Friends, it's that time once again when we honor Our Lady during her month of May by hosting an Artist Trading Card swap of Marian artwork. This will be our third Marian ATC swap!
(Our Lady of Mount Carmel by Anna)
Artist trading cards are miniature pieces of artwork created for the purpose of trading with others. An ATC is precisely 2.5" x 3.5" (6.35 x 8.89 cm) in size - you can buy readymade cards at a craft or art supply store or cut your own from larger pieces of paper. Something like card stock or heavy watercolor paper is good. We usually cut ours from watercolor paper - a 9x12" sheet will give you ten cards.
Artist Trading Cards can be made using any art medium such as colored pencils, graphite, watercolor, acrylic, marker, pen and ink - whatever your preference is for artistic pursuits.
The swap is open to artists of all ages and abilities - we are always delighted to have artists from the littlest youngsters all the way through to one of my favorite swappers who is a great grandmother. This is a great project for the whole family to work on together, and busy moms are especially encouraged to sit down and take some time for creativity.
(Mary Spinning Thread by Mary Rose, Mother and Child by Lydia, and Mary with Roses by Kateri - love the little angel in flight!)
The small size of an ATC makes it fun and non-intimidating, but the diminutive results can be so very lovely.
(Our Lady of Sorrows, oil by Josiah)
Some possibilities for inspiration: titles of Our Lady (see the Litany of Loreto), mysteries of the rosary, devotions and apparitions, hymns, prayers, antiphons, symbols, traditional images or paintings.You can see some of the cards from our precious Marian ATC Swaps here: Our Marian ATC's.
The swap will work the same as the previous ones. Here are the details:
- Each participant will create five ATC's to mail out and will receive five different cards in return.
- Everyone will send their cards to me. We will sort them out roughly by age group/ability of the creator and then mail the cards back out to their new recipients. When you mail your cards to me, please include a self-addressed stamped envelope that I can use to send your new cards to you.
- International swappers are most welcome! It's always extra fun to receive cards from a faraway place.
- The swap is open to all ages.
- Each card should be labeled on the back with the creator's name and however much info you'd like to share - age (for the kids), date, title of the piece, media used, and location if you like. Some participants look to connect with others for possible pen pals and the like, so you are welcome to include more personal info if you wish, but it is not required.
- If you are interested in participating please leave a comment or send me an email at kimberlee (at) beadsofmercy (dot) com, and put ATC swap in the subject, and I will send you further information. Anyone can join in and definitely the more the merrier.
- Please mail your cards to me postmarked by Wednesday, May 30th.
- If you have a blog, please feel free to spread the word. Here's an image you can use if you like:
(thank you, Anna Ruth!)
Enjoy creating lovely artwork to honor Our Blessed Mother!
