Artist Trading Tags

I met up with a fabulous group of artists about a year ago who get together one morning every week for coffee, conversation, showing off recent works, support, etc. Unfortunately it's been impossible for me to get there and have only managed to go twice in all this time......but I plan on going tomorrow!

We are doing a fun trade.....you are supposed to make four gift tags to bring to trade. Of course I had to think out of the rectangle tag. Here are four mermaid tags for my contribution. The tails are attached with tiny paper fasteners and move back and forth.

This was alot of fun and easy because I have many original collage art mermaid images from a few years back.......so glad I kept all of them.

http://www.artypantz.blogspot.com

Everything But The Kitchen Sink Art Swap

Here are my three Artist Trading Cards for the "Everything But the Kitchen Sink Challenge". (Click on the image for a close up to really see how they look.) The subject matter needed to be kitchen related AND you were supposed to use 2 items from your kitchen on each card.

First I cut up an empty food box into three 2 1/2" x 3 1/2 " pieces, for the background. I tore open match books and glued them flat, then added matches and some shiny gold contact paper for flames. The phrase was printed on my new printer then cut and added at the end. All three of the cards were sealed with Modge Podge. Ta Da!

The scan really does not capture the iridescence of the gold paper, but you get the idea.

Off into the mail these go today!

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Mandala Swaps Arrived!

I recently participated in an inspiring artist's swap with the theme of the mandala. We all made three Artist Trading Cards called ACT's which measure 2 1/2" x 3 1/2". I made mine, shown above, out of torn handmade papers sewn onto playing cards and sent them to the coordinator of the swap, Michelle of 30 Minute Mandalas a couple of weeks ago.

Yesterday I opened an envelope and was delighted to find the three ACT's pictured above in exchange for the ones I sent! I'm not sure exactly how many artists participated but it was at least twenty.

From left to right:

"The Writer's Mandala" comes from Susan Smith at Avalon Healing Arts

The second one just happens to have come from a new friend Marsha Goldblatt who I met online and then in real person a couple of weeks ago! Visit Marsha's store for vintage arts.

The third one is called Creativity Mandala and is from Michelle herself!

I love all three of them!

The theme of the next swap from Michelle is called "Everything but the Kitchen Sink" and requires using materials from your kitchen. My three are just about finished..........When they're done I'll scan and post them before they fly off into the swap world.

http://www.artypantz.blogspot.com/

Making Mandalas

I've been making mandalas and teaching people how to make them for the past twenty five years. So when I found out about a mandala ATC swap I jumped right in. If you would like to learn more about mandalas in general and the swap in particular visit Michelle Mandala’s blog post
http://mylifeonthexyzlist.blogspot.com/2009/04/mandala-atc-swap-have-fun-and-meet.html

Here are the three that I made for the swap using handmade papers, cut into shapes, and glued onto playing cards. Playing cards were chosen because they are sturdy and the exact dimensions of an ATC card (2 ½ x 3 ½ inches).

After the glue dried I took them across the hall into the sewing studio and stitched them, then made backs for them. Then the backs were sewn to the fronts. To finish, they were each coated with a layer of modge podge. Ta Da!

When teaching people how to make mandalas I usually illustrate the simple concept using flat geometric blocks, showing that the design kind of tells you how to make it, by following your various initial decisions. Preschoolers can make mandalas using these blocks.

Once you show it with blocks, then it’s easy to do it with colored pencils, crayons, markers etc. It’s also fun to use clay. Kids pick this up the mandala concept really quickly. Adults tend to analyze it, do way too much talking about it, and are extremely concerned with wanting to make one that is perfect.

Fortunately, all mandalas seem to look great by simply following the one and only rule, and that is you have to keep the design in balance by doing the same thing on the other side. Everyone can do it! It’s so relaxing, centering and focusing.

Here’s one created by an adult woman with markers at Baha'i Sunday School, illlustrating one of the principles of the Baha'i Faith.

And another Baha'i School student, age 14, using a fine tipped Sharpie and colored pencils

Michelle created a coloring book that she offers for sale, and download free pages at
http://www.30minutemandalas.com/

Now, into the mail go my three mandalas for the swap. Wonder what I’ll be getting in return? It’s always a pleasant surprise!



http://www.artypantz.blogspot.com/

ACEO Swap

I just made 4 small cards for an ACEO Swap with some new art friends I've met online. I've never done anything like this before and so far it was alot of fun.

The background of each card was made by cutting up a fun and wild painting that I did the other night while listening to Lynn Miller play the Shruti Box (an instrument that looks like a cigar box and sounds like an accordion) at her Painting From the Inside Out workshop. Then I cut two gigantic stickers, that I found underneath a pile of fabric, of the sun and moon in half and attached them to the pieces of the cut up painting, and sewed them into place.

Each picture was glued to the back of a playing card. And then I sewed them all together with a different color thread. Ta Da!

Off they go in the mail tomorrow to one location where hopefully many artists will be sending their four little cards. The artist who we all send them to will wait till the cut off date. Then she'll lay them all out I suppose, and make up little packets and send us other people's cards. So it's basically a blind trade in.......

I really enjoyed making these cards, looking at them when they were done and like the way they feel in my hands. I hope that the ones I get back make me happy too.

http://www.artypantz.blogspot.com/