Artist’s Trading Cards Run Amok

Dear Liza,

I started making these little Artists Trading Cards last week and now I can’t stop!!

I started with collages of soft backgrounds and black and white photos. The words came mostly from the J. Peterman Catalogue.

Then I used the same soft focus backgrounds for some neurographic art, which seems to be just lines which cross and create negative space. I like how the flower shapes play with the flowing black lines. I gave some of the spaces dots, and some a wash of color. they don’t say anything, but they’re pretty.

I love so many things about ATCs. They are small, just 2.5 by 3.5 inches, so you can make them out of next to nothing. When you get bored with one medium, you can switch and not be stuck with a whole canvas to cover. And you can share them! I’ve mailed some, but I’m also making some to take on our trip.


Just before my hand gave out for the day, I picked up some scraps from the cards I’d made and a page from an old, old book, and made three more.

Who knows what I’ll make next?

Love,

Grandma Judy

Another Way to Share ATCs

Dear Liza,

You know how creative people are… once they get an idea, they follow it to the next, and the next. That’s sort of what is happening with my ATCs, or Artist Trading Cards.

Once I got the right size figured out, I laid down some floral bits of art from a donated calendar. To make them a softer background, I brushed on some white acrylic. I cut them to the proper 2.5 by 3.5 inches.

Then, to contrast with that lovely pastel, I searched the calendar again and found black and white photos or darker images to add. I really liked the way each one told a story.

But I’m a word person, snd I wanted words. I found them in Auntie Bridgett’s ‘French Phrase a Day’ calendar. Taking our current national situation into consideration, I added phrases. (I will let you look them up…) These were really coming along!

Then, to top it all off, Ruthie Inman suggested punching a hole in each one and keeping them on a ring! A portable, share-able art gallery! I am having fun imagining when I might share these on a train traveling through France, or sitting in a park. Of course, they have my information card on the back so folks will be able to find me on the ‘net.

Ain’t art grand?

Love,

Grandma Judy

Artist Trading Cards

Dear Liza,

I have found a new kind of art to make, and even a group of people to share it with! Ruthie Inman’s ZOOM art group includes Zoë, a delightful lady who lives in Tasmania, Australia. Zoë and Ruthie both make ATCs. That is, Artist Trading Cards.

Artist Trading Cards are little pieces of art, 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches. They can be painted, collaged, drawn, just about any medium you can imagine. You make them, then mail them to friends, who mail you theirs. It’s like having artsy pen pals!

I used a few failed Valentines, but mostly clipped bits from the art calendar Jennifer Coile sent me.


I made my first ATCs using Auntie Bridgett’s old business cards as backing, then realized that they are a half an inch too small for the ATC trading rules.
They are just two in he’s high and 3.5 inches wide.

But that’s okay! First, because I don’t think art should have rules; and second, because I can still send them to friends who don’t care about the rules.

But for my second round, I’m doing something different. I laid out rectangles of the right size, and made six ATCs at the same time, with bits overlapping.

I glued bits of art down, then gave it a quick smudge with white paint to soften the colors. I really like them, but they need something… I’ll show you what, tomorrow!

Love,

Grandma Judy

President’s Day Protests

Dear Liza,

As you know, the United States’ newly installed president has spent his first three weeks in office dismantling the Federal government, rolling back human rights laws, and generally setting himself up to be a dictator.

With his appointment of billionaire racist Elon Musk as head of DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency), he is quickly firing the staff of any agency that might stop him.

Even more frightening, the Republicans in Congress are doing nothing to protect the government they were elected to.

This angers me… and hundreds of thousands of other Americans.

So on Monday, which was Presidents’ Day, about 2,000 people showed up at Portland City Hall to protest, chant, and eventually march through the streets. A peaceful but vocal crowd marched across the bridges and up the east side, carrying the message of resistance to tyranny.

It was good to be part of something bigger, of a flood of hope and passion for our democracy. Portland’s Raging Grannies were there, and Federal Workers, Union Members, and thousands of just plain folks.

This will not be our last protest, you can be sure. I’ll keep you posted.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Artsy Valentines

Dear Liza,

We had a Valentine’s Day snow storm, so it was stay-inside-and-make-cookies sort of day. I made a salmon quiche for dinner and we had a lovely, quiet evening.

And for our Valentines cards, we got all arty!

My cards for Auntie Bridgett and Grandpa Nelson were projects I worked on with Ruthie Inman this week.

Soupy watercolor backgrounds were painted, left to dry, and pressed flat under three big volumes of Shakespeare. Then tissue paper and napkins were glued onto card stock and cut into hearts. Then the hearts were glued to the watercolors, and everything got glued to a card and pressed again. It was fun, not terribly exacting, and turned out very well.

Auntie Bridgett’s card to me was also very artsy! It is a line drawing inspired by her latest painting for GiftyKitty, which I just love. It featured cats, coffee, and lots of swoops, hearts, and spirals.

And I get to color it any way I like!

Hooray for love, cookies, and art!

