What's the quickest, easiest, guaranteed risk-free way to find and develop your own style, all while supporting others in a tangible and meaningful way?
It’s even an actual thing: the “Just a card” campaign
JUST A CARD is a grassroots campaign on a mission to encourage people to support, value and buy from artists, makers, independent shops and small businesses. Every sale, even just a card, is vital to their prosperity and survival.
Rattling around somewhere I even have a little pin badge for it, too, to remind punters that every little counts. Read more of the story behind the campaign here.
So there’s no need to splash a ton of cash on something fancy in a frame, just buy a card! Send it to your Mum, your Granny, or hoard it for yourself in a box full of other artist cards…
Here’s some really good reasons to spend a few quid on an artist card:
It might not seem much, but every little sale adds up - it makes a difference to an artist trying to make ends meet.
It’s encouraging: proof that someone out there likes what the artist is creating!
It creates a connection between you and the artist: it’s always been fun to see which cards people choose and which sell first - and if it’s a live event, have a little chat about how the card was made or other arty things.
It’s a truly affordable way to own (or gift) a mini piece of art even if you can’t afford a bigger piece.
It’s a little bit of me - something I’ve created with my own hands - making it’s way into your life.
It’s a canny thing to do: frame it carefully and you can create something good enough for the wall, but for a very small sum.
It’s way more interesting than just another business card to lose in the bottom of your bag or stick on the fridge.
Why it’s good to make them if you’re an artist:
As well as all the reasons above,
Making on a small scale has far less pressure attached than making a bigger piece. Easier to start and get into creative mode, then quicker to finish and experience the satisfaction of FINISHING something.
It’s a fabulous opportunity to use up all the scraps - and I mean ALL the scraps. Even the teensiest scrap of paper or fabric can find a home on a little card. My finished cards are around A6 portrait or 5”square, so the ‘art’ itself is much smaller - no bigger than three or four inches.
My very first ever tentative YooToobs were demos of making little cards. Find them here and here. Dubious image and sound quality, but absolutely no apologies: they got me started creating video, having to listen to myself talk, and then being brave enough to post it for the world* to see (*as if).
Working small (and the associated ‘working quick’) allows a rapid exploration and evolution of ideas. Try something on one card, get an ‘aha’ and revise it for the next one, get another ‘aha’ and try the next thing on the next card. Which leads to…
Batch production: it’s great to have a little batch to work on at the same time. Great for carrying ideas through across a series of tiny compositions, but also very time efficient. Do all the stitch on all the cards, then all the trimming, then all the mounting and finishing. Sometimes I make a panel of fabric collage purely to chop into smaller pieces for cards.
A while ago (OK, three years) I was fooling around with the idea of ‘crazy 9 patch’. I won’t link to any instructions, there’s a gazillion out there with videos too - just search for it. Instead of fabric, I used a stack of gelli prints I had kicking around. I got as far as fusing the reassembled pieces to stabiliser, then started to get more than a little stuck.
One line of hand embroidery and…nope, wasn’t working for me. Stuck. So me being me, I kept what I’d done so far, shoved it in a box and closed the lid.
Scrabbling around the studio looking for things to use as quick starts for the cards, I dug them out again and it turns out that three years is about the time I need to find a burst of inspiration and know what to do with them.
There’s absolutely nothing to lose when making cards: it’s only tiny quantities of materials, so a zero risk environment for exploring colour combinations, patterns, shapes and motifs.
It’s a great way to start to develop awareness of your unique style. Because you’re working relatively quickly, just getting ‘something’ done then moving on to the next one, there’s no dithering about, no pressure to produce a masterpiece, and not really much scope - or need - to copy anyone else. The result is something authentically you - and even if you don’t see it, others will!
The other day I was supposed to be cracking on with my cards but decided to film what I was doing to make a quick reel obviously, editing and uploading then took up time which could have been used to create more cards, but hey, it was fun! and Ulrike (who I met in person yonks ago, on a course) said “These are so recognisably yours! ❤️”.
Click to watch:
Quick to make means it’s satisfyingly quick to build up a decent stash. As well as pieces for the wall at Ramster (more a sort of wobbly zigzag of display boards - nothing wrong with the boards, it’s the uneven 17th century floorboards that are unhelpful) artists can also supply oodles of cards for sale. They’re required to be delivered in bundles of 10 which allows the stewards to keep the displays fully stocked for hours of happy browsing.
Even if I don’t sell any of my ‘wall’ pieces at a show, it’s a certainty I’ll sell a card or twenty. And probably come home with a paperbag-ful of other people’s, too!
They’re a perfect little project if you want inspiration for your #100dayproject which is coming up soooooon!! I’ll probably write about this later this week, but if you’d like to know more sooner, my mate
has written a detailed post explaining all.
Need a little inspiration?
Trawl back through my Facebook page or Instagram grid and you’ll find more examples of the species, usually from when I’m getting ready for an exhibition of some sort. To save you the scroll, I pulled a selection from the archives: take a look here and here and here (this last one not strictly ‘cards’ but a very similar format - and an excellent #100dayproject as it happens) and here. And one more for luck, here.
Cards can help you support a good cause
A few years ago, the print artist John Pedder started his “One of many” campaign. Because he makes prints, obviously his art work is usually…one of many. But batch production means that any artist working in any medium can make a batch of similar-ish cards, one of which is…one of many.
The idea is for artists to offer a batch of cards, but instead of offering them for sale, people put their names into a draw to receive one. Each lucky recipient then donates to a charity of their choice when they receive the card.
I’ve offered cards a couple of times in previous years, but I keep missing the deadline - the pesky social media algorithm doesn’t always alert me in time. This year, I noticed the deadline then lost track of time and suddenly it’s galloping up on me. Eek!
But all is not lost - another large piece of the painted card I used last time has been kicking around the studio ever since, with a hopeful scrap of fabric paperclipped to a corner as an aide mémoire as to what I was going to do.
If/when I get my act together on this one, I’ll be announcing it over on Instagram so make sure you follow me there if you want to be in with a chance! I’ve previously limited to UK only, but that’s boring, so let’s keep it open to everyone everywhere.
Donating to charity on receipt of a card is obviously done on faith - there’s zero requirement to provide proof or details other than the recipient’s own conscience. Ideally, I’d love donations for my next batch to go towards breast cancer research or cancer care, such as a local cancer centre or charity such as Macmillan, but ultimately it’s not up to me - I’ll just crack on and make the cards!
Here’s some of the previous batch in production to give you an idea of how they might turn out:
and some pics of the batch before that:
I’ll give you a heads up in Substack chat or notes or whatever it’s called so make sure to keep an eye out there or on Instagram. And if you’d like to purchase one of the other original cards, Ramster opens on 2 March and is open every day for two weeks. I won’t be there in person (a bit too far to steward) but my cards will be!
Until next time, back to the production line!
PS I’ve received a few requests from people looking for my short courses, and it made me realise that books and bags and landscapes aren’t just for Christmas! Click here to find out more if you’d like to join a class to make Beautiful Book Covers, Bags, or a seasonal landscape.
Making cards are my go to for feeling satisfied with art play. Selling them is a small bonus as it enables me to buy more art supplies. 😀
Thanks for the mention. I do make cards still but mostly they feel like a distraction so I have to be in the mood!