ATC (Finally my 1st...and 2nd..and 3rd....)

Oh wow, I have to mention, one of my ATC's has been featured in Webchyck's World Blog as a great example of working with 2.5" x 3.5" canvas. Thank you Becky for making my day! Go on and click on her blog to check her post and at the same time get to see all the wonderful ATC's made by the wonderful ladies at scrapbookgraphics.com.

I never thought I would like it because I thought the canvas was too small and what was I to do with trading cards? But I have discovered a huge liking to creating ATC's (Artists Trading Cards), it's quite liberating! ATC's are cards created on a 2.5" x 3.5" canvas, usually watercolor paper, cardstock, or illustration board. Any medium is allowed on trading cards. Some examples of mediums that other artists have used are crayon, wax reserve, collage, gel pens, concrete transfers, watercolor, colored pencil, and pencil sketchings etc. The new breed of artists create using digital media, and some even marry both styles, embellishing their printed work.

I'm not yet too familiar with the whole process of trading or even printing (I work digitally), but what I find joy in is in creating these unique pieces that evoke the ramblings of my soul, little whimsys, fantasies, oddities that I find so fascinating.

There always has been this part of me so in love with fairy tales, dragons, mythical creatures, gypsy like lives, traveling to distant lands, and stories of new or parallel dimensions Books that have shaped my ongoing hunger for this type of literature have been CS Lewis (I grew up reading the Narnia Chronicles), Madeline L'Engle, Tolkien. Then there were was this particular book on Gnomes that was wonderfully illustrated that I so loved. Of course, we had the whole big box of Dr. Seuss books to devour. Shel Silverstein. The Little Prince....and as I grew older, stuff like the Griffin & Sabine Trilogy or any of Nick Bantock's books and others in that genre (I could go on and on - that's another love affair I have, BOOKS!) Anyway, what I'm trying to get at is that, I believe all these have root in my imagination and which is why I love Altered Art so much. It feels like I can create anything I want and it will be all right. I feel at home doing this type of art. And viewing all the other artists works out there gives me so much inspiration. It is, to me, a journey of the soul.

I'd like to share with you some ATC's I've created, I have also posted them at my gallery at Scrapbookgraphics.com.






I hope these have inspired you...either to look inside yourself because a certain quote has called out to you or maybe to create your own. I would love to see your art, link me up!