Artist Trading Cards

Tina Whiteley, Textiles Group Joint Coordinator

Jillian Schneider from The Peninsula Arts Friday textile group has got us busy making Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) in recent weeks.

ATCs are small works of art that you can trade with another artist. You add your own details to the back of the ATCs, along with a brief description of the technique and media used, thereby learning through sharing.

Tina Whiteley - Artist Trading Card, marbled and foiled

Tina Whiteley – Artist Trading Card, marbled and foiled

ATCs took off in the late 1990s, and have developed into a popular but serious art form, even featuring in art exhibitions. There are avid ATC collectors out there too.

These cards may be only small in size (2.5 × 3.5 inches or 64 × 89 mm) but the potential for creating all sorts of art projects with them is huge.

Any medium can be used, including drawing painting, printing, collage, stitching, decoupage appliqué and more. Work to a theme or be spontaneous – it’s up to you! You can use anything as a mounting or background substrate.

For textile artists ATCs are a great way to use up scraps of fabrics and threads and try out new techniques or sample ideas before starting a larger project.

  • Artist trading cards, one with felting and threads in bright colours, the other a leaf on blue background
  • Artist trading card featuring embroidered flower spray on a green mesh background
  • Artist trading card with a yellow flower on a multicoloured background in blues, greens and purples
  • Multilayered fabric flower in pinks and blues on a blue background
  • Artist trading cards featuring butterflies
  • Artist trading card featuring an embroidered garden scene
  • Artist trading card with brightly coloured fabric textures in pinks, oranges and yellows
  • Artist trading card featuring a mauve flower on yellow green dyed background
  • Artist trading cards featuring a cartoon drawing of a lady in a large hat with textured background, and a brightly coloured abstract ink painting
  • Artist trading card featuring fabric owl
  • Artist trading card featuring red fabric flower on green background

ATC creativity from our textile artists!

ACTs offer a very personal way to interact and keep in touch during these times of social distancing, to let us all know that we are thinking of each other. What better way for artists to celebrate their friendship than to send and receive artworks in the post that have been hand-made by well washed hands!

Tina Whiteley - Artist Trading Card, eco-dyed

Jillian Schneider – Artist Trading Card, eco-dyed

Tina’s website features a wealth of ideas for creating textile artworks.