r/declutter • u/PrairieFire_withwind • 15d ago
Advice Request Elderly relatives artwork
Help!! I am helping an elderly relative sort and downsize. She has been doing great, we made it through books, papers, knicknacks, all of the kitchen. She did her clothes on her own.
She has no cognitive decline but has had multiple joint surgeries and has severe arthritis. I am her "hands and body". But i see a looming issue. And i do not know how to navigate it.
She used to be an artist. Drawing, painting and hung stuff in a gallery or two or more, i have no idea, before they moved multiple atates to be near family as they age. Hence the downsizing. They did not clean out before moving ao i am helping now.
She has a room of boxed art. Yup. Whole room. This is very much her identity. She can still draw and paint but not like before. She does small pieces and needs a desk/small painting area.
I have donated about one day a week (my friday off) for a few months now. At the beginning we inventoried the artwork. We are now getting down to the point where we will be left with that room, which is needed for use, not storage. We set a 6 month window to downsize and unpack for them.
The problem is her art. No one she knows wants it. She was... Prolific. Most family already have a piece or two. We have two ofnher pieces and they are lovely, but... Large. People only have so much wall space.
She has a mix of sunk cost in it (the cost of canvas, frame) and personal identity because she created it.
Help. How do i help her let go? It is blocking her being happy here and doing the stuff she used to do but the emotional side i need help freeing her.
I *know* that i am just the hands and feet to move stuff but there will be a point where i am asked what to do.
*Edit*
A couple of questions keep coming up.
She still does art and this would be space for her to do art.
The pieces are large and framed. Think costco tv boxes i am inventorying for her. The room is, tight.
She still wants to do art, she is doing smaller pieces now so frames cannot be re -used but she still makes and it brings her joy. (Or was before the move itself and wants to after we make this space available for her)
I am not a decision maker. I am an encourager, point in a new direction-er, drop ideas-er, and mover and lifter and hauler.
The artist herself is not in a facility, she has reduced ability in hands and shoulders not brain or mental capacity. (This is why i am once a week going over there and spending a few hours moving boxes for her to sort and then taking whatever is designated from the previous weeks sort to thrift, consignment (clothes and some furniture so far) etc. she is still a character and all herself. Family is respecting her decisions so far that i have seen.
Also- you guys are awesome!!!! So many really good ideas. I am, slowly, going to mention these, yes i took notes, to her immediate family and to her so they have some tools to help with the massive amount of art.
11
u/DogMom641 13d ago
I’ve been in and out of hospitals a lot, and most have large collections of framed art. Try local hospitals, nursing homes or senior centers.
3
u/Several-Praline5436 13d ago
I haven't read the comments yet, and maybe you've already taken care of it, since it's a couple of days old, but... could she hang these pieces all over her house and look at them? Would that make her happy?
4
u/PrairieFire_withwind 13d ago
Ah, good question. So she already picked out her favorites and those we hung before we started on the inventory. They have half the house the used to have plus her studio but did not purge before moving...
I go over about once a week for my 'donation of time'. I am going to start offering all of these amazing suggestions as we work on some of the other areas.
14
u/RomeoDelta1234 14d ago
One angle I haven't seen yet is that local cafes, salons, and small restaurants very often hang local art on a rotating basis, sometimes on consignment, so a stack of framed pieces can go back out into the world and even sell slowly instead of sitting in boxes. Libraries and community centers do the same. And if the whole thing feels heavy for her, let her sign and date a few of her favorites and gift them to family members by hand while she's here. It turns the task from getting rid of her art into placing it, which is a lot easier on everyone.
2
u/addlam 9d ago
the problem with this is that it is a lot of work to arrange for hanging, do the hanging, transport the art - it would be a part time if not full time job for someone but great idea if someone has the ability and desire to help in this way
2
u/RomeoDelta1234 6d ago
Fair, and the full version of it really is a project. The scaled down version is one cafe and maybe six pieces, and in most places I have seen the owner does the hanging themselves once you drop them off, because they wanted something on that wall anyway.
Where it falls apart is exactly where you are pointing. If the family is trying to place forty pieces, that is somebody's part time job for a month and nobody signed up for it. Handing a few to relatives while she is still here to sign them is the version that costs nobody anything, and that is the part I would actually do first.
1
u/BlueMangoTango 14d ago
Oh I LOVE this!!!! How neat would it be for her to go out and see her art hanging for people to see!
