Artist Trading Cards

There's this art form called Artist Trading Cards, or ATC. It's a special small format of art, 2.5" x 3.5", and it's one of the new craft things.

Honestly, I prefer my arts and crafts much more arts than crafts. I like drawings and original art far more than rubber-stamped and scrapbooked stuff. I really wish that people weren't so intimidated by drawing, but that's not something I can change for everyone. I do try to make drawing feel accessible to my students. Maybe it's working, I'm not sure.

I found this great site about ATC's today, called Art in Your Pocket: ATCs. It's got some great ideas for making them. Then, you have to trade them. It surprised me to learn that many groups exist for this artform, and they arrange face-to-face swaps or do them by mail.

I just spent the last two hours on my computer trying to make a self-portrait series of ATCs using the helpful PSD download from Art in Your Pocket: ATCs. It's fun, but too time consuming. My computer art teacher told me that for every hour you think it's going to take you to design something on the computer, it takes three actual hours. She was so right.

Tomorrow I'll make some physical ones. I might be able to do that a little more quickly. But, maybe not.