Creating in Small Spaces

It has been many months since my dresser and its drawers --along with the rest of my creative nook-- went into a smallish storage unit in anticipation of the sale of our house. Yes, the house did sell, thankfully. In the meantime, a wonderful round dining room table (carefully covered with a waterproof tablecloth) has been my space for creative and soulful play. Oh yes, I have a box or so of stamps, tapes, misc. papers, index cards, Sharpies, pens, beads and more. 


The other day I came across a small black photo album under a zip lock of supplies. I sat and looked through some of my Artists Trading Cards. "Giddy," seen above, is made with a piece of blouse fabric found in my mother's abundant fabric stash years ago when cleaning out her sewing room. Most of my ATC's have been made using old playing card's or index cards. I usually paint or ink the background--sometimes to completely cover the numbers and suite of the card--other times a heart, spade, 3 or Queen comes in handy in the design. Once the background is dry it's just a matter of mood, colors, stamps, papers, beads, and a theme if you want to make a series or just challenge yourself. There are plenty of good resources on making ATC's. Two of my favorites are:

by Bernie Berlin

 Suzanne Simanaitis

Artists Trading Cards (ACT's) are one of the perfect small space project--not only because of their small size but because they inspire endless possibilities. A little of this, a little of that...and they become addictive. Working on one card can lead to 20 other ideas! For anyone who likes to play with collage, create visual surprises from whimsical to serious, this is great creative fun. 


Related articles

• ATC's - A Novel Idea! (dianezone.wordpress.com)
• Mixed Media Art & Creative Art Journaling (5) (creativeaddictionblog.com)