art wall

Jess and I had piles of art sitting around the apartment with seemingly not enough wall space to properly display it all. Then we realized this was not true. Instead of one or two pieces of art per room, we decided to cover one wall floor-to-ceiling in a collage of art.

The Walker currently has an exhibit, Benches and Binoculars, displayed in a similar fashion, referencing 19th and early-20th century salon-style installations.

The first step to creating an art wall is simply deciding which pieces to include. With the help of friends and cats, the floor was sectioned off in the same dimensions as the wall. We then played a gravity-free version of tetris with the various prints, making sure to have a even spread of size and color.Next, we painted the wall a deep gray, a color that would compliment the art. Possibly the hardest task was finding inexpensive frames for all the non-standard prints.

Finally, an art wall! Most of the pieces are done by local artists, a lot of gig posters as well as purchases from the annual MCAD Art Sale. Some of the prints are by pal Paul Gardner, and some are from other friends' rock shows.

To create a variety of depth and texture we included a few non-traditional art pieces, including a spray painted Minnesota-shaped basket (thrift store find) and Jess's Where the Wild Things Are toilet-paper-roll craft project.

I also filled an IKEA spice rack with gradients of paint and a Lego Indiana Jones. Just because. And to round things off, I used a shadowbox frame for an unfinished sweater from my childhood, which is topped by little robots.

Art walls: attractive, practical and meaningful!