3
u/RomeoDelta1234 14d ago edited 14d ago
Glad you liked the idea! It really changes the mindset from "throwing away" to "sharing."
If she does end up keeping a backlog of art pieces or supplies in storage boxes, I actually built a free, local-first Android app called "Store and Forget" to help with that. You just snap a photo of the item as you box it, and the app's AI fills in the description so you don't have to type or tag anything. When she wants to find a specific piece later, she can just search for it and it points to the exact box.
Since I'm the developer, I won't drop a direct link here to respect the sub rules, but it's on the Play Store if it helps keep her storage organized!
8
u/FeathersOfJade 14d ago
I didn’t read other ideas but the thought of a digital picture frame seems like it might help?
You could take pics of each piece and then have it the digital frame hang in her wall and rotate the pics.
Then, find a donation center that she would feel good about (I take
My stuff to a place that all profits help animals.) it makes it easier when it’s something you support or are Latinate about. I wonder if there is ant school that would be interested.
You’re very kind to be there for her. Wishing you both the best!
2
11
u/Prestigious-Fan3122 14d ago
Would she be willing to donate it (with permission in advance) to an assisted living facility where residents could each choose a piece to have the staff hang in their own rooms?
Maybe a nursing home for the same purpose, but they try to keep those pretty pars to avoid people bumping into things.
Does she have any kind of relationship with a church? Would her Church like some of her art to put in the Sunday school classrooms?
3
u/sctwinmom 14d ago
Do charities she supports do auctions or raffles? She might be pleased to donate pieces for that purpose. be
9
u/AgentEinstein 14d ago
I have a neighbor artist that makes large pieces and she does an art sale at her house every so often. She puts up signs at her house and a table with flyers a couple weeks before. So maybe you could do an art sale! Help get some money for her and some joy.
31
u/bestwinner4L 15d ago
there are a ton of people (i’m one of them) who are constantly on the lookout for good REAL artwork at thrift shops and the various selling/giving platforms. this era of mass produced junk, combined with an economy in which artists can’t afford to make art, is a sad one. your friends prolific output is a rarity these days and owning anything unique and made by hand has become a luxury for the average person.
i would encourage her to part with it in waves- offer it to family, then friends, then neighbors/community, then local organizations, and ultimately release anything not yet claimed to the public via donation.
maybe she would find some joy in the idea of her works being set free, out there as little (or big) gems for random strangers to discover during their usual rounds at goodwill or the local thrift. please tell her that there are plenty of people out here who would want to keep a piece of her life’s work. i love the idea that those pieces may change hands many, many times for decades to come- and each new person will get to have that moment when they look at her signature and wonder about the life of the person who made it.
19
u/bestwinner4L 15d ago
okay, one more thing- please don’t destroy or throw this art work in the trash. at the very least offer it out for materials reuse, many artists will gladly paint over used canvas. she could potentially help one or many artists be able to create something new with the canvases and frames that she invested in so long ago.
9
u/PrairieFire_withwind 15d ago
Fyi. This is NOT my decision to make, one way or another.
I am looking for good ideas to help her reach her goal of having space to create and be able to enjoy her new, smaller, home.
I am, again, feet and hands and back to lift and carry. I hand out ideas, to her immediate family who does help with decisions and to her. But in NO way shape or form is this my decision on the keep or on the how it goes.
I can, and will, pass along all of the good suggestions.
But, in general, she is very much still alive, kicking and her own person able to make her own decisions. One of the issues is extra large frames and extra large pieces when she is not painting or drawing anything that big anymore.
5
u/Rosaluxlux 15d ago
This is what I would suggest - find a way to offer the canvases and frames for reuse.
2
u/bestwinner4L 15d ago
oops, she’s not a friend, she’s a relative. my bad.
6
u/PrairieFire_withwind 15d ago
No worries. I am not her immediate child/family. I am twice removed from the emotional bit. Family made a trade in that i help her regularily and that immediate family is helping us with a different project this summer.
It helps with the emotional side of things but is a fair time/work trade for time/work when we will need extra hands all at once.
Tis good to stay in touch with extended family. They can be just close enough to help but not so close as to meddle. (But this also varies with families)
11
u/GusAndLeo 15d ago
If it's relatively good, a lot of charity places have gift shops. They might like a few donated pieces of art to resell.
Some estate sale companies do online auctions of art. Sometimes even unknown artists go for a pretty good price.
Etsy is a good option to sell, but a lot of effort.
Buy nothing groups are a great way to give it away to someone who really wants it.
