Artist Trading Cards full speed ahead!

I've been interested in Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) for quite some time but hadn't had an occasion to get involved. Enter patsy monk, a Zentangle teacher in Florida. She proposed an ATC swap among the Certified Zentangle Teachers for anyone who was interested. I was!

Artist Trading Cards measure 2.5x3.5 inches, and are for trading only - no selling or buying allowed - and they must be original art.

Zentangle is done in black-and-white but for these cards - just as a challenge - we were to involve color somehow. I asked if I could send 10 cards instead of the requested five, and get more in return... and she agreed! I don't have a photo of the cards I sent (stupid), but here is a picture of some of my ATCs:

A few days ago I received an envelope full of delightful trades:

Next, I went to a local gallery one Sunday afternoon when I understood there was to be an ATC swap. As it turned out, it was an activity for children, but heck... I traded for some pretty cool cards by kids. One has a tiny mouse, one has a blue dinosaur, one is done by a 21-month-old girl, one is a night cityscape.

Then I heard about the Richmond Art Gallery's annual ATC show and swap. I sent them these nine cards in a plastic loose-leaf sheet:

The exhibition runs from 26 November 2010 until 22 January 2011. A few months from now I'll be receiving another batch of cards from artists I've probably never met. I've just discovered that there are trading websites. Of course, isn't there a website for anything you can think of?

Artist Trading Cards, full speed ahead!