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.

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.