With Mother’s Day coming up this weekend, one thing is for certain: there’s new art coming from my son. Something pasted on another thing with random crayon scribbles, I’m guessing.

I kind of know this because his daycare asked me for photos of us together. They know just how to add a little mystery to my life.

And don’t get me wrong, as the art director for CBC Kids and a new mom, I love everything he brings home. Kids finding any kind of artistic expression feels like a win to me. 

It’s just that it’s a win that has also become a bit of a problem for me. Because how do you decide what to keep, toss or donate? And which gallery is going to hang these things? 

My name is Michelle Runowski, and together with CBC Kids senior designer Sharon Gardener, we’re responsible for the overall branding and artistic decisions for places you and your kids might frequent. That’s places like the CBC Kids morning block on TV, CBC Gem and YouTube, CBCKids.ca and — along with senior designer Philip Street — CBC Kids News. 

Part of what we do is pick colours, design adorable images and choose fonts. We want to make decisions that feel authentic to the kids of all ages we represent. And having Canadian kids feel seen in some way is not just a major win for us, but a big W for parenting.  

I think we’ve been successful at our work and I’m proud of the spaces we’ve made for kids, but if I can be honest with you — I am kind of struggling with this art chaos at home. 

I’m biased, my son is Picasso. My boy is the greatest artist to ever have lived, said every parent ever. And I’m all for his early love of art. 

But eventually my house is going to turn into a museum of popsicle stick art, glitter landscapes and various drawings I think are meant to resemble our beautiful family. 

So, I’ve really had to buckle down and think about this. What is art? What makes art good?

For me, I can toss pieces like the pot of soil with a stick in it. The soil can be reused, the pot can be recycled and so can the stick. But then there are archival pieces, objects that denote milestones, like any piece with my kid’s handprints as he grows so fast. I can’t part with anything like that. 

I always hear stories about aesthetic parents who eventually abandon having style, because no matter what, there’s always going to be a trail of footprints, Lego or crumbs everywhere, every day. So, what’s the point? Throw a bunch of assorted furniture in a room to get dirty and call it a day.

But I see things a little differently. (Although I definitely think some furniture that can stand wear and tear is essential.) 

While I haven’t really been able to part with any of his masterpieces just yet, I have this system and I’m eventually going to need to be less romantic. I’m going to have to purge. Archival pieces stay, everything else can go. (With some margin for error, cause, hey, I’m a mom.) 

Because my kid is passionate. You can see it as he attacks a blank piece of paper. There’s a young artist emerging, and the master at work needs an outlet. And that means plenty of future art to come. 

Currently, he’s learning how to develop fine motor skills, but eventually, the art will tell a story. It will have his point of view, which I am the most excited to see. Will he draw beautiful pictures of sunsets, or a house on fire? Only time will tell. 

Until that day, I’ll make some tough decisions. But an easy choice, from me to you, is to get an erasable white board. You can make that your kid’s sheet of paper at home, and then take photos of their work. 

Reset it with a wipe, but with a digital album in hand, you won’t forget it. Maybe I’m not so bad at this parenting thing after all.