Art TRADER

m a g a z i n e
Putting the art in trade
Issue 1 - January 2008

ATCs, Altered Art, Art Journals, Chunky Books & Creative Inspiration

All about trading!

In this issue...
FEATURE: An interview with mixed media artist, Marla Tomlinson Developing a creative space How to set up live trading groups ATC gallery: Beauty of India Fun mixed media faces Paintover and collage techniques Plus much more!
ATC by Marla Tomlinson

Artist Quotes
Every successful painter has worked hard. He cannot rest after having gained a certain degree of facility in drawing, and expect to retain it. He must advance or fall behind. Without practice he will forget; his eye will fail him; and his hand will deny its master. --Walter J. Phillips

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Table of Contents
3 Art Trader Contributors 5 Letter from the Editor 6 Setting up Live ATC Swaps 7 ATC Gallery: Beauty of India 9 Artist Trading Cards: The Basics 10 Feature Interview: Marla Tomlinson, Mixed Media Artist 14 Artistic Journeys: Developing a Page 323 Creative Space 17 Fun Mixed Media Faces 19 Shading with Colored Pencils 21 Masterclass: Mixed Media Collage with Paintover Cutout 28 Petite Artiste: Sophia Zamora 29 Art Gallery: Chunky Book Pages 31 Call for Articles & Art
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CHIEF EDITOR Dana Driscoll COPY EDITORS Annie Melion Meran ni Cuill Marjee Zeier CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Sal Scheibe Annie Melion Shelli Heinemann Anne el-Habre Abi Aldrich Leah Budin ART DIRECTOR Sal Scheibe ASSOCIATE DESIGNERS Brittany Noethen Annie Melion PUBLISHED BY IllustratedATCs.com Art TRADER www.arttradermag.com Editor: editor@arttradermag.com Advertising: ads@arttradermag,com Submissions: content@arttradermag.com Call for Entries: www.arttradermag.com

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Contributors
Annie Melion is currently a full time student, planning on eventually earning a Masters in Library Science. She loves all types of art, but is fond of the surreal and symbolist movements. Her favorite artists are Michael Parkes, Daniel Merriam, Aubrey Beardsley and her buddies at IllustratedATCs.com where she is a moderator. She mainly works in watercolor, colored pencil, acrylics, markers and gel pens, though not all at once. She lives in New York (cow country, not the city) and has difficulty writing biographies in the third person. artpfunkcentral.blogspot.com www.flickr.com/photos/littleboots Sal Scheibe works as a graphic designer and freelance illustrator. Her designs and artwork have appeared in books, CDs and DVDs, brochures, newsletters and posters. Sal is currently working on a number of large canvas paintings for art shows. She also enjoys trading ATCs and is an administrator at IllustratedATCs. com. Sals favourite artists and illustrators include Joe Sorren, J.C. Leyendecker, William Bougereau and John Singer Sargent. Her favoured mediums are acrylic paint, coloured pencils and markers. www.slscheibe.com www.slsart.etsy.com www.flickr.com/photos/amerasu Dana Driscoll is an experimental artist working in a variety of media including watercolors, mixed media, oils, clay, book arts, hand papermaking, and altered art. Danas work has appeared in Cloth Paper Scissors Magazine, the International Quilt Festival, and is featured in the upcoming 1000 Jewelry Designs book. She is currently working on several artistic projects, including painting her way through a 78-card tree tarot deck and combining her love of pottery and bookmaking. When not avoiding the perils of pursuing her Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Composition, she can be found frolicking in nearby forests or hanging out with her nerdy gamer friends. Danas work can be found at her blog: artisticjourneys.blogspot.com and she can be reached at adriayna@yahoo.com. www.artisticjourneys.etsy.com Shelli Heinemann is an award-winning soft scupture artist and moderator/ co-developer of the internet forum, Teddy Talk. Her soft sculpture pieces have appeared in webzines and in domestic and international magazines, including Art Doll Quarterly. She also dabbles in graphic design. Shels favorite artists are Cassandra Barney, Scott Radke, and Tamara de Lempicka. While she favors a mixed media approach in her work, her favorite pure mediums are oils and acrylics. In a former life, she lived in Zurich, Switzerland, and she carries an M.Ed in her back pocket -- just in case. Shel blogs and maintains a website; find her at www. potbellyarts.com.

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Contributors Anne el-Habre has been making art for nearly 40 years, on any blank, flat surface that happens to come within view. Doors, walls, desks, lockers, trash cans, napkins, as well as the usual artists variety of paper, canvas, and wood no surface is safe. Since discovering ATCs (artists trading cards), she has found that it opens up a whole other realm of possibilities and has been experimenting with powdered pigments, ink, and pushing the boundaries of her creativity. collage, Anne owns and operates her own gallery in Savannah, Georgia with fellow IATC member, Judith and is an avid gamer and pirate enthusiast. Annes work can be seenMetzger, at: www.alvidaart.com www.annee.etsy.com www.flickr.com/photos/anonevyl Brittany Noethen is an artist living in a tech managers body. She would rather decapitated than give up making art, trading ATCs, or stop thinking that the be phrase or Bust is hilarious. She currently lives in Iowa with her partner Cat, herMuffins 12 year old pit bull, Maggie, and shelves full of art supplies. www.bnoethen.etsy.com arty-iowa-girl.vox.com www.flickr.com/photos/arty-ia-girl Leah Budin is a 23-year-old graphic designer who lives in the cow patch best known as central Pennsylvania. She likes to draw, play, read, make a fair amount of noise, overuse emoticons, and spend the occasional spare moment with her spunky little dog and her tolerant boyfriend. She crashes in and out of the illustratedATCs.com site with sporadic gusto, and hopes to help bring ATCs to the masses. artleah.livejournal.com www.leahbudin.com -4-

