i need art

atc's in a jar

Cary came home unexpectedly this weeked to attend a funeral. Sad circumstances but I was so glad to see him. We now have less than a month until he's home for good. He left this morning. I always feel so down the first day he leaves. I'm trying to improve my mood. I have not been doing any artwork except for knitting...and even that I'm not doing much. I need to do some. I had been in the habit of doing a lot of ATC's because they were quick and fun and challenged me. This website has a forum where people list themed swaps. I love these. They give me a focus and a deadline. I might enter a few today. I also need to see what I can photograph for this week's Shoot & Edit challenge. This week it is "pink." I skipped last week's because of all the chaos around his visit.

Well...off to try and improve my mood!

Happy Monday!

a moment of quiet at the end of a busy day

the "river" - flood tide

Just got home. It has been a long day. But not too bad. Busy day at work and then I took a long walk after, drove to grab a sub sandwhich for dinner, and ate it in the car before a class at my LSS. It was my own fault for cramming in too much.  I had signed up for a Memory Box Halloween card class. It was fun. Learned some really cool techniques...I'll try to post the cards this week. And the walk was necessary. I have gained back all the weight I lost a few years ago because of some random medical things making exercise a challenge over the past year. But I want to get back on the wagon....

I have gotten some questions recently about ATC's...what are they? Here's a little bit of their history (from Wikipedia):

Artist Trading Cards (or ATCs) are miniature works of art about the same size as modern baseball cards,[1] or 2 ½ X 3 ½ inches (63 mm X 89 mm),[2] small enough to fit inside standard card-collector pockets, sleeves or sheets.[3] The ATC movement developed out of the mail art movement and has its origins in Switzerland.[4] Cards are produced in various media, including dry media (pencils, pens, markers, etc.), wet media (watercolor, acrylic paints, etc.), paper media (in the form of collage, papercuts, found objects, etc.). The cards are usually traded or exchanged rather than sold.

I find that they are a really great way to experiment with techniques, colors and themes without feeling as intimidated as I do with a large piece of paper or canvas. I play around more. I also like how mobile they are...I keep some in my desk at work so in between groups and sessions I can work on one to process how the session went. Probably my favorite reason for enjoying them is that it isn't really like starting a whole new hobby or artform. I am using the supplies I already have on hand for my other loves: scrapbooking, collaging, cardmaking, painting and drawing. I am having so much fun making them! I just signed up for the website ATC's for All.com and am finding it to be a great source of inspiration and challenges in the form of swaps.

Well...I am going to head off to bed now. Starting it all over again tomorrow!