An Ikea Hack for Displaying Pastel Paintings

'Reach to the Sun'           8x6           pastel           ©Karen Margulis

What do you do with all of your unfinished paintings? I have a multi step approach to painting storage and the first step is courtesy of IKEA. Many artists like to keep finished paintings around the studio before framing and storing so they can evaluate them with fresh eyes. This is a challenge with pastels because they need to be protected so leaving them sitting around the studio is inviting damage (especially when you have curious cats & dogs) So I discovered a great way to keep paintings in view but up and out of the way. It is a wire curtain line from IKEA.

My Hanging System courtesy of IKEA

This curtain wire is easily attached to the wall on two sides and mine stretches 12 feet. It comes with clips that hook onto the wire so it is simple to clip your painting and hang it on the wire. Extra hooks are available. I find I can hang about 30 paintings 11x14 or smaller...perfect for a month's work. Having them hanging all month gives me a chance to revisit them and make changes as I see fit. Looking at a month's allows me to see what I am pleased with and what I want to work on. At the end of the month I take them all down and file them away in boxes. I am now ready to start the new month. I find it helpful to keep my current work handy and in view. 

This wire is available at Ikea stores. It is called a DEKA Curtain wire and it includes clips. Here is the link for the curtain wire from the Ikea website.https://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/categories/departments/living_room/18894/