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Letter from the Editor

DANA DRISCOLL

I find the dark, cold winter months to be one of the best times to create art. There is nothing like staying warm and cozy inside your art studio, living room, or wherever you create art while the snow comes down outside. Art created during this time has an almost magical quality, being inspired by the otherworldly feel of those winter nights. The winter months are also a perfect time to share art with friends and family. Of course, who can forget about those art supply gifts from friends and family who know you well! Along with this time of wintry creativity comes the beginning of a new yearwith hopes, dreams, and all of the fun that accompanies this change. One change in the lives of many artists, writers, editors, and graphic designers is the creation of a new magazine dedicated to trading art worldwide Art Trader Magazine. On behalf of everyone who has been working for the last few months to create what you are about to read, It is with great pleasure that we welcome you to Art Trader Magazine. Art Trader Magazine is about all things related to mail art- artist trading cards (ATCs), art journals, post cards, inchies, altered arts, and more. We plan on filling the pages of this great magazine with information on art techniques, art galleries, interviews, product reviews, and much, much more. We welcome letters and comments from our readers, as well as article submissions from anyone who has a great idea! ATC by Dana Driscoll Thank you once again for taking a look at Art Trader Magazine. Be inspired to create great things!

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LIVE SWAPS 101

how to get started
So, youve been trading Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) online for a while and want to spread the word locally to get a group of artists together and do some informal trading. Seems pretty simple and straightforward, right? But where should you start? How does one go about getting people hooked on trading little pieces of art with one another? What does it take to get people together in the first place? Whether you live in a large city or a small town, there is a potential to get a good mix of individuals interested in socializing around the concept of art. The thing to keep in mind is that with a wide variety of participants, you have a wide variety of art. This has its pros and cons: some art will be great, some not so great - much like online trading. So if you are one of those people who sets high standards for the art they receive, live trading might not be for you. If, however, you are open to all kinds of art and just want to enjoy being around a bunch of people who like being creative, then live trading is definitely a wonderful thing! To establish if there is going to be any interest, the first order of business might be to have an Introduction to ATCs meeting a workshop or demonstration perhaps. Find a venue willing to host it for free a town hall, grange, public library, campus facility. As this can fall under a community-based event, most venues are willing to host these types of functions free of charge. Once you have established a location, promote your workshop using community forums, bulletin boards, press releases and whatever free promotions are available to get the word out and fill seats. Post flyers at coffee houses, cafes, bookstores, college libraries or anywhere else creative people hang out. Also, dont be afraid to approach professional/serious artists. I will address that in depth in the next article Talking Up ATCs. For the demo, bring blank cards, supplies, samples of your work, and a good selection of other work from your collection so people can participate first hand and have the opportunity to do a little trading. Try and make your workshop as broad reaching as possible. Any kind of media can be addressed. If you

by Anne el-Habre

are a professional artist, dont be so high-brow as to scare potential participants away. Likewise, if you are a collage artist, dont leave out the traditional media. Make sure you have a wide variety of cards in your displays and samples. Create some literature to hand out at your demonstration including something that people can take home with a little info about ATCs: the size, acceptable media, websites to check out, as well your contact information and all about the live trading sessions you will be hosting, such as time and place. This does not have to be a four color, full bleed, printed on coated 90lb stock brochure keep it simple and cheap. Just be creative. Be sure to have a sign-in sheet for people to fill out so you can get the names and email addresses of interested attendees for future communications.

Look forward to our next issue when I discuss Talking Up ATCs!

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Beauty of India An ATC Gallery

When I considered all the beautiful things that India had to offer, the symbolic nature of cows in the Hindu religion stood out to me. I decided to spotlight a unique aspect of a fascinating culture. For me, Thirsty represents a human side of the divine. --Abi Aldrich

These cards were made for a swap at www.illustratedATCs.com

Kristi Zoebelein - Indian Woman

Abi Aldrich - Thirsty

Harriet Wittman
This was a great swap theme. It gave me a chance to play with traditional Indian motifs (like henna patterns) and use them in the borders. My work is highly focused on the figure and I love drawing goddesses and female heroines. So, I jumped at the opportunity to draw the Hindu goddess, Lakshmi. This card was created with Prismacolor markers and black ink. I have a clean, illustrated style of drawing and I think these materials both complement and enhance my own natural aesthetic. --- Brittany Noethen

Brittany Noethen - Lakshmi

Marjee Zeier - Goddess Kali & Shiva

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Beauty of India An ATC Gallery

These cards were made for a swap at www.illustratedATCs.com

Sal Scheibe - Parvati

Annie Melion - Dance

Shelli Heinemann - Henna Flirt

Livia Hajovsky

Joy Saethre

Kathleen Pequignot

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Artist Trading Cards

The Basics
Sal Scheibe
Artist cards have been with us for hundreds of years in many different formats. In 1997, the art card in its original format was revived by Swiss artist, Vni Stirnemann. He proposed that artists should create original cards in any medium and then trade them with fellow artists at live trading sessions. The new idea took off and soon people were trading cards on the internet as well. ATC Rules Cards must be 2.5 x 3.5 inches. Cards must be traded and not sold. Cards can be original or a print (should be stated in advance of trade). Card Thickness and Paper ATCs are not limited by medium and, depending on materials used, can be quite thick. Ideally, you want your ATC to fit in a penny sleeve whether its made of fabric or metal or paper. Some wont and thats ok but try to aim for a penny sleeve fit, especially if you are working in a flat medium. Cards should also be sturdy. You should never construct your cards on regular 20lb paper because it is too thin. Try for at least a thick card stock. Illustration or matte board works very nicely for illustrated or painted ATCs. Sample Card Backs Printed, stamped and hand made are all acceptable.

