Downtown Bloomington First Friday: Artist Trading Cards at Downtown Galleries

The First Friday in March brings the annual release of Artist Trading Cards to many galleries in Downtown Bloomington. These cards are small, baseball card-sized, affordable original works of art all made by local artists. The event is from 4pm to 8pm on March 6th.

An Artist Card also known as an ACEO (Artist Cards Editions and Originals) is a small card measuring 2 1/2 ” by 3 1/2 ” upon which the artists create a quick piece of artwork representative of their larger body of work. Any type of surface can be used from paper to metal, plexiglass, plastic, thin wood and any media can be used from charcoal to oil paint to fabric to photography and more. Cards can be framed or placed in album pages and stored in a binder. Some collectors put them in magnetic sleeves to display on refrigerators, some have used them in phone cases as decoration, and, of course, they can always be framed.

Each artist will release only a limited number of cards for sale that evening and each card is signed either on the front or reverse.. Artists hope these cards will promote connoisseurship among the next generation of collectors. For some art patrons these cards are the first piece of original art they purchase and for others it is a chance to buy art from someone they admire but can’t afford at a higher price.

Most of the artist’s cards will be priced from $5 to $15 but some more elaborate or framed cards can be priced higher. Cards will remain available beyond the event.

This is an annual event and another release won’t be for another year. The following studios and galleries are participating.

• Main Gallery 404, 404 N Main St., will have over 10 artists contributing cards in many media with over 300 cards available.
• Eaton Gallery, 411 N Center St., will be offering original drawings from Herb Eaton
• Art Vortex Studio, 101 W. Monroe St., Ste 210, will feature cards byJanean Baird·
• Threshold to Hope, Inc., 107 E Chestnut St., will have artist trading cards from their various artists. They will also have a station set up for people to try their hand at making their own artist trading card (supplies provided).
• Mandy Roeing Fine Art Studio & Gallery, 105 W Monroe, Ste A, will offer original graphite drawings of birds and abstract colored pencil drawings.
• Joann Goetzinger Gallery, 313 N. Main St. Cards by Joann Goetzinger and Sheila Allen
• Jan Brandt Gallery418 N Main St. Cards by Jan Brandt
• J.Y. Langston Studio & Gallery, 103 W. Monroe St. Card in water based media by Jeremy Langston
• Inside Out:Accessible Art, 200 W. Monroe St. offering cards by gallery artists and Trading Card Swap area.
• Angel Ambrose Fine Art Studio, 101 W. Monroe St, new selection of cards.