Artist trading cards...
Stephanie approached me after class and simply asked if I wanted to join in creating a set of cards to swap with fellow classmates from both art schools. She said it was voluntary of course, and they could be anything I wanted, just she needed them in about a month or so. I was embarrassed to admit I had no idea what the concept of artist trading cards was. Okay Google!
Initiated as a conceptual art project in 1997, it is called Collaborative Cultural Performance by creator M. Vänçi Stirnemann, an artist from Switzerland. Artist trading cards, or ATCs, are 2.5" by 3.5", the same size as a baseball trading card. Left up to the discretion of the artist, they are self-made unique works or a cohesive series, all signed and dated on the reverse, collected and exchanged among participants in the collaboration.
We were each given a set of sixteen blank ivory cards to create whatever we desired. In an effort to unify with ease of production, I used portraits from the last two photo shoots with Brenna since it proved manageable to select several images keeping a theme. While I would have loved to actually watercolor each one, the trusted Portra app on my smart phone did the work and converted all sixteen into beautiful splashes of color I then sized and printed to fit.
Of course, that wasn't all. Before gluing the images, I printed a subtle allover script in different shades to layer first as a background for each card. My love of raw handmade paper coaxed me to gently rip the edges of each watercolor image for effect before gluing them atop the scripts.
Each card received careful attention as I thought about the image and hand wrote a characterizing attribute. Patience, creative, curious were just a few words, and it was easy to define distinction within the series imagined.
With a felt-tip marker brushed along the edges and rubbed-on silver metallic leaves, my set was ready to become a part of our combined collaborative effort. My lampwork teacher seemed very pleased when I handed the bundle to her. A little something showcasing individual creative expression and spirit was evident in our original artist trading cards... xoxo-Sonya
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