1,000 Artist Trading Cards: Innovative and Inspired Mixed Media ATCs Paperback – April 1, 2007

Inspiring to look at and very inspirational.

I'm not sure why so many people were disappointed with how much fabric was used in the designs of these ATCs. This type of book is really for 2 purposes as far as I can tell: 1. To enjoy the artwork of others, and 2. To be inspired in making your own artwork. I do firmly believe this book delivers on both counts. Inspiration doesn't mean the example has to be the exact same material/ medium you want to use... Look at your example and get inspiration from all aspects of it - the colors, the textures, the shapes... Then do your own thing using the materials you prefer working with. I, for one, have definitely been inspired with the many ways I can dress up a very small space!

If you are looking for inspiration - this is the book! There are so many ideas inside of gorgeous finished cards! Many look like they would have taken days to complete, intricate beadwork, so beautiful! I was inspired!

It seems like the ATC's in this book were 95% fabric, whereas most ATCs usually seem to be paper 95% of the time. The pictures are pretty but the cards are more like mini quilts than ATC's. They were beautiful, but not what I was looking for.I was a little dissapointed to find that every now and then there would be a group of 5 where only one thing (like the color of a hat) was different, but still concidered 5/1000; I felt a little cheated because of this.I would suggest the "1000 Artist's Journal Pages" if your looking for inspiration rather than this "1000 ATC's."

I'd like to agree with other reviewers that this book is not described well in the product blurb. The author is an editor of quilting and fabric magazines, so this book is overly focused on fabric and very light on other mixed media. Since generally, the ATC field is geared more towards mixed media than fabric, it's too narrowly focused for a general text and should be identified as covering just a subset of the ATC phenom.Otherwise, photos are nice, a few how-to's are included, and the cards are pretty dazzling, but this is not a beginner book nor is it even a well rounded one.

Artist trading cards have many advantages. They are relatively small and allow viewers to see artwork in a mini size. As such, they are portable and easily carried, displayed and traded.My kids were fascinated by the idea (they were already into trading cards of various sorts) and this served as a springboard for their own artistic creations. It did the same for me.I'd also suggest a look at these related titles:Artist Trading Card Workshop: Create, Collect, SwapRubber Stamping Artist Trading CardsPaper Mache Artist Trading Cards 6Pk-3.5''X2.5''

I love this book because my card is in there...what more can I say? Well, sitting alongside some of the most amazing Textile artists ever is awesome and the book itself is visual eye candy. The book leaves no excuses for you not to create ATC's till your fingers blister, explore your creativity and have some beautiful pieces of artwork you could apply to personalised cards turn into other textile pieces.That would have finished the book nicely, I feel, some idea of what to do with the stack of ATC's that start arriving in the post...?

I looked at all the pages within about 30 minutes.Two interesting cards. That's it.Mostly fabric and sewing cards. Hardly any hand drawn, mixed media or collage.This book going to the thrift store after one look.