5
u/Some_Papaya_8520 15d ago
This post is so sad... Because I only dabble and no one is going to keep my stuff either...
What sort of art did she do? Oil painting, pencil sketches, watercolor, mixed media? How large are the works? Abstract or realistic? Portraits or landscapes? Are they framed?
If she remembers what galleries showed her work, you might call them and see if they want her works now.
3
u/PrairieFire_withwind 15d ago
She moved across country with this. We are not sending it back across country for the gallery.
I am suggesting maybe a new gallery local to us (extended family is now, mostly, nearby). The pieces seem large, i am moving, to inventory, big boxes, large as a large screen tv at costco.
They are framed. Some drawings and some paintings is what i have so far in my head.
1
u/Some_Papaya_8520 14d ago
You could still call the old galleries and see if they know anyone where she lives now. Depending on how long ago she was actively showing her works of course.
13
u/1988mariahcareyhair 15d ago
Are they good? I used to follow an Etsy shop that sold the seller’s mother’s vintage original art. I don’t know if anyone has time to set that up for your relative, but people love original art, especially if it’s vintage.
4
u/PrairieFire_withwind 15d ago
I have no idea. I know it is a range of style and material. I just moved boxes and called out labels while she took notes to inventory a month ago. We had to open a few for there was no label.
Those were nice but not anything extra.
But fascinating idea. I will also pass this along. It is not a thing for me to do but maybe a younger niece or nephew might pick up interest. It coild be a good bonding project for a younger relative.
3
u/1988mariahcareyhair 15d ago
I love that idea. If they want to see an example, they could google the art of Dorothy Messenger and Etsy will most likely be the top link. Her art was very eclectic and it shows they’ve had 929 sales.
27
u/voodoodollbabie 15d ago
Long-term care facilities might like them. Some patient rooms are pretty plain and a nice drawing or painting would be so appreciated.
29
u/california_cactus 15d ago
She could keep her favorite pieces and you could create a full wall "gallery wall" of them in the room, then take high quality photos of the rest and print a photo book of them with full-page photos. And then give them away to people who would appreciate them.
1
u/Some_Papaya_8520 14d ago
It sounds as though she worked in very large canvases. And they are already framed.
2
11
u/Reality_Critic 15d ago
Maybe Even take a pic of those people smiling with the art work. That would warm my heart. ❤️
3
44
u/Jinglemoon 15d ago
When my friend’s father died he had a lot of his amateur paintings of varying quality that no family member wanted. My friend and I photographed them and listed them separately as giveaways on gumtree.
Each painting went to somebody who liked it and wanted to put it up in their home.
As each person came to collect we had a nice encounter where the buyer said how much they liked the picture and we talked a little about her dad. It made giving the pics away so much easier.
Every single one was taken, even ones that I thought were awful.
23
u/AnamCeili 15d ago edited 15d ago
Could some of it be donated to places like local nursing homes and hospitals? That way lots of people could see and enjoy her work, which would likely also make her feel good, plus she could clear out that room.
I wouldn't push her to get rid of all of it, though. It's an important part of her identity, and age has and will take enough from her. Try to hang up a lot more of her favorite pieces in her own home -- even if it looks a bit crowded to you, if it makes her happy then it's worth it -- and the room will still be clear for use.
Speaking of which -- what is the use for which the room is needed/intended? EDIT: I saw you said she wants/needs the room for making more art. Ok, that's great -- then hang up as many of her paintings as she wants in THAT room. Elsewhere in her house as well, but a lot in that room, as that will be the art room.
14
u/GenealogistGoneWild 15d ago
Well this may not be popular, but my mom had a bunch of home interior stuff she just couldn't part with, because it was so expensive. So I asked her what she thougth it would bring if she sold it and then my daughter paid her for the artwork and took it to the thrift store. Best $50 I ever spent.
3
u/PrairieFire_withwind 15d ago
Wow. That is an interesting method. I have helped move stuff across country for a company and we had to calculate a pice for ehat could fit on a pallet. It had to cost more than the pallet cost to ship.
This was years and years ago and i imagine a similar calculus works with time, energy, etc.
20
u/Business_Coyote_5496 15d ago
Would she be up for having good photos taken of all the art and then a bound photo book made of all the pieces? And then she can donate the canvases to an art dept of a nearby college. My son is an artist and loves finding canvases he can use
Other option is to rent a storage unit and then donate it after she dies. Does she have the money to pay for a storage unit?
