Two years ago, our school added a new multi-purpose room to their campus. Like many Southern California schools, we don’t have gymnasiums. Some schools have small lunchrooms and most have some sort of multi-purpose room, but ours was tiny. So we were able to build a brand new structure to house school plays, PTA meetings, gym class and art shows.
Only problem? No ceiling wires in which to hang student art. I use to drape long sheets of paper over these “wires” (the student artwork was stapled to these long sheets). Now, we just have three walls. So when I went Google searching for some creative solutions, I found this blog: The Craft Junkie. If you scroll down the page, you’ll notice some pretty cool looking displays on wheels. I emailed this picture to my handy-dandy buddy, Mario and within a couple of days, we had this:
Pretty cool, huh? The panels are hollow pocket doors which weigh practically nothing. We hinged two doors together and screwed in wheels. Now I have three lightweight, portable display boards for the center of the MPR. If you’re like me and want to know how many pieces of art I can display, I estimated about 120 pieces. Yippee! And all for under $200!
The art show is in 3 weeks…stay tuned!
Interesting solution. What are the “hollow pocket doors” made from ? How do you hang on them? Staples? Tape?
I have a penchant for big art, so panels this size are sometimes a problem for me, as I like more width. Check out my blog in another week or so, as my art show is next Tuesday, and I’ll be showing off my brand new display flats made by our awesome technology teacher and his pre-vocational students. No wheels though; that would have been a nice touch.
If you go to a big box home store, you will find doors for sale. There are many types, but the ones I chose are pocket doors (meant to slide into walls), are 36″ wide and are hollow. In other words, not solid wood (which would make them heavy and dangerous if they fell over). The ones I selected were primed as well.
I plan to staple the art work onto sheets of paper and then staple the sheets of paper to the display boards. I still have 3 large walls mind you, so I only needed displays for the center of my room. I have over 400 pieces of art to mount and many are big (like yours!)
You might want to try screwing 1/2″ thick (or even thicker) sheets of large rigid foam insulation onto the door. You can then affix the artwork using push pins instead of staples. It might be tricky to get the staples into those doors. When you have too many pin holes from the push-pins you can just unscrew the foam insulation and put on a new piece. Some come with a foil backing which can be easily painted. Just a thought.
Excellent idea. I agree, stapling the artwork to the board would be tough. My intention was to use a staple gun and staple only the top of a large sheet of paper, which actually works fine. After the art show is over, I tear off the paper (with the artwork still attached) and give to the teachers.
I like your idea though. I’ll check out the insulation board.
Thanks!
Patty, I love your idea but thought I’d share how we display our county wide show. The panels could be covered with burlap or felt and we put velcro dots on the back of the work. Easy peasy display and can be rearranged as you work. Also the pieces come off without damaging the boards each year. I know you have little time, but you could try it on a small scale and think about it for next year.
Great idea! Where do you buy the velcro dots? Can you pluck them off the art work when the show is over?
OR you could purchase picture rail moulding and attach it to the top of the doors, then use the specialty S-hooks with fish line to hang framed work.
Out of curiosity why do SoCal schools not have gymnasiums?
The kids do PE/gym class outside. No need for indoor gymnasiums. High Schools in our area (Santa Barbara) have gyms (for sports events) but most elementary and Junior High School’s don’t.
Patty if you can get at a later date fabric called front runner – you can then velcro on the art works. All you need to do then is use contact cement and glue on the front runner. Just like professional boards.
Cheers Cheryl
Hi Patty, I’m a professional artist and would like to adapt this system for hanging canvases. Hmmm any ideas how I might attach canvases? Fishing line suspension maybe? Thanks for all tremendous help and downloadable lesson plans too.
I’d just pound a nail through the panels!
One of the junior high teachers in a neighboring school district took the masonite peg board (you know, the kind with the little holes in it for hanging tools) and built a frame around each large piece with 2x4s. She hinged them together in an accordion style and then used bolts and nuts through the holes to hang artwork that was framed. It looked so phenomenal and I thought it was very innovative.
Does anyone have a suggestion for a display panel that’s lightweight (for one person to carry) and will fit into the back of an SUV? It can’t be more than 5′ tall, OR something that can be deconstructed for travel, then assembled at the show. I need about 9′ to 10′ in total width, can be hinged or not.
Thanks.
Thank you so much for this idea! I’m going to make these to display my students’ work. I think I’m going to attach strips of cork, so we can use push pins and so they are lined up nicely.
Cork: genius!