Types of ATCs
Original: A unique, single card of any medium. It is edition 1 of 1. Print: A print is a reproduction of an original piece of art. The print is normally made at a professional printers (ie Giclee) but it can also be made at home on a high quality ink or laser jet printer. Prints are often released as limited editions: which means you only release a set amount of cards (ie 25). If your prints are limited editions, you should please note it on the back of each card. Series: A card series can be a set of unique cards created in the same theme and style. Or, a card series can be a set of cards that are somewhat original. This could mean that you have drawn your lineart and printed or copied it onto a numer of cards but each card is colored by hand.

Card Backing - How To There are a few basic things that should go on the back of each card. Your real name & user name (if trading at an online forum) Your email address or website Card Title Swap Information Additional info you can include: Print and/or card number Medium used Who you made the card for Where you traded the card or where the swap was hosted (website or location)

Trade ATCs at www.illustratedATCs.com

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Artist Feature Interview by Annie Melion

Artists are special because they see the world in a different way, and Marla Tomlinson is just such a person. Her passion is fantasy, color, design, and the quirky. From two-headed mermaids, to crazy art dolls, her style is very distinct. Her media ranges from watercolors to collage, and her versatility leaves the viewer asking for more. Tomlinson was invited to be our premiere issues featured artist, and while this columns goal is to feature the art of nonmembers of IllustratedATCs.com, Marla has since joined the site! Join me now as we take a peek into the life and art of a talented artist and enthusiastic member of the Mailart world. EraserQueen (EQ): How did you get started in art? Marla Tomlinson (MT): I have always loved drawing and painting since I was old enough to hold a paintbrush or pencil. I took art classes in middle school and high school and went to community college to study visual arts. My family on the whole is totally not artistic! My mom can come up with all these awesome, creative ideas, but has no artistic ability. My dad is a self-taught photographer though, and did some technical drawing when he was younger. Fortunately for me, my mom has a real appreciation and love for art, and I grew up going to art shows. Shes got loads of art in her house, though totally not my style, with beach scenes, boats, etc.) EQ: Where do you live? MT: I live in northwest Florida in a little town called Navarre. My husband Don and I have been married for four years and have been together for a total of eight years. We dont have any kids yet, but hopefully we will soon!!! We have three crazy cats, Toby, Lucy and Max, and a pit bull/mastiff mix dog, Bodie.

Marla Tomlinson
I dont take myself too seriously...

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An interview with Marla Tomlinson

I love fairies and mermaids and Zetti style

EQ: What artists and themes inspire you? MT: I get inspiration from all kinds of things, movies, books, other artists, pretty much life in general. Most of the time the things I paint are just floating around in my head, banging around to get let out!! LOL!!! I love fairies and mermaids and zetti style, so thats prevalent in lots of my atcs. Some of my favorite artists are Gustav Klimt, pinup artist Olivia, Michael Parkes, and Gavyn Sky (a totally awesome local abstract artist!) Favorite themes would be gothic, fairies and mermaids. I love the octopus as well!!! Purples and teals are usually my favorite colors. As far as music, Marilyn Manson and Motley Crue are my favorites and the most inspirational! Which kind of makes for a weird 80s gothic style I think!! EQ: Is there a story behind your Keeper of the Hearts series? MT: The Keeper of the Hearts series was 100% inspired by Altermyworlds ATC collection on Flickr. She had some awesome hand drawn atcs and I offered a trade with her. She wanted me to do a keeper of the hearts series, but in my own style, so I used my mermaids and girlies and made sure they had their own little heart to protect. They were a lot of fun, and the two of us have had fun fueling each others creativity! I plan on making more of these girls in the future as well! EQ: Anything in particular youd like to tell us about your artwork? MT: I enjoy art and generally like to let it do its own talking. Everyone sees something different and gets different ideas and inspirations from it, so I usually leave it at that! I dont take myself too seriously, so I have a quirky, slightly warped view of things anyway, and I guess its reflected in my art. I painted this fence one day from a watercolor book that taught techniques and had little exercises; I loved this little painting and ended up putting it up for sale at an art show. This guy came in the tent and was mesmerized by it; he stood there looking at it for a good 10 minutes. When I asked him what he liked about it, he went into this elaborate story about how it represented the American Dream with the white picket fence, but behind it there was blurry darkness with nothing to it, like it was a lie or something. I was like, Whoa, its just a fence dude! But it was totally spectacular that he actually thought about it and drew that much from something that simple; art is awesome like that! EQ: Do you enjoy reading, and do books ever inspire you? MT: I love to read! Occasionally a character will inspire me and Ill draw and paint them. I love the Harry Potter books, Eragon and Eldest, The Hobbit, and Vampire chronicles. Really, Im a reading loser, I enjoy these so much that Ive reread them like a million times!

