Artist Trading Cards- Little pocket size pieces of art. Small enough to carry around, big enough to fill your heart. Each ATC (Artist Trading Card) measures 2.5X 3.5 inch or 64 X 89 mm card stock.
The original intent is to trade them, not sell, and swap them with other artists. Recent ATCs have been sold on Ebay
ATC at left was made by Alice McKinney in Australia
Contents at a Glance
ATC Primer
In other words, what is an ATC and how do I get one?
ARTIST TRADING CARDS (ATCs) are mini works of art that measure 2 ½ X 3 ½ inches (64 X 89mm).The original idea is that ATCs would be traded, and not sold, either by swapping or at ATC trading sessions.
Many purists state that ATC's should never be sold, so a new genre of mini-art has been created the ACEO. But true ATCs should be about the trade, getting a tiny art work that is original and unique, just as is its creator.
All types of media are used in Artist Trading Cards, from paper to metal, glass to mica, just as art is open for interpretation, so are ATCs. The only limits on an ATC is the size and the prohibition on sales.
Links
- The Karmic Fish
- An ATC mail art call hosted by L.S. King
- Ed's Artist Trading Cards
- A catalogue of cards created by Ed Beals with information, links and description of ATCs and trading sessions.
- Kudsu ATC Gallery
- A selection of artist trading cards from the Kudsu ATC Gallery.
- Artist Trading Cards: A Collaborative Cultural Peformance
- The original ATC site in Switzerland with archives, exhibits, examples and history of the art form.
- Art in your Pocket: ATCs
- Joumana Medlej's primer and an idea bank for those who wonder what an ATC is and how to make one.
- Empress Dragon Arts ATC Gallery
- An ATC Gallery with information, examples and a template for creating your own artist trading cards.
- Lynn Dewart's Artist Trading Cards
- A large gallery of trading cards made by San Diego artist Lynn Dewart.
- Stray Cards
- Australian based artists host a traveling ATC exhibit of cards donated from around the world.
- Dentan Art ATCs
- A slideshow gallery of cards consisting of themed topics created using mixed media techniques.
- HiNgE Online Artist Trading Cards
- Web site providing information about ATCs and trading sessions in the Philadelphia area.
- Palimpsestic Cards
- Gallery and description of collage trading cards.
- BistroSinistro Match Cards
- Artist trading cards and game by Artist Ed Stastny.
- The New Gallery
- History, links and trading sessions in Calgary, Canada.
- Templates from Mirkwood Designs
- Download and print templates for artist trading cards, envelopes for ATCs and art-related projects.
- Meetup.com: Artist Trading Cards
- A forum where you can meet with other ATC collectors and creators in your town and share collectible art cards.
- Aztek721's Artist Trading Card Page
- The squiggly art cards of Karen Gorrell.
- The Alternate Limits
- Mahalah's art trading cards with info on swaps and meetups in the San Antonio, Texas area.
- Haptotrope Artist Trading Cards
- A gallery of ATCs and altered playing cards.
- Emu's Zine Artist Trading Cards
- An article from Emu zine with history, artist statements and examples of artist trading cards made with emu feathers.
- Hilery's Altered Art
- Gallery of artist trading cards and altered art.
- Mozoprimo
- Artist Trading Cards by Dutch artist Mozoprimo including collages of fish, manikins, found objects and camels with candles.
- Paula's UK Art House
- The Art of Paula Scinto includes artist trading cards, altered books and mixed media.
- Flickr: Artist Trading Cards
- A Flickr group dedicated to discussing and displaying their art cards.
- Art Card WebRing
- A group of web sites dedicated to discussing, sharing or promoting ATCs (artist trading cards).
- Wildspiritarts
- Great blog of ATCs and artwork from Spiralli of California.
- Lisa Shea's Origami Artist Trading Cards
- Artist trading cards on the theme of origami by Lisa Shea.
- John Paul II Trading Cards
- A project devoted to creating Artist trading cards that are Mini-Scrapbook memorials for the late Pope John Paul II.
- Artist Trading Card Forums
- A dedicated discussion board for ATCs enthusiasts. Meet and trade with great people who share a similar interest. Features forums, artist galleries and chatrooms.
- ATC Society
- Sharon Zimmerman's ATC pages with swaps, resources, an artist trading card gallery and zine.
- Junque ATCs
- A fine collection of artist trading cards from Mandy Jordan of Rhode Island.
- Hidden Art Trail
- A new innovative way to swap ATCs. Maxine Church hides her art and challenges you to find it.
Books on Artist Trading Cards and Collage
Need more inspiration? Check out these books.
Mini-Art to Buy
Great opportunities to get some art cards and other art from some great artists.
Featured Lens on ATCs
Who else on Squidoo is in the know?
Some great lens on ATCs and ACEOs.
- Art Cards by Monica Moody
- Probably one of the better ATC sites.
- Favorite ATCs by Monica Moody
- Monica's brand new lens on ATC art
- ATC
- This is the highest ranking lens on ATC at the time of posting. GREAT lists!
- Beeswax Collage
- One of Lisa Vollrath's Lenses, a great introduction on using Bees Wax as part of your artistic mediums.
by KristyHarris
KristyHarris
I am a lawyer practicing international commercial law for a fortune 200 Company while living in Singapore. My passions include scrapbooking and paper... more »
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- Winner of 2 trophies!
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