About the Archives

What is the Always an Artist Archive?

Art is important at every stage of life, not just when you get "good." This archive was created to show the importance of childhood art, and how significant it can be for those who identify as a lifelong artist.

Hopefully, this archive inspires older artists to keep their childhood art safe, and for younger artists to keep going and to have fun with their artwork.

This is a purely digital archives that houses scans or photographs of artwork made by artists over 18 that was created when they were 2 to 13 years old.

Eventually this site will be remade on Omeka with enhanced metadata, descriptions, and search options.

This archive was created as a final project for Intro to Archives, apart of the Library and Information Sciences Masters Program at University of Mississippi.

Anatomy of an average Always An Artist Piece

All Artwork can be found on the Collection page, and are arranged by when they were originally submitted!

Year of Creation: This is the year that the artwork was created. Some submissions have ranges (example: 2010-2011) as the artist doesn't know the exact year, and on the rare occasion, there will be a full date!

Age at Creation: This is the age the artist was when the artwork was created! Sometimes there are ranges (Example: 12-13), but most pieces will feature exact dates.

Size: This is the size of the piece. Usually this is in inches (in) or centimeters (cm), but these numbers may not always be accurate or present.

Artwork Tags: These indicate mediums used (what did they use to create the piece), if its 2D or 3D, and if its fanart or not.

History Behind the Artwork: The artist provides any information on what the piece is about, why it was created, and why it has some significance to them. They can write as much as they want. This section has been altered to be in third person.

About the Artist: The artist provides information on who they are, if they are a hobbyist or professional, why they love art, what they love to make, and such information. They can write as much as they want for this section. This section has been altered to be in third person.

Link to Current Artwork: The artist provides a link to a place online where they share their current art. This can be a portfolio site, instagram, tumblr, twitter, or any where they feel that reflects their current art the best.

Possible Research uses

This archive can be used to research:

Child Development, especially artistic development
Childhood fanart and fandoms
Internet culture/Subcultures and fandoms, especially in the 2000s-2010s
How the internet affects childhood art and development
Comparing Adult Artists' work with their childhood art
Common trends and stylistic choices by year or age

If you use our archive for research, make sure to send it to us at jen.rust.2017@gmail.com

Me at 11 years old with art I showcased at a local art league art show

About the Archivist

Hello, I'm Jenn Rust and I am the sole archivist for this archive. This project is for my Intro to Archive Final for my masters, but I'm really passionate about it. I've kept my old artwork and sketchbooks from middle school under my bed in two tubs for years, and love flipping through it all. I'm very fortunate to still have most of my old artwork too, as I understand it is a privilege to have so much of it still.

I'm an artist because I just physical feel like I need to draw, but also because it's one of the ways I express myself. I'm both an artist and an archivist because I'm a storyteller! There are stories to be told through art even if its your sonic oc from the eleventh grade or a tiny blob sculpture you made in art class in third grade--and I love being apart of telling that story.

I decided upon childhood artwork of artists because of my own collection of old art, but also because I truly think it's a fun idea to have a bunch of adult artists share some of their old art online. While creating this archive, I discovered the beauty of art and the real fun that children have with art. I hope the artists who have submitted and those viewing the archives will discover the same thing!

I also work with children at my day job so I see them currently drawing the same way I did as that same age. I think it's really important for younger generations of artists to see that while their artwork may not be Picassos or comic book cover ready, that all their silly, fun drawings are leading them up to that point--as long as they keep up with that same passion and love for art.

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