Hello, hello, hello,

For those of you who've been waiting to commit to an art project until you know what it is, well, here it is. I like to do Artist Trading Cards to trade, as the name implies, with other artists, photographers, and others. No, you do not put your stats as an artist (e.g. date of first painting sold, record sales price for a work of art, prizes won or awards given). You do sign your work and date it, and provide information on how you can be reached, such as an e-mail address.

Google artist trading cards and you will learn everything you ever wanted to know about ATCs, and then some. I've posted a couple of my own in earlier blog posts, but there are thousands of examples all over the internet. One very helpful site that gives a thorough explanation and history as well as many and varied examples of ATCs is http://www.cedarseed.com/air/atc.html. Take some time to look around. Do you sew? Knit? Take photogaphs? Doodle? Color? Quilt? Are you a calligrapher? All these techniques and many more are things you can use on your ATCs. You don't have to be considered an artist by yourself or anyone else to start making and trading these fun mini-works of art.

The best thing of all is that you can commit to something like this because it is so small, and it takes such a short amount of time to complete one. Or a hundred.

Don't blame me if you become addicted!

Do blame me if you can't find an old card, or some kind of material to work on. You can find the specifics on any ATC website, but I'll be happy to mail you a couple of blanks if you want.

I'd love it if some people would participate. Not only will you get to stretch your creative muscles, but you'll receive an ATC by someone else. You see, ATCs are never sold; they are either swapped or given away. I'll do one for you if you 'd like. Just tell me you want to do one, too.