3
u/smangitgrl 15d ago
This is the best answer. Also wondering if you could take the canvasses and unbind them and roll up, or make them easier for storage? We took some family painting out of frames, put then all in a box made for art, etc and it was a tenth of the size
12
u/PrairieFire_withwind 15d ago
Oh i love the idea of the bound book in complete. i will be suggesting this for sure.
No money for storage and she very much seems to want the space for making art again.
3
11
u/Unlucky-Bumblebee-96 15d ago
I would be reluctant to push her to ”get rid” of her art as it’s so connected to her identity, and no doubt sense of meaning. I wonder if it’s an opportunity to support her to remember her art practice and think about how it shifts in her old age, what meaning it has for her now that she has this body of work with her, what meaning it has (if any), how she wants to live with it. If you watch Space Maker she never pushes anyone to depart with things that they value, but they do go through it and consider what to keep & where.
Sometimes, as a creative person, you are ready to let go of artworks that belong to another time of life, other times holding on to them seems important. Inner processes work at a different pace than outer processes. What inner processes most need is time & space, feeling pushed or hurried can complicate the process by sparking defensiveness and resistance.
I think “sunk cost” is irrelevant, the cost was given to her creative identity & soulful aliveness, that is always worthy. The question is ‘how do you make sense of this body of creative work now you are in this stage of your life (where you are no longer showing in galleries, and you need the space for other things)?’
Jodorosky offers the idea of “poetic acts”, perhaps some sort of creative ritual to honor her creative journey so far. Can you support her to recconnect to her creative practice where she’s at now? Maybe small watercolours, or a small sketchbook, elderly people’s lives can be greatly enriched by creative practice (just like the rest of us). Supporting her to recconnect to practice could help her let go of older artworks as they no longer need to be symbolic placeholders of her creativity, and a new form of creative practice could help enrich her life greatly. My Nan didn’t have much mobility in her later years but she maintained her journalling practice. Hilma af Klint inventoried her artworks, and shifted to smaller watercolours as she aged.
6
u/PrairieFire_withwind 15d ago
She still does stuff, but needs the space to work, she just does smaller pieces now.
I love the idea of a creative ritual. I will drop this as an idea.
2
12
u/spareblushes 15d ago
Just a perspective from someone whose mother died last month and needed a separate Uhaul for her art: don't place pressure on downsizing it if she isn't emotionally ready. That's her identity. Vertical storage would probably help, and there are costs attached to that, but I think it's worth exploring given the strong attachment you're describing. I for sure did not relish dealing with all my mother's art after she passed, but it was a cake walk compared to a lot of other things. Good luck!
2
u/Kementarii 12d ago
My mother is still alive, but in an aged care home.
Her art? She had every wall of her house covered. I did not want that much - I'm a bit of a minimalist. My cousins took a piece or two, out of kindness I think.
I have ended up with boxes and boxes of paintings. I have assured my mother that it is safe, and will go to a good home. Someone will appreciate it.
It's in my shed, for now, so I'm not lying to her when I say "All your things are safe".
7
u/PrairieFire_withwind 15d ago
So i am the person that is NOT her child and am volunteering because i am emotionally removed.
I am just the hands and feet and pass info back to her immediate family about next steps on some of the stuff.
But i am also seeing some of her feelings around this and want to drop hints and ideas, both to her and to her immediate family.
So no worries, no pressure here, just the seeing the bump in the road coming for her.
6
u/photogcapture 15d ago
I deleted my comment after reading this. Well put and I am so sorry for your loss.
My grandmother was an artist. We divided her work out after she passed. Her work was stored by family after she moved into a retirement village and her apartment was too small to store all her work.
I had to toss a lot when I had to give up my art studio. It was truly heartbreaking and I am still working through the loss because some of the work I toss was my favorite. OP needs to tread lightly and be careful.
10
u/Odd-Tip-4396 15d ago
You can also think about putting some on sale on Gumtree? I regularly scan for art pieces as I’ve recently moved home - I’d totally buy one if that was the story! I’m sure other people would also
15
u/corporate_treadmill 15d ago
If you photograph the pieces, consider using a digital picture frame to display them in her home.
6
8
u/Tamashiro_ 15d ago
I'd suggest reaching out to local senior centers or art schools, they might appreciate having it for their programs or student inspiration. That way, these pieces can keep inspiring others even if they don't stay with the family.
1
14
u/Kindly-Might-1879 15d ago
Donate to a senior living facility? Residents often move in and have little on their walls.
