Atc's overseas

I can now share with you all some atc's I made a few weeks ago as they have arrived at their destination in The Netherlands yeterday. For those not familiar with atc's they are artist trading cards, little works of art using any media that appeals to the artist. Their only formal requirement is that they be strictly 2.5" x 3.5" in size and they are for trade only and never for sale. It is quite challenging to produce a piece of artwork so small. Many artists are restrictive about the number of decorative additions to such small works so as not to overcrowd them and create a chaotic feel to their artwork, however in saying that I have seen some amazing art created in such a small format. I recently entered into a swap with Sanderijn (obviously in The Netherlands) with a christmas theme, well it was that time of the year! She is such a creative soul and I have admired her work for some time now so was quite excited about it. I made two atc's, one for the swap and one as an RAK (random act of kindness) just for fun to send to her. Here they are...

Here is the first, "A Christmas Angel". The background is made from tissue paper and gloss medium then has a little strip of music and the word noel added. The angel is a freebie image (sorry can't remember from where now) and mounted over a jewellry finding with a small brad. The wings are constructed from card and feathers the also held in by the brad on the finding. I then attached the skirt and cord with glue. The wings spread out, but in this picture they are folded down for storage and travel. Below is a picture with the wings opened out.

And here she is in all her glory! I like her this way better but the moveablility (is this a word???) of her wings was necessary so she could be stored more easily without damage. Anyway her recipient liked her so that's all that matters really! Below is the second atc sent, also using a freebie image (curtesy of Renee Robinson fabulous collage artist, visit her on Flickr).

I just couldn't resist this little guy, after all that effort to find out no Santa! He was just too cute! Anyway I'm glad you liked the atc's Sanderijn, anytime you want to swap I'm there! I will post a pic of her atc when it arrives.

Below is a couple of other atc's I made some time ago. I just loved these silly old paper advertisements from the 50's and 60's. They are such a hoot and just screaming for someone to send them up! Can you believe they were serious when they created these! Here's the first one. I am planning to make a series of them but haven't as yet completed them (I will keep you updated as this happens), called Dick and Jane. Do you remember those old first reader books from your childhood? Well Dick and Jane were the first official school readers I can remember so it seemed appropriate to name these two after them. They sure look like Dick and Jane's to me!. The first atc in the series used two different advertising images. Jane was from an ad for hosiery I think while Dick came from an old bathroom advert. First a background of tissue and gloss medium, then a gel transfer using a pattern similar to many bathroom tilings of the period, then after it dried the images applied again using gel medium. The atc is edged with a frayed ribbon creating the fringe effect.

Of course I envisioned the two of them doing something else entirely different to their original creators! The second atc uses images from an old shaving soap ad. Bit racy for the 50's era! However here's the second installment of Dick and Jane...

This one is constructed in the same fashion but instead of the gel transfer an overpainting with gold mica paints was used in the background. I felt the images were too large for much else in the background, the couch just gets in the way, bit like what Dick is probably thinking really! Well that's it for today. I'll be back with further updates in the series at a later date.