Updating the Butterfly Wall

When my friend came over in April to her me hang my hallway art, it sparked a bit of a spring cleaning. Invariably, when my butterfly wall was completed the first time, I started getting more butterfly art.

Some pieces gathered dust for two years. Then I received Lauren Levato Coyne’s gorgeous “watermelon butterfly” for my birthday. I love that name even though she later corrected it to the common species name of pink forester.  I will have to pick up a watermelon just for kicks now.

Anyway, I had visited Michaels to look for an appropriate shadowbox a while back, and finally decided to put this beauty in its space, which meant rearranging the whole wall for my new additions.

I had also picked up a poster from Cultivate Urban Rainforest that I had been eyeing for a while, and knew the perfect spot for it. The Blue Morpho came from my brother and had to be hung on a traditional nail. The Monarchs by Lauren are what drew me to her in the first place. She was working on those before we first met, and then made it available to me after I had been coveting it for years (and it surprisingly didn’t sell in galleries).

I did a lot of step-ups and step-downs from my ladder to measure the fishing line length, hang, adjust, and rehang each frame. It was fun to see it all come together though, and to have the collection take on a new look with the additions.

I always knew the narrow wall would get art eventually. The big wall contains vintage prints, my own drawings, butterflies I pinned from various orders and local collection, 3 works by Lauren Levato Coyne, a collage by Crystal Neubauer, stitched work by Danny Mansmith and a Kelly Rae Roberts original.

The narrow wall contains a gift from a friend, the buckeyes I raised and pinned, 2 drawings by Lauren Levato Coyne, an encaustic collage by Bridgette Guerzon Mills, exotic butterflies gifted from my brother, and a peacock butterfly. So now my collection is truly full, since I am out of wall space. It is fun to lean back and admire the collection. The play of light throughout the day is fascinating. Soon leaves on the tree next door will create less sparkly effects though.

I love how the Morpho shimmers amongst its friends.

Remember, art doesn’t have to “match”, and all art that speaks to you goes with your decor. So get to your frame shop and start figuring out how to display your special collection. If you feel overwhelmed, frame stores can also connect you with professional wall hangers.