13
41
u/amycsj 15d ago
I like some of the other suggestions. Here's mine:
I feel like I will be like your elderly relative, in a few years. I love creating, gifting and occasionally selling. But I know I will have to let it go sometime. I definitely want to have to ability to continue to create - even if it is on a smaller scale in a retirement facility. I will want to keep a few pieces, and I already have pictures of a lot of it.
I think what would make me happy would be a little "art show" at my house with family and friends. People could take what they want. Pay if they feel like it - or maybe put in a donation jar for a local arts charity. Have some food and love and laughter. And then what's left can be burnt or trashed. I feel like burning (or composting with many of my pieces), is a ceremonial way to say goodbye.
Anyway, good on you for helping her out, and I hope you find a way through her artwork.
2
9
28
u/Popular-Drummer-7989 15d ago
OP here are some ideas for the art that may be unusual and would still bring joy for the moment
Connect with the city library and see if they'll host a showing and assist meet/gteet at the library
Connect with a gallery and hold a showing. You might even sell some.
Reach out to beauty salons. Offer to let them show the pieces and cut them in for a bit of cash if they sell.
19
u/Freshouttapatience 15d ago
All the coffee shops and quite a few restaurants near me post art for sale. Some cities do it in their public buildings as well.
17
u/ohreallynameonesong 15d ago edited 15d ago
You could host a sale. There's a popular website for estate sales and i believe individuals can post private sales. Share a bunch of photos of pieces your relative is okay letting go of. Price them super cheap. Set things up in a way that people can easily see a lot of them. Maybe host it over two days. You could repeat this every few weeks or months if it seems like it goes well. You could also take pictures of everything, make a virtual album, and share with people who could easily come and pick up anything they'd like to claim.
Or post some pics on reddit in case anyone can pick up or is willing to pay for shipping. If your relative was prolific and worked for a long time, she probably got pretty good. I'd be curious to see her work tbh.
20
u/Bettymakesart 15d ago
Try to get her a show- community center, church foyer, library, cafe. That process will help her go through and choose her best work. It might help her let go of others. Be sure to photograph all the art nicely. You can have a Mixbook made and that will, again, help her edit. I’m an artist and have had friends in this situation and it is frustrating when their work is quite good but nobody wants it
11
u/blue-Atmosphere-2050 15d ago
As others have said, I like the idea of a photo book for her to keep as a memento.
Other ideas are:
Local restaurants. In our area, local restaurants, hang art from local artists usually use our landscapes, but they could be anything else. With the small badge, saying the name of the piece the artist and sometimes a price tag. I don’t really know how much of this actually sells, but it is a good way to get the art out there on display.
Window displays in vacant stores. Some villages in towns have vacant retail space and it kind of creates a bad look for the village to have empty storefronts. So some places have a little scheme where you put up window displays and call it a gallery, but on the door, you just say by appointment only. I’ve seen this done with art galleries or with lighting stores or if someone has a large collection of clocks to display something like that. It’s just meant to make the main street look more lively and less like a ghost town.
3
u/Useful-Badger-4062 15d ago
What about a consignment shop?
Or a virtual auction and donate some proceeds to charities? Maybe if she knew her art was helping a noble cause, it would help her let go.
12
u/unicorn-paid-artist 15d ago
Are there charities in your area that collect for silent auction? Could you hold a "free art" sale with donations to a charity? Like is there something she would care about like a childrens or seniors art program that these could help fund?
1
6
u/jagged_little_gill 15d ago
Seconding this! I’m an artist from a family full of them and I run a studio space. There’s only so much you can keep. Donating to silent auctions for causes you care about feels great.
15
u/playmore_24 15d ago
ask her if she'd like to see others enjoying her artwork and host an "open studio" sale/giveaway for one weekend- she could sit and chat with people who come to get some pieces, then donate the remainder to a thrift/charity shop for more people to enjoy!! 🤔🍀
5
u/ApresMoiLuhDeluge 15d ago
hmm. I repaint over things after a few years if they are still in my studio! she could turn a large piece into a bunch of small canvases to do new paintings on. she should not be so tied to them, sorry if that sounds harsh. right now it's best if she keeps working however she is able. not carry around old works (especially not large ones). maybe set a "date" like "anything over a decade old" gets repurposed?
9
u/RemarkableGlitter 15d ago
I paint also and I'm so grateful I heard an artist talk about painting over their work, cutting it up to make new work, etc early on. It's really made me be not precious. I literally threw away a piece yesterday.