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An interview with Marla Tomlinson

EQ: Do you ever get artists block? MT: Oh sure, everyone does! Last year I actually went about six months without producing much of anything. It turned out I was just really depressed I didnt really enjoy anything, so, I took Lexapro for a few months, I felt better and here we are. This year though I discovered the wonders of yahoo groups and Flickr and Ive made lots of art friends and had creativity overload! I try to do a little art every day no matter what, even if its just a little sketch or an ATC. EQ: What draws you to collage as a medium? And do you paint mainly in watercolor? Are there any other mediums that you enjoy working with? MT: I love the versatility and hands on-ness of collage. I love adding elements of other things, like paper, magazine pictures, vintage images, whatever. You can do so much more with all the layers and options. Watercolors are my favorite, and what I do for a living. Though Ive pretty much tried everything. Ask me a few years from now and it may be different! I like to work fast, so the watercolors are ideal for me. Acrylics are fun too, but I seem to always come back to watercolor. Liquid acrylics are awesome to use with your watercolors for that extra vibrant color punch! Oils are great; I love the look of them and the depth they can achieve. When I was in college my painting teacher used only oils, spending weeks on one painting was killing me! Short attention span + ADD = Marla pulling her hair out! So I really thinned out my paints with paint thinner and did lots of layers, and it made for a faster drying painting, but watercolors for sure are my favorite paints to use. My other favorite thing to do, other than watercolor and mixed media, would be making cloth dolls. Though I dont get to do that as much, as they take a lot longer to make. EQ: Do you have any favorite techniques? MT: My absolute favorite thing to use with watercolors is salt; I cant paint without it. Just throw it on and it does its own thing. You could never do with a brush what salt does to the paint. And Im a sucker for outlining stuff (Ive driven every art teacher crazy.) EQ: Do you have any advice for other artists? MT: I dont know any great words of wisdom per se. Just do what you love and to hell with everyone else! Though, I would say if you are looking into your art as a real job, it will become that, a job. I never would have thought I would ever dread painting, but it has happened. On the other hand, dreading painting isnt that bad of a problem! Again, this is where the concept of ATCs helps. When Im supposed to be doing commissions or paintings for my work, I can always take an hour or so for some goof off time and make an ATC for fun, then its not so bad! As far as technique and such, try to incorporate odd numbers of elements, and a little asymmetry never killed anyone. Also, never feel bad when someone doesnt like your work or doesnt get it. Its art not rocket science, if you like it, great!

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An interview with Marla Tomlinson

EQ: Why does Mailart appeal to you? MT: I only discovered mail art this year and I am totally hooked. Id heard about ATCs a few years ago and was intrigued, but never did any. With the help of some yahoo groups and Flickr, Ive become an avid maker and collector! Its great for me as an artist (who is broke a lot) and as an art collector (I love other peoples art too!) to be able to make and trade awesome mini works of art from everyone, whether its a super awesome artist, or just someone who is new to art. Mailart reaches a wider audience as well, with the help of these internet groups and through the mail, you can receive art from people all over the world! EQ: What formats do you like (ATC, 4x4 etc.) and why MT: My favorite Mailart sizes are ATCs, but Ive done some 4x4s as well and enjoy those too. EQ: Do you think more artists should be involved with the Mailart movement? MT: I totally think more artists should take it up! Its been a great marketing tool, it gets your name out there too. Lots of other doors have opened for me in the last few months because of it. Plus, not everyone can afford/have room for normal sized art, and Mailart is the perfect size and great when traded. To view more of Marla Tomlinsons artwork on the internet, you can visit the following sites: Art Website ETSY Shop Flickr www.marlasfaerytails.com crazyfish.etsy.com flickr.com/photos/crazyfish_666

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Artistic Journeys: Developing a Creative Space

Dana Driscoll
Recently, my significant other and I decided to rearrange the house so that I could have a dedicated room for art and writing. I quickly discovered how challenging developing and creating this space would be! I wanted to design a space that would help my creative energies flow, that was organized, and that was comfortable and relaxing. This article walks you through my own creative process in developing my creative space and provides pointers on how to develop yours. I have moved around quite a bit in the last few years and have often lived in cramped spaces, so the chance to have a space devoted to my creative endeavors was a welcome and exciting one. After talking to other artists and viewing some online communities devoted to art and craft studios, I began to realize how important a dedicated artistic space is to an artist. It represents not only a physical space in which to create art, but a personal expression of artistic style, creativity, and grounding. Artistic spaces should assist artists in their craft, inspire them when they need it, and always welcome and uplift them when they enter.

Step 1: Establishing a Creative Space

Unless you are a professional artist or have a large house with extra space, having a room to yourself to be creative might not be possible. However, creative spaces arent limited to rooms or studios. A corner of the bedroom, a folding table in an office, even a closet devoted to art supplies can all become inspiring places. If you are thinking about developing a creative space, consider the following: Have you established the need for a creative space? Sometimes finding a space isnt enoughselling the need to those who live with you could be tricky. Articulate the benefits (self-contained mess, increase in your happiness level, etc.) to help establish this need. Are there any areas that could be re-appropriated for artistic pursuits? These could include storage areas, unused corners of bedrooms, basements and attics. Even the outside patio could work if you live in a climate with mild weather.

Step 2: Developing the Creative Space

Now that youve established the need and set aside some room for a creative space, the real fun begins. I had several challenges to overcome in developing my creative space. First, I was working on a very limited budget, which impacted both the furnishings and my possibilities for decorating. Second, the room I had to work with was small, which limited the amount of things I could comfortably fit into it. Third, since I live in a rented residence, I was unable to paint or make other major alterations. Finally, the room had to function as both a place to create art and as a place where I could write my dissertation for my Ph.D.; the multi-purpose setup was a challenge.

