Artist Trading Cards

My first ATCs, Circle of Life & Reflection. Circle of Life, 2 1/2"X 3 1/2"; ink, newspaper and tissue on printed card stock. Reflection, 1/2"X 3 1/2"; ink and pencil on card stock.
My brief description of Artist Trading Cards: ATCs are miniature works of art meant to be traded and not sold. M. Vänçi Stirnemann is credited as the first artist to hold a trading session (Zurich Switzerland 1997). There are few requirements for creating these cards (*read below). The cards are created in all sorts of art media: fabric, paper, buttons, sewing, ribbons, paint, ink, rubber stamping, found objects etc. They are traded during sessions held internationally. The first international trading session on record was held in Calgary, Canada which included 80 artists from 10 different countries.

Yesterday I introduced the Artist Trading Card lesson in class. Most students were ready to dive in before they had ideas to put on the cards. Students will create two to three cards based on teacher chosen themes and then we will hold a trading session for students to swap cards. (For this lesson they are required to trade a minimum of 1 card however these rules are up to the teacher). I will post the students work once it becomes available and will include a short description of the lesson.


Close up examples of the two cards shown above.

You can read a brief history of artist trading cards on wikipedia or HERE.
I got some great ATC stuff at European Papers. I bought the stamp for the back of the cards as well as sleeves which arrived super fast and they sent a sweet gift in the package.
Some really great examples can be found all over the internet: CLICK HERE!!
I've been wanting to buy this book but if you know of a better ATC book then please share the name of it. I am trying to collect more class material for this project because I am positive I will use this lesson once I have my own classroom. I will share the student's finished cards as we work on these.

*Minimum requirements for ATCs: Cards must be 2 1/2" x 3 1/2", you must sign and date the back and the card must be thin enough to fit in a baseball card sleeve. Lastly, artist trading cards are traded and never sold!!