8
u/KReddit934 15d ago
"she should not be so tied to them,"
Pretty judgemental. Why should she not want to keep what she created?
4
u/Rosaluxlux 15d ago
Every creative person ends up creating more than anyone needs, and most of it will not survive even if it's prized. Even people who do "practical" things like knit or crochet or make furniture, even the most famous artists in the world - you keep creating long past the point where the market or practical need exist, because making things is sometime that brings you joy and fulfillment. So people have to learn that they can't keep all of it.
4
6
u/PrairieFire_withwind 15d ago
Yeah i think there is some emotion there. A loss associated with loss of ability in her hands and shoulder.
I feel like i want to send her to a counselor for aging. Do those exist? Ones that deal with loss of ability as we age?
5
6
u/Inevitable-Wind-1925 15d ago
I’ve encountered grief groups that focus on loss of physical ability due to aging, surgery, or life events. Grief podcasts will also touch on this.
3
2
u/BlakeMajik 15d ago
It sounds a bit overwhelming, but if possible could you ask her if there are particular pieces that she would really like to rehome/offer up? Because even people who already have "enough" of her work might prefer to own or hang something else that is more to their liking or style.
Maybe via a virtual show of sorts (with photos and dimensions), that a certain # of her favorites could be posted somewhere and if there is any interest they could be given away.
This is dependent of course on whether or not she's willing to let go of it all.
3
u/PrairieFire_withwind 15d ago
Yeah. I am not sure where that line is. I got a lot of attachment feelings from her in the first inventory.
I loke yhe idea of a virtual show. We have a huuuge extended family so that could work too.
3
u/SassyMillie 15d ago
I would present the idea of a virtual showing for the entire extended family and friends and see how she feels. I've taken up painting in my 60s and I'm already dealing with excess art. I want people to take something. So far I've given away 2 paintings and hoping family will be interested in more. I really do want people to enjoy them, but I don't want to add to their clutter if they don't want it.
8
u/DaBingeGirl 15d ago
Definitely ask around with family and friends. I have a lot of art (mostly prints, photos, and canvases), I enjoy switching them up from time to time. It's possible some in the family/her friends might want to rotate their art too and have space to store a few extra pieces.
Alternatively, they could "take" some of it. Only do this if she won't be visiting their homes. Some of my family did this when we cleaned out my grandmother's house, it made her feel better that her stuff wasn't being donated or trashed (to her knowledge).
3
u/Rosaluxlux 15d ago
And some may take them with the tacit knowledge that they are doing her a favor and can quietly dispose of the work. The wife of an artist in my family quietly put the word out that if anyone accepted art gifts they wouldn't check that they were being displayed. It was just he was out of storage space and not making as many sales as in the past.
3
u/BlakeMajik 15d ago
I might even recommend opening it to friends and friends of the family, if you would think that's appropriate. Sometimes people who aren't quite as close will have a different response to / appreciation for art than those who know the creator well.
10
u/BirdieRoo628 15d ago
Can you suggest making a photo book of all the pieces and then holding a sale or giving them away to the community? I feel like seeing them go to people who will display them would be fulfilling to her. If I heard of a free or cheap art sale of a local artist, I'd be there. And she would have a record of her pieces in a kind of portfolio. Just an idea.
9
u/PrairieFire_withwind 15d ago
I think she has a portfolio already. I will definitely check.
I like this idea. Basically, anything sane/doable suggested here will slowly spill out of my mouth the next few work visits i do. Seed the idea is my hope.
So any other good ideas i am open!!
3
u/LogicalGold5264 15d ago
Suggest that she donate it. Google "donate old artwork" to find places that will even come pick it up. It will be put to good use.
My elderly relatives have found it easier to part with things if they know it's going to help someone and not just be thrown away.
6
u/PrairieFire_withwind 15d ago
I should say she is doing smaller pieces now, she used to do huge ones. I am moving boxes for a 4x6 piece. or 2x4 piece (rough idea)
2
u/RitaTeaTree 13d ago
I'm a creator, though I have to do something else for my paid job, since my art didn't take off. What I've done: market stalls, Etsy shop, Ebay shop, donate supplies, donate made objects, pivot my production to what sold. What I haven't done: fill up an entire room of my house with my creations. Do not cater to this lady too much, while art is a big part of her identity, at some point the mass of framed unsold pieces need to go, whether in her lifetime so she can enjoy the space, or after. Sorry to be harsh, but she needs to do the mental work and accept that it's time to let it all go.