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Organizing Your Stuff

Here are some hints and suggestions for helping you organize your art supplies: Put the supplies you use most in the easiest to access places. For me, that meant putting my watercolors, brushes, pens, scissors, and other frequently used supplies in the bins closest to my table and working area. Then I could reach over and get something without having to stand up or move around. After I used the space for several months, I reorganized everything based on my experiences. Have different kinds of storage available. I found that purchasing different sizes of stackable bins and shelves worked best for the myriad of art supplies. For example, brushes work best in old cups or jars; large paints went on shelves along with shipping supplies. Labels and organization. Im a very messy person, so labeling my bins and working hard to stay organized has really help make this room a success. The labels I made were with packaging tape, cardstock, and a sharpie. These can be moved from bin to bin if necessary.

When I began to develop my creative space, I started with a list of words that described the space I wanted to create: relaxing, inspiring, utilitarian, and unique. I then attached features I wanted to see in the room based on each of the words: Relaxing: Comfortable furniture, ambient atmosphere, lava lamps Inspiring: Mail art from my friends, pieces of my own art, reference pieces and books readily available Utilitarian: Organizational units to keep it clean and uncluttered, furniture that can be splattered with paint without worries, labels for easy access Unique: Decorations throughout the room, interesting furnishings, mail art on the walls

Next, I sketched out the kinds of things I would like to see in the room for some possible arrangements. Now that I had a list of what I was looking for and some rough sketches, I set about making it happen!

Step 3: Organization and Utility are Musts!

Most artists and craftspeople have a plethora of supplies to try to keep organizedpapers, canvases, brushes, paints, stamps, inks, ephemera, items for alteringthe list goes on and on. As such, I found that organization was very important in developing my creative space. Large plastic stackable shelves with clear drawers, small organizational bookcases, and making good use of my vertical and closet space helped me achieve maximum organizational efficiency with a small investment of time and money. For under $70, the sets of stackable shelves and labels also helped me create an area where my materials were easily accessible from where I was sitting down to create. For $30, I purchased a 6 folding table at a local home improvement store (most department stores like WalMart or Target dont carry the large ones). The plastic table is sturdy enough to do anything I want on, and because it was cheap, I dont have to worry about paint ruining the surface.

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Step 4: Decoration for Inspiration

Now that Ive got the space organized, the real fun can begin. It is time to turn a plain room into something that inspires me to create every time I walk in the door. My keywords of relaxing inspiring and unique all come into play here. Displaying my Artist Trading Card (ATC) collection and other mail art was very important to me, since it is one of my primary forms of artistic expression. I put small nails in the walls at regular intervals around the top of each of the walls and hung ATCs on them with painted clothespins and yarn This decoration, less than $5 for supplies, was just the thing to set off the room! Next, I decided I wanted to display my ATC tree collection, bookmarks, and other ATCs. I purchased several long poster frames at Hobby Lobby (on sale for $7 each) and filled them with art. I added some drapes and displayed my altered bottle collection along the windowsill. In each of these cases, I was working with what I already hadart from my friends around the world that I had collected over the years. Ive also added some of my own larger work and other things to the room as time passed. Here are some tips to get you started on your own decorating scheme: Work with what you have. If you are like me, there will be little need to purchase decorations use mail art, your own works (including works in progress), and other materials you have collected to decorate. Innovate. Think of out-of-the-box ways for displaying your art. How about inchies or artist stamps lining the top of the doorframe? A glass case with altered objects? Surround yourself with things that inspire your creativity. This could be something as simple as a board where you can tack up pictures or quotes that inspire you to create.

Step 5: Enjoy!
While I would hardly call my art room completed, it is now far enough along that I can enter it, feel inspired, relaxed, and ready to create. I hope that you too can develop creative spaces that are fun and functional!

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Fun Mixed Media Faces Leah Budin

Welcome to a fun (yet informative) tour of how to make layered mixed media faces in an ATC format. This is a new technique I have recently developed and want to share with you.Today we will be creating a fairy damsel using my mixed media faces technique. When creating these cards, I use a highly-absorbent semi-transparent ink jet paper that sucks up ink like nobodys business, but each person has to mess around with the supplies that work for them.

For todays introductory lesson, were just going to use the very most basic of supplies. They include scrap paper, Sharpies, transparency paper (the kind intended for you to draw on), and a glue stick. You can acquire all of these materials at your local Staples/Wal-Mart/Target store:

Material List
Transparency paper Scrap papers Sharpies Glue stick

Once you have your gear, you are ready to begin. First, on the transparency paper, start drawing your person. Some people like to sketch out a box so they know they wont be exceeding the 2.5 x 3.5 ATC-sized space, but I just doodle then crop later. Its up to you.

The next step is to start adding in your layers of paper. The trick to this is to lay the paper down underneath your transparency. You apply glue with your gluestick to the top of the paper and put the transparency on top of that, sticking them together. This way, you can always see what youre doing, where things are going, etc.

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You want to put the things in the foreground down first, then lay down the background underneath that afterward -- so were starting with skin tone. I use ripped paper, but I know that other people are more exact with such things. I find that part of the glory is when the paper exceeds the border and it all looks quite haphazard and fun. I rip a piece that I think is about the same size as my girl and lay it down underneath. Then I see that, well, the paper extends around her neck in a weird way, so I start ripping off those chunks. I later will save those chunks and use them to fill in parts where I ripped away too much.

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See? Add some hair, too. So fun! When youve hit the high points, and you think your character is pretty much filled in, its time to add the background. When I found the right background, I realized something: my character was a faerie without wings! After apologising profusely to my girl for not realizing her true nature, I added in some wings (pictured) and glued some nice blue paper behind them. Last but never least, gluing the background thoroughly is one of the most important parts of this process. You must attack it with the glue stick. Show no remorse. The background is the part that pretty much seals all of the other parts in (even though you glue each part individually, as well). Its that important extra bit of reinforcement that keeps the card together so extra glue is important. Now that youve glued on the background (with feeling), take a moment to gaze upon your finished creation. You might remember from the beginning that there were many Sharpies pictured. They exist to help tie your piece together. Right now, this collage/ illustration looks a lot like a line drawing with some stuff thrown behind it (which, admittedly, it is). Adding in more texture, detail, shading, and line will help round it out. See what a difference it makes? You can also add embellishments, glitter, beads -- whatever you want. Now your card is ready to be cropped and swapped! Although Ive described this technique using an ATC, this can be used for any type of art. Enjoy!

