I’m not a great decorator but I am an art lover. When we embarked on our monster downsizing – curating our crap – as we affectionately dubbed it, I felt overwhelmed at the prospect of no longer being surrounded by the art I loved.
Suddenly stuff I’d been blindly dusting for years had me choked up. How could I part with the painting of the crazy crow that hung over the toilet in our daughter’s bathroom, or the hand painted window given to me by a dear friend that hung on the porch, or the wooden statue of the Toucan with the beak I’d fixed twice, or the print of Lombard Street I’d chosen over a hot air balloon ride on our honeymoon?
Add to that the stuff created by me and the ones I love – the scratchboard of Bruiser, our Yamaha 1100 that took us cross country several times, the museum quality prints of work by our famous ancestor, Franz Xavier Winterhalter, a wreath my sister Mary made for me, our daughter’s handprint from when she was 5 years old, a collection of kid art and even the quotes daughter and I had painted on the walls of our studio space (the extra bedroom).
How was I going to make it without art in my day-to-day life?
In 2014 we left a BIG house with lots of wall space and moved into a Big Rig with not-so-much wall space. We’re in our second year living in the Big Rig. I’m embarrassed to admit, after all this time, the only art displayed in the Big Rig is a sad piece that came with it. We call it the framed turd.
The framed turd claims the biggest available wall space in the Big Rig. I’ve contemplated removing it numerous times, but for some reason it’s still there.
Recently I’ve become obsessed with personalizing the Big Rig. I’m not sure why, but it hit me while perusing Meijer’s on our first day back in Ohio. I found myself loading my cart with plaques that said things like, Life is an Adventure, Beach, Be Happy, and Family and Friends Forever. You get the idea.
I came to my senses before I checked out.
The pendulum was swinging. I’ve been living without personalizing our space, without art, for long enough. I’m done. It’s time to figure out available space that won’t disrupt the slide-outs and it’s time to buy a boatload of 3M hangers.
It’s also time to remove the framed turd. I’ll keep you posted on my progress. And don’t worry, most of my art is safely stored in our 10 x 10 climate controlled storage unit.
Other Half knows when to humor me. This is one of those times.