Love,

Grandma Judy

A Chilly Night in the Mississippi

Dear Liza,

We are expecting a full on snow storm, and last night the temperature was nearing freezing. So, (of course), we went out. Our first priority was dinner, and we tried Mississippi Pizza. Their gluten free crust is crisp and delicious, and their garlic and onion pizza has made us vampire proof. It was amazing.

The pizza shop is also a music venue and comedy club, and has all sorts of smaller rooms and hallways. The decor is chaotic and fun and we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.

Mississippi Pizza was perfect because our goal for the evening was GiftyKitty, which is just up the street. GiftyKitty is the delightful store run by Clody Cates, Bridgett’s business cohort. She was having a “Meowgical Forest” display in her shop. This was part of Portland’s Festival of Light. All sorts of art that glow under black light were being featured, and that sounded too good to miss.

The street was nearly empty because of the cold, and the storefront was very dark. That’s because the interior was only lit with the black lights that make the art glow. Once inside, though, the effect was , well, “meowgical”.

We walked around and gawked as Clody told about all the artists. Eventually, we had to brave the cold, get back to the car, and head home.

It’s amazing what’s out there, if you just put on the big coat!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Another Brain-Eating Project…. Done!

Dear Liza,

Just before Christmas, I started this 50 year scrapbook, as a 50th Anniversary gift for Grandpa Nelson, a fun project, and a way for me to revisit all these wonderful, busy years together.

I collected old photos, scanned and printed them, trimmed, collaged, typed and swore quite a bit. I typed the minimal text on Auntie Bridgett’s vintage Corona typewriter, shifting from third to first person as I went.

With all the cutting, I managed to aggravate a wrist injury so I am having to invent new ways of pouring coffee and folding clothes while it heals.

But I love it! It isn’t perfect; it is even missing (at least) one trip to Hawai’i. But it has served its purpose! It made Grandpa Nelson chuckle, let me play with paper, and fed my brain with re-visited memories.

And it got us all caught up and ready for whatever the heck comes next…. All while barely fitting in the recycled book it was built in!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Positive Charge

Dear Liza,

It has been a while since I’ve written. I felt like I was repeating myself, didn’t have anything good to say, and just needed to stop talking for a while.

Several things have helped me out of my rut. First, I ran into a group called The Portland Raging Grannies, and have joined them. This group of local women write songs and march at rallies to chant for justice. I think all our small voices taken together can help change the injustices currently washing over us, and give people hope.

Next, I found the Portland Food Project, which collects food from local folks and distributes it to food banks. I have thought I couldn’t help because I don’t drive, but the Food Project comes by twice a month to collect the food! This is a very convenient way to make sure our local folks are fed….Because fed people are happier people.

Then there is Positive Charge PDX. This group was founded by Sally and her daughter Jordan, and their sole mission is to amplify kindness in the world. This year they have collected over 1,700 Valentine cards which will be distributed to old folks homes and Meals on Wheels, so folks with no friends or family can still get a smile in Valentine’s Day. I met them at Tov Coffee when I was dropping off our donations.

I realized that since the election, I have felt a bit beaten down… like there was more ick than joy in the world. But meeting these positive, creative, power -of -the -people groups has given me new hope for our countries’ future.

And for my own, as well.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Allie Yacina at Happy Anyway

Dear Liza,

Auntie Bridgett and I walked out in the rain the other day to see the new show at Happy Anyway. This small, delightful shop is just a few blocks down on SE Belmont here in Portland, and is one of our new favorite places.

Besides the usual quirky antiquities and tchatchkies, there is a show this month and next of Allie Yacina’s sketchbooks and art.

I quickly fell in love with Allie’s color palette and blend of observation and style, almost like Matisse… but not quite. I stared at the opened sketchbooks posted on the wall, and flipped through the one on the counter. Each one seemed to show me a new way of seeing.

Because these are Allie’s sketchbooks, we see the lines and corrections, the process of how she makes the image happen. This makes all this beauty feel very “do-able”… very possible, even for me. Allie is holding a small workshop and “sketch time” on January 19th, so folks can all hang out with this talented lady and do art together!


Since Allie lives in our neighborhood, and paints what she sees, many of these sights are familiar to me. Lone Fir Cemetery. Shop fronts on Burnside. Laurelhurst Park.

Steph Sheldon, the owner, is always fun to talk with, about art or any other subject. She has a positive attitude that is not starry-eyed, but strong and almost defiant. “Happy anyway” is her response to “The world is a mess”.

We spent a delightful hour at the shop and walked back home through our dear, soggy neighborhood. As so often happens after looking at art, every curb and branch became an object of wonder and appreciation.

And that’s why we love art!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Moving the Scrapbook Along

Dear Liza,

I have become sort of obsessed with this Fifty Plus Years scrap book I am making.

Trying to include highlights from Grandpa’s and my time together has made for many trips down the rabbit hole of photo albums and memory lane.

There are the historic bits I want to get right and can’t always remember, and then there are the layout and artistic bits. Is this color okay with this photo? Why is this shiny paper so hard to work with? Where is that ticket stub?

So far I have worked by way from 1974 to 1992, with most pages having some text with my take in what was happening.

It won’t take Fifty Years, but it won’t be done anytime soon. I’ll bring it with me this Summer.

Love,

Grandma Judy