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Shading with Colorless Blenders

For Beginners
By Sal Scheibe One question that comes up over and over again is how to create nice, seamless blends with marker and pencil. Its really quite simple. The trick is the colorless blender pencil. This walkthrough article describes how to use colorless blender pencils and markers to create stunning results. I love to use markers and coloured pencils for making my Artist Trading Cards (ATCs). I find them the perfect tool for a quick and easy illustration and best of all, theyre not messy. My pencils of choice are Faber-Castell Polychromos and my markers of choice are Prismacolor brand. However, you can use any sort of permanent marker or pencil crayon as long as you have a blending tool. I love to use the Prismacolor brand colorless blender as it works almost like a pencil.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Using a Colorless Blender I start off with a base of marker only. (Figure 1) Ive added a few layers of rough pencil here from light to dark shades. Im very heavy with the pencils as I prefer my colors saturated. You can clearly see my pencil marks and thats fine as were about to get rid of the marks and the seams. (Figure 2) I use the Colorless Blender like a pencil and press fairly hard from light to dark, slowly blending the colors together until the seams and pencil disappear. You should start with the light colors and work to dark as the blender will drag colors from one spot to the next, so you need to be careful what youre dragging. (Figure 3)

Figure 3

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Tips & Tricks for Using the Colorless Blender Prismacolor pencils and other brands can easily build up to a waxy layer and it becomes hard to add new color. If you find you cant add new color on top, you may be applying the pencils too thickly. Try to lighten up the pressure on areas where there is a lot of color and/or shading to be done. If you find you cant add more color or shading because of build up, spray your card with a matte finishing spray (I use Krylon Clear Matte). Once dry, you will have a hard surface to work on once again. It will be somewhat difficult to use your blender on top of the matte finish so dont spray until youre nearly finished. The matte finish will allow you to add those highlights of light or dark pencil without fighting a waxy buildup.

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Step 1

Step 2

ATC Walk-through with Marker, Colored Pencil & Blender In summary, here are all the steps for you to view at once: Step 1 Line art Step 2 Markers Step 3 Adding colored pencil Step 4 Using a colorless blender Step 5 Finishing touches after a matte spray This technique can be used in all forms of illustration, mail art, and fine art. We would love to see our readers send us examples of how this technique worked for them!

Step 3

Step 4

Final Version
Materials: Prismacolor Markers, Prismacolor Pencils, Faber-Castell Polycrhomos, Colorless Blender, Gel Pen, White Opaque Paint Marker
Step 5

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Masterclass: Mixed Media Collage with Paintover Cutout

Shelli Heinemann

Masterclass

When Im reading, a particular image will often catch my eye and set my creative mind ablaze with roiling thoughts: I want to make something with that! Im a huge fan of mixed-media collage, and often turn to those techniques as a way to incorporate found imagery into my mail art. In the very simplest of terms, collage begins with found items (images or otherwise) that are attached in layers to something else. Technically, jamming a sticker onto a piece of paper would qualify the end product as collage although the sticker collage is a particularly unsophisticated example. In my own collage work, I admit Im far less driven to jam manufactured stickers onto paper than to create my own unique elements. Yet, in the interests of time and efficiency, I dont necessarily want to re-draw found images freehand, since my purpose in collage is to cut them out and stick them elsewhere not to create a painted or illustrated, hand-drawn work of entirely original art. There must be a better way! And indeed, there is a better way: paintovers. Paintovers are a terrific way to get from image A to artwork B, using traditional collage methods in the process. Paintovers are a technique in which a found image is quite literally used as the background or paper onto which penciled, inked, or painted treatments are then applied. Paintovers can be awkward and clumsy if done without care. But with the right tools, mindset, and determination to create something unique from something found, they can also be a terrific way to preserve and utilize the very best of a found image while eliminating the detritus. A paintover technique leaves the bulk of the creative process to you, but gives you a grand foundation from which to begin. Perfect! Additionally, for those challenged by rendering faces, paintovers can also be a wonderful way to introduce portraiture into collage work where it otherwise might not exist. Ive taken the paintover concept one step further in my work by creating finished paintover images for use as cutouts, which I adhere, as collage elements, in my mixed media work. One last ethical note: I think wed all agree that it is important to describe ones work with integrity. When you explain your creative process, be sure to call a spade a spade or, in this case, to reference your paintovers as a paintover, and not as completely original works of hand-drawn art. Give credit where credit is due, when and where appropriate. In life and art, thats only fair.

