Many years ago, my mom decided she wanted to try and see if she could paint. She was a big fan of the hippie on cable tv that painted "happy little trees" and such. So she got her supplies and produced exactly one painting, before deciding that it was ugly and that she had no artistic talent. Actually, my dad and I thought she did ok for her first try but she would have none of it. The painting sat in the back of her closet, covered in old clothes.
When she died, it was one of a few things that I really wanted because, like others have mentioned, it was something that was created with her own hands. I didn't think I would ever display it, but I didn't want it thrown away. It sat in my closet for many years until one day when Matthew saw it and asked me about it. I told him the story and a few days later, he bought me a frame for it and for the first time ever, it was displayed for others to see. Surprisingly, there have been some positive comments about it over the years from people who have no idea who it was painted by. I can't help but smile when that happens.
But realistically, to anyone who knows art, it is probably seen as a piece of crap. Still, it is priceless to me and I will continue to display it regardless of its artistic merit. It could have so easily been discarded and within a short time, I probably would have forgotten about it completely. Instead, it is one of the few tangible reminders that I have of her existence and I'm pretty thankful that I kept it.
Now, as far as you are concerned, CP, you may never want to display any these items as I've done. Nothing wrong with that whatsoever. I would ask you to consider the underlying value of them however. Some day, you might just get a little joy from digging one of these out of a box and taking a trip down memory lane. At that time, I suspect that they might even look a little less ugly to you.
