Steph Brouwers has arrived stateside and we have been in awe of all the wonderful wearable art she has made for the upcoming show. Each necklace is like a museum dedicated to world travel. Beads of ceramic, wood, glass and stone from Africa, Europe, China, and India all mixed in with bone and shell and fabric and feathers… And that's just for starters.
Steph doesn't just make art, though. She teaches art. Her students are teenagers; 13, 14, 15 years old. They're represented in this show as well, with ATCs. What are ATCs? Artist Trading Cards. They have several things in common with each other. 1.) All are 2 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches. 2.) All are unique works of art. And, 3.) They not sold, but traded. Here are nine of them.
Now, if you would like to obtain one of these beauties, all you need to do is make one of your own. Your creation will travel back to Belgium with Steph and be presented to the student who made the card you adopted. It's that simple.
You can make your ATC at home and bring it to the opening Friday night. Or, you can come prepared to create your ATC at the gallery. We will have card blanks on hand, as well as markers, crayons, collage materials, scissors, glue and assorted sundries. You can even bring in your own raw materials, but all you really need to provide is your imagination. Consider it an experiment in international trading relations.
