Artist Trading Cards What are they? Cards Made by Artists For Artists

What are they made out of? ANYTHING!!! Artist Trading cards can be made from any medium imaginable, from computer generated art to found object assemblages. If you can think of it You can make it.

What are they used for? TRADING (of course) It is a way for artists to share their art with other artists. They should never be sold. If you get too many donate them to a museum or give them to another artist.

How did they get started? It all started back in 1996, in Zürich, Switzerland. The artist M. Vänçi Stirnemann, created 1000 cards for an exhibit entitled, ‘A Collaborative Cultural Performance’.

The cards he created were within the size specifications of 2 ½” x 3 ½” that are observed for traditional trading cards. These Artist Trading Cards were displayed on the wall of his bookshop. Interested observers were encouraged to make cards of their own for trade. The rest is history. There are groups all over the world that meet monthly to trade cards face to face. Stirnemann stipulated that trading cards face to face was of paramount importance. He felt strongly that meeting the other artist was an intrinsically important aspect of the trade.

As the Artist Trading Card movement grew, on-line trading groups popped up on the internet as a solution to people who wanted to trade but did not have a local organized trade meeting to attend. One such group ATC_Zone, a yahoo group started by Ann Marie Phipps does a great job of simulating the face to face meeting by encouraging members to discuss all aspects of Artist Trading Cards in a forum style discussion group.

Is there any Criteria? Just two Size They must always measure 2 ½” x 3 ½” Signature They must always have the artists signature and the date of completion somewhere on the card

There are a few rules associated with the creation of Artist Trading Cards. Size specifications are etched in stone. The card must measure 2 ½” x 3 ½”. Once the Artist Trading Card is complete, the artist needs to include the following information on the back of the card. Name of Artist. Date of Creation. Contact information. Name or theme of the card. Number of card. If the card is part of a Series, they should all include the name of the series on the back. A Series is defined by a group of cards that have the same theme or a similar element shared by all cards. It can be a single color theme, creative theme or an identical background but with unique embellishments or focal images.

It is Artist Trading Card etiquette to enclose the finished piece in a protective sleeve of some kind. The majority of traders prefer a card that can fit in a sleeve, however I’ve seen cards made of clay, cards made of chip board and cards made of fabric, metal and wood. All of these cards fit the size specifications but not all of them can be placed in a protective sleeve. Interpretation is up to the individual artist.

OKAY Now lets take a peek at some artist trading cards that I found on the internet. While you are looking, think about what types of things you might like to do with your own artist trading cards. For instance: What type of medium do you like to work in? What do you want to say with your trading card about your life, your art, etc. Or - do you want to make a statement of some sort?

Now Let’s Make Artist Trading Cards!! The End Then Let’s Trade!!!!!!