Artist Trading Cards

Artist Trading Cards (or ATCs) are miniature works of art about the same size as modern baseball cards, or 2 ½ X 3 ½ inches (63 mm X 89 mm), small enough to fit inside standard card-collector pockets, sleeves or sheets. The ATC movement developed out of the mail art movement and has its origins in Switzerland. Cards are produced in various media, including dry media (pencils, pens, markers, etc.), wet media (watercolor, acrylic paints, etc.), paper media (in the form of collage, papercuts, found objects, etc.) or even metals or cloth. The cards are usually traded or exchanged rather than sold.         [wikipedia]

That's the definition of an ATC, and I think they are just the coolest. Mainly because I love all things tiny. I also love the artist community, and zine swaps, print trades, drawing clubs, and collaborative works have been part of my work as an artist since college. [Printmakers, with their ability to make a zillion of the same thing, are notorious traders, collaborators, and scavengers. We were a pretty close-knit group in college].

JoAnn's Fabrics also sells little tiny frames that are perfect for ATC's. So adorable.

So we had a visit from a very special guest (that'll be a post later) who introduced the class to ATC's and promised that for every one she received, she would return a piece of artwork to them. I think that everyone completed an ATC, and they're being mailed out today!

I have spent 9 weeks constantly amazed at everyone's different styles and thought processes, and how we all start with the same prompt or the same material (or in this case, the same tiny card) and get such hugely different results. And how cool they are to look at all together!

Here is a sampling of the class' ATC's... and a sneak preview for our special guest!