January 08th, 2019

As you can tell, I finally got some art up on the walls here.  It's about time too.  We've only lived here for 2 1/2 years and I JUST got this done. For heaven's sakes!

It's not simply a matter of procrastination. Honest!  At first it was delayed because the walls all needed to be painted and since that didn't happen immediately, all of the artwork was stacked behind other furniture in the family room.  It was all hiding there, leaning against the wall in layers. Behind chairs.  Behind the sofa.  Behind end tables.  Well..behind stuff.  And the longer it stayed behind stuff, the more I forgot it was even there.  It just kind of was part of the environment.  After awhile, it just kind of dropped off my radar entirely.

And then for Christmas middle son and his wife gave us a beautiful painting. And I vowed, to myself, to Tim and to the kids that this one was not just going to sit in stacks on the floor of the family room. THIS one was going on the wall.

I walked it around the house awhile and finally decided to put it up in the living room.  We went out and bought the necessary stuff.  Command Strips for art.  Seriously you do NOT want me loose with a nails and hammers in my hands.  Just trust me on that.  

So with measuring tape and a pencil, command strips and Tim's assistance, up it went.  And it looked so good there!  But it also looked a little lonely up there on that big wall all by itself. I got "inspired" and "creative" and I use both of those terms very loosely.  Somehow in my demented brain, I thought I could create one of those wonderful gallery walls where the art is all sorts of different sizes and shapes that fit together wonderfully.  In my head it looked terrific.  I even grouped them on the floor first and moved each piece around to different spots, substituting one work for another until I was satisfied.  Excited now, the process began.

First let me say that there is a scary amount of math involved in trying to do this.  Second, I will confess that there are some people who shouldn't be allowed to hang pictures.  I am all of them.

It doesn't look as good on the wall as it did on the floor.  I blame walls that are not plumb, my poor math skills  and of course, my lack of artistic ability.  Once it was done and I stepped back to admire it all, I realized that the top right piece is crooked.  Not a lot.  Just a tiny bit.  Just enough to drive me crazy.  And then about an hour after I was done with the project, the bottom left painting fell off the wall with a mighty crash. Sigh.  I picked up the big pieces, swept and vacuumed repeatedly for the little pieces, cut my finger in the process and bled all over the floor, Tim bandaged me up and then I went back and washed the floor.  And now the lower left spot is empty. It may remain that way for some time.

But the "gallery wall" aside, most of the art (other than this one wall) doesn't look too bad.  Obviously the ones that Tim did look the best, but most of mine aren't half bad.  And I am amazed at the positive difference it makes having art up on the walls. It's cozier and homier and warmer and friendly and far more interesting.  I guess it looks more finished.  The gift art, by the way, is the centerpiece.  I just thought with the red sofa, that red bird would be perfect on that wall :)  I think I got that part right!

Meanwhile, there are just a couple of other works that still need to find a home here. Just the right spot. And of course the one that crash landed needs to be reframed and hung again.  But perhaps I will ask Tim to help me with that one the next time.  We know that was operator error. That is not even a question.

And in the meantime, I feel pretty darned accomplished even with the mistakes.  Art on walls. Check! Well mostly check.  Once I finished what I did manage accomplish yesterday, I wanted to bow and say, "Taadaa!".  

And I should write a nice thank you note to the Command Strip people.  That stuff is Awesome!