Artist's Trading Cards

I am very intrigued by the world of artist's trading cards.  They are small 2.5" x 3.5" artworks which artists (in theory) trade with eachother.  I use them as a way to give my students an introduction to watercolor and mixed media artmaking in general as well as a way for them to "play" creatively.  After introducing students to this process, I always keep ATC size paper in a box on the counter so kids have making ATCs as an option if they finish a project early.  This is my process for this project.

1.  Tape down ATC size paper and play with watercolor.  I demonstrate the salt technique, wet on wet, splattering, wet on dry, oil resist, and lifting with a paper towel.  There are great demos on YouTube if you would rather go that route.  My students love using watercolor this way.  It's abstract and a combination of pretty colors and shapes.  Here are some lovely painted papers:

Of course these are lovely and interesting on their own but I like to challenge my students "coloring book" notion of artmaking by forcing them to work in layers.  I tell them to think of this process more like making a pizza than coloring in a coloring book.  

Step 2:  collage with glue or ModPodge.

I make lots of interesting collage materials available from patterned papers, tissue paper, calendars, old books, magazines, anything to add an interesting second layer.  Here is an ATC created by applying ModPodge over torn tissue paper and magazine pages.  

Step 3:  Add some other element.

I make a variety of things available to my students such as pastels, sharpies, and acrylic paint.  Students are not given a prescription of what to add to their work, but are instructed to add another element.  Their creativity amazes me!

I even got in on the action by making some silly ATCs (by request) for my six year old son.  

Hey, if this lesson inspires you to create ATCs, would you let me know?  I would love it so much!