Artist trading cards: pocket-sized art.

Ask your students: Have you ever collected Yu-Gi-Oh cards? Pokemon cards? Baseball cards? Most of them will say yes. Your class can be on the way to creating artist trading cards (ATC). What are they? Artist trading cards are original works of art that are 2 1/2 x 3 1/2" in size. They are not sold but traded. You can use any kind of paper or media desired to create one. Leftover paper from other projects is perfect.

Unlimited Media

The possibilities for creating these cards are endless. You can use any media: crayons, watercolor, crayon resist, colored pencils, oil pastels, cut paper, and magazine collage. Many of my students use a picture file (an ABC file with magazine images) and draw animals, flowers, landscapes, and other subjects. Some create their own designs using only their imaginations.

Students must create quality art on their trading cards. If I am satisfied with a student's ATC, I provide a plastic sleeve for it. (I buy baseball card sleeves from a hobby store.) If the card needs some work, I suggest changes or additions, or students opt to make another one. When the card has acquired a plastic sleeve, students are proud to have their own miniature works of art. Students can also choose to trade their ATCs with a friend or take them home. Some students have even bought baseball card collectors' albums and filled them with ATCs.

Multiple Applications

This project is appropriate for students third grade and up. The teacher can also set specific guidelines, if desired, such as media, themes, and deadlines. I learned about this project from Margaret Longshore, my mentor teacher, when I student taught at Hamilton Elementary School in Hamilton, Michigan. I was impressed with the students' excitement about ATCs--some even came in the artroom during recess to work on them.

As a first-year teacher at Jackson Elementary School in Jackson, Georgia, I use the ATCs as a lesson. I also allow students to make ATCs when they finish projects early. My third-grade students especially enjoy making them. Often they will grab a carpet square and sit on the floor, drawing out their designs for their next trading cards. Hopefully you and your students will be captivated by them, too.

Criteria

* ATCs are traded, not sold, preferably in person.

* ATCs must be 2 1/2 x 3 1/2" (6.5 x 9 cm) and fit in a standard trading card sleeve.

* The back should be signed, dated, and include contact information. An ATC may be numbered if part of a series and/or include the city, state, and country in which it was produced.

NATIONAL STANDARD

Students use different media, techniques, and processes to communicate ideas, experiences, and stories.

WEB LINKS

www.artist-trading-cards.ch www.artjunction.org/atcs

Julie Jacobusse in an art teacher at Jackson Elementary School in Jackson, Georgia. [e-mail]