Trades for June, July, August and September

I really enjoyed our first get together as 7@...art and laughter...how much better can it get?
Here are the trades and dates we have firmed up:

June - Mail Art: Post on June 15th, Meet on June 18th @ Rosie's @ 9am to share

July - Green Card: Your substrate or basic card material must be green...recycled, repurposed with some evidence remaining of what it used to be. I'm suggesting a due date and swap on Friday July 16th at 9:00am..how about my studio in Greentrees?

August - Fabric: All or most of the card is made from fabric. I'm in Roseville for part of the month, most likely from the 4th to 18th. So a late in the month trade or I'll mail my cards in.

September - Collaboration: I'll make a whole new post for this trade!!!!!

Mail Art

After a little research I find that mail art can be a very broad topic. There are many sites which accept as a definition, any art that used the mail service as the final step in the project. Here is a link to the wikipedia definition http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mail_art. I also found a very nice blog by a mail artist which shows her work, and work she has received and has some nice links to explore http://http://mailartgallery.blogspot.com/. She also has a great blog on Japanese mail art which is pretty formal in its guidelines, but very beautiful http://http://etegamibydosankodebbie.blogspot.com/. Maybe we can all explore and decide if we want to stick with a defined postcard size, or let people do whatever they want that can be mailed...although I don't think that mailing 3D art inside a box counts, but mailing a 3D decorated box might! Weigh in with your thoughts, or more links for us all to explore.

May and June Trades

Our May trade is "Zentangles" They should be the size of ATC's. Follow the links in the last post to find out more, or call Rosie..she has offered to let our new traders view the video she has of "zentangles" being drawn. This trade will be at Rosie's new house on May 27th at 9:00am unless there is a contractor glitch and then it will be at the coffee shop under the bridge in old town...same time. Bring 6 zentangle ATC's to trade...more if you want to show them, or let the group have a bigger selection. You can take off from the "Zentangle" point of view and be as creative as you like!!!

Four of us made journals to zentangle in, and I have been enjoying mine. It even inspired the idea of a Zentangle Journal trade...just for our group, or maybe for the larger A.A. group. It could involve a get together (maybe wine would be nice!) where we would send our journals around and doodle on each others pages, signing our entries, or we could just trade the books like we do in the A.A. group. I'll weigh in first by saying I think I prefer the small group (7 @) and doing it at a get-together.

For June we are trying our first "Mail Art" piece. Each of us making one piece of mail art. We will re-draw names at the May trade so Meredith and Maryan are included. Hope that doesn't cause a problem for anyone who works ahead. I'm going to try and find some "mail art" on-line and post some links for inspiration.

Let's all think of some ideas for future trades we can discuss in May. See you all then!

Upcoming Trades

Last nights trade was fun and inspiring. In addition I think the ideas for the upcoming trades are very exciting. Here is our schedule thru June 2010.

March 2010: "Ink Blots" The idea is to make ATC sized "ink blots" by folding your card in half so the blot is a mirror image. Here is a link (thanks Pamela) to the inspiration for this idea. Then to look at the "blot" and "see" what you can find for your subject matter...people, faces, etc. Then enhance the card to finish. I have made 2 test ink blots using Arches 140# cold press. I scored it down the middle to get a nice fold before I added the medium. I used watercolors for my "ink". You could use india ink for your "blot" and finish in whatever color/medium you desire, make it all one color, or....?. Make 4 cards to trade and one for yourself if you wish.

April 2010: "Symbols" Symbols are all around us and often overlooked or their meaning is forgotton. If you have read "The Da Vinci Code" or "The Lost Symbol" by Dan Brown you can see how we are surrounded by symbols. So this card is to choose a "symbol" as your subject matter. The field is wide open...religion, mythology, ancient cultures, mathmatics, texting, editing, punctuation, astrology, etc. Any medium. Make 4 cards to trade and one for yourself if you wish.

May 2010 "Zentangle" This is a fascinating use of "doodling"art as meditation. Here is a link to a website that explains how to make one , and also to the originators website where there are many examples to see. Make 4 "ATC size "Zentangles" to trade and I guess just try and stop at 4! (Thank's to Rosie for this idea).

June 2010 "Art Postcard" For this trade we will each make 1 postcard to mail, without an envelope. So your medium must be durable enough to survive the mail. The smallest size your postcard can be is 3.5 x 5" by .007" thick. The largest size is 4.25 x 6" by .016 " thick. This is to qualify for the postcard rate of .28 cents. Oversize is charged as a letter, .44 for 1 oz., .61 for 2 oz....and if it gets too thick it will be a parcel. Original 2 dimensional art and collage are probably good choices. One of the fun things about a postcard trade is that it provides a record of the "maker/artist" (return address), the "first owner of this art" (mailing address), "date mailed" (post office cancellation), and "where it was made" (post office cancellation). Also, without being in an envelope, it has already had an audience of many postal workers and you never know what will inspire someone, or just make them smile for a moment. It is also an opportunity to use some of the beautiful artwork you find in stamps! Here is link to the USPO site with info about postcard mailing. Hope you enjoy this one. We will each make one to send and will draw names the next time we get together for a trade.

We can figure out meeting or mailing dates by email, and as soon as they are final I will post to the blog. Also, I would like to discuss adding more people to the group and see how everyone feels about that.

Feb. ATC trade

Hi gals, woo-whoooo, Donna's back. (even if for a bit). Ready for some new year creating. Here is a sneak peek of our Feb trade. The red heart was the hubby's idea. Who said he did have talent. See you all Tuesday in Feb at Donnas. ~pamela

Happy ATC New Year

Hi Ladies, Hope you are having a blessed New Year, and one that has settled down. Phew what a whirlwind of a Nov and Dec. I wanted to share a web site I came across, looks pretty interesting.

http://www.youratcstore.com/

Really looking forward to our future trades. Also here is an image for the OCAT trade coming up this Saturday at Inkspiration. Thank you Rosie for the help on the folder being a small portfolio... it worked out great.

This image was for our 5 card trade to be included in some type of related holder. I choose to try a restricted palette of grays watercolors. Cant wait to try a larger painting. Take care everyone, till we trade again. ~pamela

From my Secret Santa

Oh my GOODNESS!... I know I keep saying that but I just cant get over my Dec ATC from Pattie. I was so surprised to see three attached ATCs with a beaded hanger. Beautiful and so meaningful to me. The envelope was made as a sleeve out of great looking paper with a frosted tree of fabric/lace attached. Even the inside of the envelope which I didnt scan was wonderful. Oh how hard it is to choose on our double sided paper. I also included a scan of the little tag that was attched to my santa gift bag.

My ATC was delivered by a friendly Elf...known as Al.

Blessings to all of you see you next year, we are off to Arizona in a week to visit family.

Love ~pamela