Friday, April 27, 2012

ACEO cards

Grade level : Any level between 1st grade and 5th grade .


Artist concept and skills : Create a series of ACEO cards .


Material needed : * white cardboard paper 2 1/2 by 3 1/2 inches
                            
                            * color pencils , sharpies or crayons .


                            * if you decide to make a series on animals  , have pictures of birds , cats , dogs , lions , etc available for your students to look at .


                            * you may want to show examples of ACEO cards .


Vocabulary : What is an ACEO card ? ACEO stands for art card editions and originals . It is also sometimes called ATC cards (Artist Trading Cards ) . It is a miniature work the size of a modern baseball card . It measures 2 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches . The ACEO movement started in Switzerland . Those cards can be produced in any media . From dry media (pencils , pens , markers , etc.) , wet media ( watercolors , acrylic paints , etc.) to paper media (collage , papercuts , etc.). Some cards are even made of metals or cloth . Those cards are trade and exchanged .
ACEO/ATC cards are usually created in a series of three or four cards representing a theme (like beach , animals , pets , birds , or landscape , etc)


Project : In this project ,each student will create a serie of ATC/ACEO cards . In this example below I chose the theme animals. 
              (1) Each students will be given 3 blank cards (measuring each 2 1/2 by 3 1/2 inches )
              (2) Each student will have to decide what animals they want to draw , and then draw ONE animal on each card , using either color pencils , sharpies or crayons.





              (3) On the back of each card the students should include the following information :
                               Title (A Lovely Owl)
                               Artist name : (AC)
                               Date (April 17 , 2012)
                               Number (1 of 1)
                               Signature (there should be a signature from the artist .)


Example of an animal series :
                               

Have fun !
A great variation of this lesson is the following . Have students draw their own self-portrait on a regular piece of paper . The teacher will then scan those portraits and print them the size of 2 1/2 by 3 1/2 inches . Print as many copies as you have students . At the end of the year party , give each student a pack of those self-portraits and have each student sign their own portrait . It will build great memories !