Fun Stuff

Today I had a great time attending a workshop at the Arts Castle in Delaware, Ohio. This workshop, taught by Lisa Ohmer of European Papers, was about Artist Trading Cards.

Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) are a relatively new phenomena that started in Switzerland and has spread globally in popularity. An inspired evolution of sports trading cards, ATCs give artists a chance to experiment and share their work in a miniature format (2 1/2" x 3 1/2" - the size of a baseball card). They can be created with any kind of medium imaginable - paper, fabric, wood, clay, metal.

One of the principles behind ATCs is that they should not be sold. They are for trading and sharing with other artists. If you see an ATC that you like, you create your own and send it to the artist and ask for a trade. Sooner or later, you will receive an original creation in return!

At the workshop today, we learned about the history of ATCs and practiced several different techniques for creating ATCs. I was able to create 6 ATCs in the course of the 3 hour workshop.
What an amazing opportunity to create art with all manner of possibilities! The size of the ATC makes it unintimidating and quick to produce. The results and reactions from the ATC can be much bigger than the actual dimensions of the piece.

The Arts Castle is currently hosting an ATC exhibit called "Playing with a Full Deck" that showcases ATCs made on playing cards.