MATERIALS Image of your choice Computer, scanner, photo editing program, printer Heavyweight, matte presentation paper Acrylic paint Water Paintbrush, wide Hard pencil (I used 4H) Colored pencils Chalks White gel pen Tiny, pointed scissors Patterned papers Tacky Glue Stamping inks Rub N Buff in Antique Gold Exacto-knife, very sharp Baby wipes and/or paper towels Lace Swarovski crystal Vintage brass findings Heat gun (optional, to speed drying time)

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m a g a z i n e STEPS Overview
STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3 STEP 4 STEP 5 STEP 6 STEP 7 STEP 8 STEP 9 Choose a central image Ready your image for use Colorwash your image Pencil a light outline and begin shading Strengthen your outline and add color Snip your image free, creating your paintover cutout Select a background Alter your background Customize cutout and attach to background Add piecework hair Finishing steps STEP 1 Choose a central image The very first step in creating a compelling paintover is to find images and elements that inspire you! I usually begin my collage work with a single image that has, for one reason or another, grabbed my attention and motivated me to create something around and about it. After Ive settled on that first central image, I gather concepts and materials to complement it -- either before I begin, or as the piece unfolds before my eyes. Women and children and pretty things with lots of color and pattern are appealing subjects for me, so fashion magazines, topical coffee table books, and catalogs work well as resources. But you might find inspiration elsewhere -- in books about cats, trees, or vehicles; in an outdoors/backpacking publication; or from your own original photographs. Whatever works! If the image youve chosen is the correct size for reworking, you can simply tear it from its binding, cut it to size, and paint over it as is. However, in most cases, your chosen image wont be ready to re-work. Or it might be the right size, but printed on slick paper that has no tooth and wont accept paint or pencil well. And I certainly cant recommend painting over glossy photo paper. In those cases, where as is just wont work, do what I do: scan your chosen image, then crop and resize it to fit the size youll be working in, whether ATC, chunky book, journal page, or stretched canvas. For this particular collage piece, I found an image in a magazine and decided to create an ATC with it. I imagined the main character not as a swan-necked brunette in a Gothic/ romantic setting with partner, but instead as a fresh, flaxen-haired blonde with curls, standing alone, soothed by a breeze, surrounded by delicate colors and flowers, with an old-fashioned, vintage feel. Refreshing and light!

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STEP 10 STEP 11

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STEP 2 Ready your image for use My original image was first scanned, cropped, and sized to 2.5 x 3.5 inches ATC size. Id already settled on figure placement and composition by this point, and based my cropping around those considerations. This was the only digital step in my process so adjustments to brightness, contrast, and sharpness were made at this stage. I chose to desaturate my image, removing all color, which I think makes a more pliable, neutral foundation for paintover work. Note that there was no need to digitally isolate the main character from her surroundings, or to erase or re-work backgrounds. Since this was to be a collage piece, Id literally cut her free using scissors, in a later step. I recommend printing your image onto paper you know will hold wet fairy well. Some cardstocks hold up nicely, but my hands-down favorite paper for paintover work is a high quality, heavyweight, premium matte presentation paper. It has just the right thickness and texture for this process.

STEP 3 Colorwash your image

To achieve a great, toothy foundation for your paintover, quickly brush a thinned acrylic wash over your chosen image with a wide brush. Its soooo important to a smooth finish that you prepare your wash carefully (mix paint and water to translucency -- and please, no lumps!) Work quickly and stroke vertically. Let the first wash dry; if you think you need more coverage, add a second. The idea here is to obscure your original image with light, transparent washes of paint, so that only the hint of an outline remains from which you can build out your new, re-envisioned image. I used white for my wash, but you could use a bolder color, still keeping it transparent, for an entirely different effect.

Its soooo important to a smooth finish that you prepare your wash carefully (mix paint and water to translucency -- and please, no lumps!)

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STEP 4 Pencil a light outline and begin shading If youve completed Step 3 successfully, youll note that its fairly difficult to locate the outlines of your original image. Thats a good thing, as it gives you plenty of room to reinvent your image to suit your whims and imaginings. Alter features, add elements, and reshape silhouettes to your hearts desire. In my case, I wanted to retain the graceful, overall silhouette and proportions of my original photograph, so I outlined my characters facial features lightly using a hard pencil (4H), altering them only slightly (extending an eyebrow, reshaping the lips.) I knew Id be adding piecework hair later, so rather than penciling in hair, I drew a rounded curve to represent her back skull. Id have to cover that back skull shape in my piecework later on, giving my main characters head the proper anatomical shape. Trust me on this: its easy for things to get distorted later on if theres no established outline to follow. Some light shading was added at this stage, blended with my pinky finger. You can also use pen and ink for this stage, but of course it will create an entirely different effect.

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STEP 5 Strengthen your outline and add color Strengthening your outline and adding color is the last step before cutting your image free from its original backing, so its important to thicken the perimeter outline at this stage by using your hard pencil. This thickening ensures that when you cut, you will not be cutting into the features of your image, creating distortion, but instead will be cutting into the outer edge of that thickened outline, leaving the interior of that outline, and your images features along with it, intact. Using colored pencils in various shades, I added color to my image. Work slowly and carefully, as it is nearly impossible to erase errors completely from the wash background youve painted. I used chalks and a Q-tip to create a soft blush, and used a white gel pen (blotted) for highlights.

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STEP 6 Snip your image free, creating your paintover cutout Using tiny, pointed, sharp scissors, and working slowly (I didnt want to ruin all my hard work,) I cut my image free from its background. Here, Ive shown the cutout scanned against black paper.

STEP 7 Select a background I found a really pretty patterned paper in my paper stash to use as my background. It had the right feel for the piece I had envisioned. Heres how it looked, cut down to ATC size and adhered to a stiffer ATC-blank backing (I like my cards to be thick and layered.)

STEP 8 Alter your background While the paper I chose had the right feel, it was too crisp and vibrant for the soft, vintage tone I was seeking for my piece. So, using various stamping inks and Rub-N-Buff wax metallic paste, I layered transparent white and gold colors onto the paper until I achieved a just-right finish. Baby wipes and paper towels are useful for this work; I often use either, or both, to move ink and paint around on my paper for a smeary, casual effect.

