 Some Art Links CedarSeeds - good site on ATC techniques. EuropeanATCs - a great Yahoo group that I'm in. The Humument - a wonderful example of an altered book. ABEurope - sister group to EuropeanATCs that concentrates on, yep you guessed, Altered Books. HeroArts Online Learning Centre - some useful information and links for those wanting to try new techniques. Do Crafts - a useful site for those interested in card making and various paper crafts. Before you go, don't forget to bookmark my site so that you can return! |
ARTY STUFF I have been interested in art for many years. Since I was a child, I have always enjoyed drawing, usually with pencils or crayons, but also using pen and ink. As an adult, I began painting in oils and then in watercolours (much harder - but I love the challenge!). I've also experimented with pen&wash and mixed media, as well as using digital techniques. With the onset of my current interests, I've also been experimenting with collage and acrylics. It was in January 2005 that I started to make Artist Trading Cards (or ATCs as they are commonly called). These little works of art have a strict format of 2.5" by 3.5" and are usually portrait format (i.e. taller than they are wide), although many are created in landscape format as well. The idea is that you trade them between fellow artists - for fun, not profit. A concept that I love. It was, however, very daunting to begin with - I was afraid that my cards wouldn't be liked by others, or that the standard of my own ATCs was below that of the other artists' work. I shouldn't have worried - with help and encouragement from other people, especially those in the EuropeanATC group, I'm now completely hooked and enjoy making my own cards to swap and RAOK/RAK (Random Act of Kindness is when someone decides to just send cards out with no intention of swapping, but purely because they want to). Tiny in size, but with huge potential, ATCs allow me to explore techniques and experiment in ways that I never did when working on large paintings as the cost in both materials and time is so much reduced. This doesn't mean that I don't care about the results - I do, very much. They are fun and each one is lovingly created. But best of all I can share my efforts with people who also find the whole experience enjoyable and who never cease to amaze me with their own endeavours and their willingness to help and inspire and encourage. Now that I've made a few of my own, I thought that I'd display some of them so that you can share the delights of these tiny art works!!! Click on the pictures below to see them - but be warned, they may take a while to load so please be patient... (newer ATCs can be seen on my Webshots page - easier for me to update on a regular basis!).
Another new area for me is Altered Books. I only started work on my experimental book in August 2005, and am very much learning as I go. However, I am quickly finding that this is a fun way to create, and I am using this initial AB as an Altered Art Journal where I hope to try out different techniques - my own creative journey. Other creative activities of mine include the making of postcards, greetings cards, sketching and 'normal' painting, as well as photography - a hobby that has grown since my husband gave me a digital camera followed by Paint Shop Pro 9! My Altered Book, more ATCs and some of my other art work, plus photographs, can be seen on my Webshots Page. |
