Drying Art Work

[Ruthierhyme]

For the first time ever this morning I used the hairdryer to dry out the PVA glue on some art work felt very guilty !!! but it reminded me how the 'turn around/ take home of crafts depending on when they dried ~ we had an ordinary tiered drying rack !

Does anyone use a heat airer or similar to dry things out quicker ?

we have the traditional tiered drying rack, but have "warm blow air "heating so stand the rack under on of these, there are units on the wall.

but- we also advise the paretns that some craft will still be wet so they should bring a carrier bag with the to take it home. we have no storage for wet craft so can keep it for them. some moan, but most are ok
but i think you always get some that moan! whatever you do

This will always be a problem, won't it? We too have a rack thing but the racks are so close together things don't always dry very well. We try to dry stuff outside as well (pegged on to the fence). Sometimes things are just too wet or sticky so we will keep them until the next day but this isn't ideal because if something is fresh in the child's mind, hopefully they can talk to parents about what they made or painted.

3D models are a particular problem so we try to have carrier bags available to put them in. How many times have we seen a child make a wonderful creation from "junk" only to see it end up in a million pieces before they get to the front door at home time?!?!?!?!

i just love the looks on the parents faces!!

ugh springs to most of thier minds, so we "help" thier child use more glue and glitter next time!!!! they will never appreicate creativity

[Ruthierhyme]

LOL Sarah ... you're giving away top secrets !!!! It always makes my heart sink when Parents scowl at art work :ziplip:

i agree, all they seem to think about this thier wonderful clean car!!!

maybe they should walk!! but that is a different niggle of mine!

I accept that my kids come home with dollops of wet PVA daubed rice crispy boxes that can take up to two days to dry on a radiator. I don't think that drying with an air dryer is good, it wastes energy, takes time and isn't very eco friendly.

I think that most parents would forget to bring in a plastic bag so why not ask for donations of used carriers and have them stored? This way if you do have a sticky model or picture you can put it in the bag, saves the children getting covered, the car/pushchair or whatever.

Anne

sorry - we only use the air driers when the heating is on int he hall anyway. we have been known to pop the bits outside on a sunny day before now

[Narnia]

i have HUGE fireguards over my wallheaters, so in the winter, i pop paintings/stickings/models on top to dry..................It's an extra use of the heater, saves time and is eco friendly too!!

[Ruthierhyme]

Yes, we used the huge fireguards over our radiators .. the drips and runs are probably still embeded on them ..

I'm not sure carrier bags would be a solution though (apart from the children not being allowed to handle plastic bags themselves !!) ~ the coordinating of small bodies/hats, coats, newletters, other art work, plus the normal after session chats with parents would probably end up with everything being dropped forgotten & trampled on (OOo I'm having flash backs LOL !!)

Utillising any heat generator that's already in use, is a good way to make sure sticky work dries as thoroughly as possible before heading home.