different places.  Some I’ve had for a while, others not so long.  Some I gilded with gold Rub-n-buff, and others I used a silver leaf technique.  I sprayed them first with an adhesive, then added paper-thin sheets of silver leaf, using a small artist’s paintbrush and my finger, to gently rub the silver into the crevices in the frames.  Next I wiped some old stain I already had onto the frames.  Not too heavily, but just enough to tint the shine of the silver so it looked more aged,  I wiped it on and off in small sections with an old sock.  Once that dried, I sprayed with a few coats of clear polyurethane to keep the silver from flaking off.

To determine placement on the wall, I outlined each frame with a pencil, onto pieces of white packing paper, and then taped them to the wall.  I started with the biggest frame in the center, and then just kind of eye-balled it one by one, hoping to create something like haphazard symmetry.

Do you think there is such a thing?

I also wanted to have an uneven amount of silver to gold frames to give it less a planned look, but something that looked like it was added onto over time, yet still with a semblance of cohesiveness.

I hung some of the frames with nails and wire, and others with Command sticky back velcro tape.  And I used Glenn’s level with each of the frames, to help me straighten them up the best I could.

Each of the girls did 3 portraits, and all were finished by the time I was hanging the frames, except Olivia.  I got down to the last two frames and asked her to go and draw two pictures for me.  :)  Instant art.  It didn’t matter to me whether it was their “best” artwork, I just wanted examples that represented where they are now. 

They all love to draw and so not only was it fun for them to “help” with the project, but they thoroughly enjoy seeing their drawings hanging where they can look at them every day.

And I really think it makes our home look more “lived-in”, as though we didn’t just move here 2 1/2 years ago.

In addition to all those frames, I thought the wall just to the left of the doorway on the landing needed a little something.  I had seen a large wooden sconce at our Goodwill for months, and now it seemed like just the thing that might work.

It was definitely not in my color scheme:

But after some white paint, slightly sanded, and some gold Rub-n-Buff applied deliberately to a few places, to help it coordinate with the frames on the wall, I loved it.

I tried to make the gold look as though it had been worn down over time.

 

We have lit the candle a few times and the girls are just thrilled to go up and down the stairs with an actual candle lighting the way. 

I think it makes them feel a little like they are living in “olden times”. 

 

So there you go!  A very long post about a project that took a very long time. 

But was well worth the effort.

 

Have a great day!

 

 

sharing with

Mod Mix Monday