When I was a child I was told by more than one trusted and admired adult in my life that I was not good at drawing/painting/visual arts in general. I had two sisters and I was “the writer.” I never really minded this, but I also didn’t realize how much it had limited me.
First of all, I went through 16 years of school and never took an art class where you actually had to draw or paint. In middle school I took photography, in high school I got out of art through an “academic overload” clause and in college I fulfilled my art credit with Art History. It’s something I regret a lot now that I know how much I truly enjoy painting. It’s the one thing in my life I do for pure enjoyment; no means to an end, just means.
Recently, I discovered the Artist Trading Card movement. Here’s the explanation from the Strathmore Artist Trading Card section:
In 1997, M. Vanci Stirnemann, a Swiss artist, created 1200 cards by hand as part of an exhibit. On the last day, he invited others to create their own cards and trade with him during the closing reception. The movement took off, and today, there are ATC swaps in almost every major city around the world. There are also many online swaps.
I liked the idea of creating on such a small medium and the idea of collecting small pieces of art from all over the world appealed to me even more. However, I haven’t really organized my art supplies since I moved so I haven’t been painting.
Yesterday I was near my favorite art store and decided I had to stop in. It turns out they do regular ATC shows and are having one on my birthday. It seemed like a sign so I decided to pick up some ATC-sized paper (you can cut your own, but it wasn’t expensive to buy it pre-cut) and put together some miniatures.
If you’re interested in art as an artist or a collector, I highly recommend you look into Artist Trading Cards. It is a fun hobby and a great way to get a lot of cool, original art. For resources on ATC, check out the ATC section of my personal directory: Artist Trading Cards.
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