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STEP 9 Customize cutout and attach to background I had a wonderful piece of vintage ecru lace in my fabric drawer and thought it would make a beautiful, dimensional outfit for my collage figure, in addition to introducing mixed media elements to the piece. So, using my finger, I rubbed Tacky Glue onto the cutout in a V-neck shirt shape, then laid down two strips of lace to cover it, pressing hard to adhere, and trimming excess. I then adhered my cutout to the background paper I had prepared in Step 8.

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STEP 10 Add piecework hair

One of my favorite things to do in collage portraits and a signature technique of mine is to add paper-pieced hair to my figures. I do this really haphazardly, snipping shapes wildly from patterned paper scraps I have lying about, without much thought to whether or how theyll fit the work at hand.

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For this collage, I found a yellow toile paper in my stash and cut long, wavy, thin strips from it, laying the finished bits side by side. I tried on various strips of paper around the head and selected those that fit each area best for use, keeping in mind that hair in front of the ears would, in real life, be closer to me (the viewer) than hair that was emerging from the far side of my figures head. This spatial understanding helped direct the order in which I laid down the layers of strips; I wanted to ensure that the closest hair would be on top and the farthest hair would be underneath. Using a dab of Tacky Glue and my fingers as applicators, I spread glue on each strip and adhered them to the card. I kept an Exacto-knife with a brand-new blade close at hand, and immediately after adhering a given strip, cut away the portion near the face using light pressure, to maintain the hairline.

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STEP 11 Finishing steps Once the pieced hair had dried, it was time to add a little shading to the hair for even more dimension, and I did so using a colored pencil slightly darker in tone than the paper itself. My figure also needed some further accessorizing, I thought, so I added a tiny stud earring with gold gel pen, and a punched flower for her hair, edged in pencil and ink, and accented with a Swarovski crystal center. Last, I used five vintage brass bead caps, pounded flat into florets, to accent the neckline of her lace top. Et voila! My finished mixed-media paintover collage card, just as I envisioned it pretty and relaxed, with a decidedly soft, vintage feel. I called it Fresh, because I think it is.

Additional ATCs created with the Paintover Cutout technique by Shelli Heinemann.

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 Petite Artiste: Getting to Know Kid Artists! Sophia Z.

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by Abi Aldrich
Featuring

Sophia is a four-year-old artist from Ft. Worth, Texas. She has been interested in art since she was two: Thats when I started to paint on my easel, just like mommys easel. Some of Sophias favorite things to draw include rainbows, swirls, letters, numbers, kitty cats, doggies, giraffes, and even people. Sophias preferred mediums are markers and crayons. Sophia lists some of the things that she does with her completed drawings and paintings, Sometimes I send them to people, or I like to put them on the fridge, or on my nightstand, or I mail them to my friends. I put my best, best art in my art book that my mom made. As for Sophias thoughts on having an art teacher, she says: Oh, I do at my imaginary school; shes really nice. Well, sometimes, my mom [is my art teacher] too; and I use her scissors to cut and glue pretty papers like she does. Sophia has also participated in a local art competition at her local library where she received two ribbons for her paintings.

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Chunky Book Pages

Theme: Gothic Zetti
We recently hosted a 4x4 chunky book PAT (Pick-a-Theme) swap at illustratedATCs.com. Here are a few of the themes!

Heather Luedke

Cat Insley

Shelli Heinemann

Brittany Noethen

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Chunky Book Pages

Theme: 18th Century France
More pages from our PAT Chunky Book Swap at IllustratedATCs.com!

Meran niCuill

Sal Scheibe

Annie Melione

B
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m a g a z i n e Call for Articles and Artwork ArtTrader Magazine is a web based publication (in PDF format) focused mail art for trade such as ATCs (Artist Trading Cards), ACEOs, art on journals, chunky books, altered art and altered books. We are always accepting the following types of materials: How to or step-by-step articles on artistic techniques. We are interested in techniques that can be applied to any mail art. These include illustrative techniques, and also works in fabric, digital, collage, mixed media, and more. Articles on artistic journeys or experiences. Do you have an interesting story that you would like to share? We would love to hear it. Artist Spotlight/Profile. Do you have a body of work you would like share? We would love to feature you in our artist spotlight. Showcasing Art. We are interested in showcasing assemblages, mixed media work, creative journaling, chunky books, fat books, inchies, ATCs (Artist Trading Cards), post cards and more. These types of articles usually have a small bit of background accompanying them but primarily are visual in nature. Product and Book Reviews. If you are interested in writing a review of new product or book that is connected to the mail art world, we would a love to hear about it. Submissions of Artwork Almost all of our articles require artwork submissions. You might also want to submit artwork to appear in our webzine galleries. Our call for artwork is always open and we welcome your submissions of ATCs, ACEOs, art journals, chunky pages or altered books. Everyone is welcome to submit their art. You do not need to be a member of IllustratedATCs.com to submit artwork. You must submit your work to us in digital format. 300-400 DPI is sufficient. Do not submit artwork lower than 300 DPI. Acceptable formats include: JPG, BMP, TIF. Do not submit GIF files. Any submitted artwork should be at least 500 pixels wide and high (they can be much larger than this, of course!) 2008. Copyright. Art Trader Magazine. All rights reserved. ArtTraderMag is published quarterly in January, April, July and October of each year. -31-

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Article Submissions Dana Driscoll, Editor editor@arttradermag.com Artwork Submissions Sal Scheibe, Art Director art@arttrader.com Advertising Inquiries ads@arttradermag.com

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ACEO by Sal Scheibe