ATCs

Went to the Contemporary Art and Domestic Craft Group this morning at Art Station. We had a workshop on Artist Trading Cards or ATCs presented by Andrea Best, a former group member who now lives and practices her art , including mail art from Te Aroha, her new home. Essentially art trading cards are small collages on cards the size of playing cards but there are also even smaller ones we saw examples of - inchies - on 1 inch squares of card, altered postcards , paper dolls, fabric collages to name a few. There are a few essential rules to each - a background, an image, a word and an embellishment. They can be on a theme, say freedom, woman , you name it. They can be a kind of visual diary if you make one each day. People make and send them to one another through groups on the internet. We did one on the theme of woman and I am posting mine for what it is worth.

After that we all went down to the Central Library to knit on our blankets for the Shelter Installation which will be at Artstation next year. There was a bit more interest in our work, especially among the staff who came for a look in their lunch hour. We had a visit from Red Cross worker Jenny Little . The Red Cross will be given these blankets for distribution to refugees after the installation. In the meantime if you feel so inclined how about knitting a square, or squares, any size, or a strip, or a diamond for incorporation into a blanket.