On self-portrait day, we would be given colored pencils or paints, an old used frame, and several pieces of art paper that fit our frame. We would also get a handheld mirror so that we could see ourselves as we drew our self-portraits. Often times it would take several attempts of drawing and painting to get the “right one” to frame. However, once chosen, we would then go about decorating the frame.
Decorating the frame was particularly fun for us, because my mother would provide small objects relating to something we liked to glue onto the frame. For one sister it was butterflies, for another, ponies, and for me, always teddy bears. Once the entire project was completed, we would hang our pictures (under the strict guidance of my mother) around our house.
It is very interesting looking back at many of the self-portraits that my mother saved throughout the years. You can spot happy days or not so happy days in the simple artwork of a child. My sisters and I cherish these small gifts from our childhood and still have them hanging, but now on the walls of our own homes.
