Although I'm not home to receive them, the August Vintage Collage Artist Trading Card swaps have probably been received by everyone. I decided to try a black and white theme this month, and used a variety of clip art I had on hand, from a Dover clip art book.
Wondering what a "clean and graphic" Artist Trading Card might look like, I made this, using a stamp I'd recently used in a vintage style. (See Card Style and Tea Time).
The teapot is mounted on foam tape, providing a little dimension that you can't see in the scan.
Zentangles have become quite the rage amongst my artist friends, so I thought I'd give it a try:
"Zentangle is an easy to learn method of creating beautiful images from repetitive patterns." They are traditionally done only in black and white, although many artists use them as a base for adding colour. You can learn more about it here. The repetitive patterns are called "tangles", and you can find lots of patterns here.
It is fun and relaxing, and I'll definitely try more. It feels like it might be a good airplane distraction, so I plan to do some on my upcoming trip to Spain. (I might be doing one while you are reading this.)
It's never too early to start Christmas cards, especially when you've got new stamps! (Well, they're new to me, and that's what counts. I bought this set at a local community centre swap meet for $5 - it isn't complete, but I got 4 stamps - such a deal!)
This is definitely a "clean and graphic" card, right in my comfort zone.
I hope you're all enjoying a lovely long weekend! We're off to Spain on Tuesday, for three weeks, but I've been so neglectful in posting that I might have some things scheduled in my absence.
The August swap for the Vancouver Artist Trading Card Group included Time, Telephones & Teapots themes. This was my piece, and it illustrates how difficult I find "vintage".
I've been thinking about Black & White pieces too, lately, and so I tried this one, with some judicious use of masking:
If you want some Black & White inspiration, check out Godelieve's work at Stamping Mathilda. I love all of Godelieve's work, but I find her Black & White series particularly inspiring lately.
Has it really been almost a week since I posted? Tsk tsk. And I've received some lovely artist trading cards to share with you too! These are from a monthly vintage collage swap, and I'm honoured to receive such beautiful and detailed work.
Here is my less than spectacular contribution. I've been having trouble spending time in the studio in the heat of the summer, so I whisked a collage stamp onto some collage paper. I promise that I've done something with more glue for August.
