Monday, September 10, 2007

Indecisions, Indecisions, Indecisions.

The 8 of indecision

Walter from Thousand Sketches was kind enough to ask about the making of my cards. I have made a stack of blank cards out of my current favourite paper - Art Spectrum 'Draw & Wash' (210gsm acid free, fine tooth for dry media, specially sized for wet media). It comes in 230mm x 320mm pads of 30 sheets and it is reasonably priced. I have used this paper for printing (without a press) where I found it picked up the ink the best and didn't need soaking. And I've used it in bookbinding and various drawing projects. It comes in a rough finish too; I have a pad but haven't tried it yet.

Walter also asked if they were ACEO's. Well, I don't know. When I was deciding what dimensions to make the cards I did look at ATC and ACEO websites to see what dimensions they used. I decided it would be easier to use the standard format for these cards so I cut my paper into 3.5" x 2.5" cards. (How can thousands of artists worldwide be wrong?)

The 7 of Samba

I was instantly disappointed with the look of the cards. They NEED round corners. I NEED them to have round corners. It became just a touch of obsession really. In spite of being unwell, I had to go straight out and find a way to make those seductively perfectly rounded corners. I actually had to visit a couple of shops before I found my new favourite thing - my rounded corner punch. I must admit the obsession didn't end there. Over the next few days all the junk mail, catalogues, even a few bills - everything in my house really, ended up with rounded corners!

The time had come to make my first card. I still wasn't sure what it was going to look like. I got out my playing cards for a little inspiration. I decided to maintain the format of the original cards so with my little ruler I measured carefully across to locate my images in the same spots as the original... and guess what... my playing cards are 3.5" x 2.25"!!! Back to those ATC sites... it even says you can use playing cards as a foundation. (?) Does this mean playing cards in Australia are different to cards from other parts of the world? And no, I don't just have one strange pack of cards. I have many (we love games here) and they are all the same size. Oh well, I don't really mind. It gives me a little more space to draw which is good as I'm not really that adept at drawing very small.

The Jack of Judgement

1 comment:

Carol H. said...

Thanks for this great post and for sharing your working methods and materials. I've really enjoyed your cards and hope you do sell them!