I’m often asked about how I start my Artist Trading Cards (ATCs), which are the basis for Art Journaling Pockets (AJPs).  What is the process?  Do you start with an element, a paper, an idea or what?

I think that there really is no process that I go through.  An ATC/AJP, for me, is a free form expression.

Of course, now that I’ve said that, I realise that there is one constant, which is the image.  I usually start with an image; everything else just follows on from there.

I sometimes see an image and I know exactly what I want to do with it, other times, I grab random papers and elements and see what happens.  That can be fun.  It’s surprising what can be achieved doing this.

It goes something like this:

Go through your photos or stock images or whatever other resources you have for images.  The first one that catches your eye, grab it.

If you are doing this digitally, open up a new document in your graphics program or, if you are doing this ‘hands on’  lay out a fresh  piece of paper (hmm, smell that fresh piece of paper, wonderful, isn’t it?).  Doesn’t matter what size document or paper; I usually have something larger than the image.

Place your image on the document or piece of paper

Now, if you are doing this digitally, open up a random paper or, if ‘hands on’, grab a piece from your scrap stash (you know you have one!)  and put that in your document or on your piece of paper.  Grab some random elements and put them on there too.

Move them around.  Change them, blend them, layer them, paint them, rip them, or whatever, just  go with the flow.

You don’t like some of what you chose?  Doesn’t matter, remove it and grab some more, or leave it and come back later.  It’s amazing how much it seems to change when you haven’t seen it in a while.

Keep going until you have something you are happy with.

See, that was fun, wasn’t it?

I find it’s also a great process for when you have lost your mojo and have absolutely no clue as to what you want to do next.  Often, you may not keep what you started with, but it does get the inspiration flowing.   The result doesn’t have to be over the top, or it can be, it’s entirely up to you.

That’s the fun of it, or at least, it is for me.

Here's some some sets I've done:

Credits: TB&CO Kits from The Vault, Uncle Gill's Wallpaper Book, Art Journal Pockets Starter Kit, December's AJP Sheet - Abstract available as part of the Art Journal Pockets Workshop, and kits from Art Journal Caravan™2010.

So, go forth and create something wonderful.  I would love to see what you come up with.

For more information on Art Journal Pockets visit Art Journal Pockets- Tangie Baxter & CO..

For more information on the return of the Art Journal Caravan visit Art Journal Caravan™ 2016 - Tangie Baxter & CO.

[posted by Karin]