How to Make and Share Artist Trading Cards (ATCs)

One wintry day while searching online for art-related sites I came across the acronym "ATC." Not knowing what an ATC was, I performed another search. An ATC is an Artist Trading Card, and is the same size as a standard trading card for baseball, football and other sports and character themes. ATCs, like their commercial counterparts, fit easily into the same plastic sleeves made for collecting cards.

That same day I started making ATCs. My first ATCs were based on using a specific color and were mostly collages. From there I moved into using my favorite medium, acrylics. I have also created digital ATCs, mixed media, India Ink and watercolor ATCs. Since then I have made hundreds of ATCs and fhave traded with artists from all over the world. I have even been invited to and particpated in three brick-and-mortar art shows (not for ATCs) based on my ATCs and involvement in the mail art community.

ATCs and Mail Art

An Artist Trading Card is just that, a tradingcard. An ATC is not meant to be sold or auctioned. It is meant to be given away or traded. An inexpensive and fun way to collect and share art is to get involved with the ATC (Artist Trading Card) community. Before the days of e-mail, blogs and the Internet, mail art began around the as a way for artists to share their art with fellow artists. ATCs were either sent via postal mail or traded at an exchange session in person.

An artist who creates ATCs does not create just ATCs. An ATC artist usually creates works in another medium and size. ATCs are a way to share an artist's bigger vision, to experiment, and most importantly to expose many people to original art who may not otherwise ever own an original artwork.

ATCs are just one of many types of art which make up "Mail Art," which is any art which finds its away from its creator to someone else via the postal mail, or "snail mail." Mail art began in the '50s or '60s as a statement against juried art shows and other closed venues for art. Mail art not only consists of ATCs, but of artiststamps, zines, decorated envelopes (envies), postcards and other art.

Making ATCs