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Any card!

Okay, not THAT kind of card.

This week I signed on to participate in an exchange of Artists Trading Cards (ATCs).  The deadline was last night and I think I squealed in just before cut-off.

I’ve seen them around and in the art magazines for a long time – these amazing little gems of art shared between creators and often sent to other parts of the country or world.  They’re about the size of playing cards, or sports trading cards, etc., and just about anything goes media-wise.

My amazingly generous and talented friend Beth Rommel has volunteered to help with this current project, which she blogged about here and here.  (Click over to see some lovely examples of her ATC’s.)  It’s fun to think of these colorful wonders not only arriving in someone’s mailbox, but perhaps left somewhere to brighten a stranger’s day, guerilla-style!

You might see the acronym ACEO as well – this stands for “Art Cards, Editions, and Originals.”  Artists often sell these at shows and online.  (On Etsy, for instance!  A search of ACEO, or ATC, will yield thousands upon thousands of results.)

One reason I jumped in for this project is that I’ve recently enjoyed receiving creative surprises in the mail.  I had the good fortune to participate in a Poetry Swap in December, organized by the also-generous-and-talented Tabatha Yeatts. My blog post about her gift to me is here.  And her post about my gift to her is here.

Another poetry friend Laura Shovan is blogging about a postcard project she’s got going on this month and next, celebrating her 44th birthday in February. (She’s documenting these one by one in current posts!)  I recently received my postcard (with an original poem of hers on the back) and blogged about it, too, here.

I look forward to creating my own Artist Trading Cards in the next couple of weeks and sending them off.  I’ll post a picture or two.

How about you?  Have you participated in any fun, creative swaps yielding a bit of wonder in your mailbox?