Artist Trading Cards

 Artist Trading Cards - have you heard of them?!

I discovered Artist Trading Cards in the town of Ajijic in Jalisco, Mexico when I was having a margarita at a bar in a restaurant and saw a group of people enter and head to their table all carrying "binders". I asked the barman what the group were doing and he said he didn't know but "it was something to do with cards". Given my limited Spanish I didn't push it any further to try and see what type of cards or what they were doing with them. 

Anyway a few days later I was at a party in an Artist Residency and I happened to see someone who had been in the restaurant with a binder. When I got talking to them, I found out that what the group was doing was swapping "Artist Trading Cards". I then googled Artist Trading Cards and found out all about them.

And now back in Ireland, I am involved with an Artist Trading Cards group in Dublin.

Each month a different theme is chosen and after working throughout the month and creating artworks relating to the theme on the specific ATC sized cards, the group comes together to swap them.

Swapping the cards means you can build up a collection of cards and here's some photos of my collection.

Last month the theme was "Woodland Creatures" so I created 7 cards where I drew ladybirds. For this month the cards I created were all the same. But there are no rules, you can create cards that are all the same or different.

And here are pictures of my collection of swapped cards

If you like the thoughts of swapping Artist Trading Cards, you can google to see if there are any groups in your vicinity doing this activity, or I think some people swap or trade cards online. It's a fun activity and it is very social. The other great thing about it is that you can drop in and out of it and go to some meetings or miss one from time to time, there really is no pressure. 

I am really happy to be involved in this activity and I am always amazed by all of the work created by the group members. It is always fascinating to see the different approaches to the theme by all. I am also loving seeing my collection of cards grow by the month. For me personally, I am not much of an artist, but I do enjoy doing something creative and physically present that gets me off my screen. I spend so much time online that I feel it is really good for my brain to be involved in this non-digital group!

Let me know what you think of Artist Trading Cards and whether you will look to get involved in a group, where ever you are in the world.

Here's one of my favourite cards that I completed. It was for the theme of "Fruit and Vegetables"

Can you guess what it is based on?!

Ranelagh Arts Festival: Maeve Brennan events

We got straight in to the Ranelagh Arts Festival activities this morning with a trip to the gorgeous Devlin Theatre at 10.15am to watch a short film about Maeve Brennan and her life in Ranelagh as part of the Ranelagh Arts Film Festival. With a coffee in hand, it was lovely to watch this great 45 minute film in the comforts of The Devlin Hotel. A really great start to Sunday!

And after the film I made a plan to attend another Ranelagh Arts Festival event later in the afternoon. This was another Maeve Brennan activity and was a walking tour of Ranelagh that would start in the Arts Centre and go up to Cherryfield Avenue to see the house that she lived in from age 5 to 17 years before moving to USA.

It was a perfect day for a walking tour, a really bright Dublin day. Cold in the shade but bright and light - a jacket still required by me, but I am a cold person!

The tour was led by Sally Corcoran and was full of interesting information about Maeve Brennan and Ranelagh in general.

Here's a video of a past Ranelagh Arts Maeve Brennan event and if you are interested in her writings, do check out the Irish Public Libraries catalogue.

Hecho en Mexico - Made in Mexico

It's always lovely to buy a well designed and handcrafted item when on holidays and I feel lucky to have found this gorgeous leather bag in a shop in Tlaquepaque on my February trip to Mexico. A brown leather bag is such a classic thing, and I feel like I will get use of this bag for years to come.

It's a simple minimal design made with the most beautiful leather which will soften over the years. I didn't buy many souvenirs but the things that I did buy are handcrafted high quality items that remind me of a fantastic trip to Mexico. 

The designer is Santiago Jimenez and you can check out the store's instagram here.

The Devil wears Prada

We had a lovely trip to the Omniplex Cinema in Rathmines this weekend to see The Devil wears Prada. There were tons of options to go see it at lots of different times in all of the different screens and we got tickets for the Maxx screen with really comfortable reclining chairs.

So what about the movie?!

Well it is exactly as you would expect a big budget well executed very watchable film with great actors. A special mention has to go to Meryl Streep who is excellent as usual and entirely believeable as Miranda Priestley.....and looking great!

The fashion, the art, the settings are all beautiful and if you are looking for an escape from real life for a couple of hours, this is the movie for you.

And then there is Gaga - yes Lady Gaga is there singing on the big screen. Of course I am biased, being a big Gaga fan, I thought she was fantastic.

So all in all I recommend The Devil wears Prada.

I should also mention how busy the Omniplex was which makes me wonder that people are still going to the cinema (or have returned since Covid)....who knows, I haven't looked at cinema going stats in any detail but the Omniplex must think there is a future in cinema going because they have upgraded the Rathmines cinema and have extras available like cocktails, pizza and other hot food options. Definitely an upgrade from a popcorn and coke!

Bank Holiday Blooms

I've been having a quiet Bank Holiday weekend here in Ireland. Generally just getting up to some chores and gardening.

I mentioned in my last blog that I mentioned that I planted wilddlowers in the wasteland at the end of my road. Well would you believe there are some signs of some plants beginning to bloom!

The first thing I am seeing that is doing really well are some "Pentaglottis" which I think have been growing a few years now in this spot. They kind of look like nettles with fuzzy leaves but the flowers are a gorgeous blue colour.

Also growing for a few years in this area, is this flower which is called "Wood Sorrel" or Oaxalis Acetosella. From looking this plant up online, it seems that the leaves and flowers are edible.

And then the next one that is just starting to grow is the Oaxalis Tetraphylla, also known as the Iron Cross or Lucky Clover. 

It's great to see all of these different plants among the wild garlic and it will be interesting to see what pops up next!

Garden project time!

Well it is another gardening project in the makine.

This time it is not in my garden but instead in a little bit of wasteland down the end of the cul de sac that I live in.

For the past few years I have planted wild flower seeds in this area but nothing seems to have grown except for lots of wild garlic which has been there for years. 

While I love the smell of the garlic it is rather boring to look at. So I am really intent on getting some nice brightly coloured flowers growing in this area.

I am currently growing some seedlings on the window sill in my living room which I will transplant to the wasteland area. There are a few earmarked spots I have started to put down fertiliser in and water well in preparation.

I have coco coir ordered from Amazon and am expecting that to arrive in a few days. 

So on Saturday I will set up the areas for planting with coco coir and then compost and then give it a good water. Then it is a matter of planting all my seedlings. After this I have a box of wildflower seeds which I will scatter around in the bare areas near my seedlings.

And beyond that it is about keeping the area well watered and cross my fingers for this Hail Mary Project!

Watch this space......

Garden project - furniture upkeep

I noticed that my garden furniture was looking a bit shabby and decided to give them a little refresh by spray painting them.

It is a fine weather day here in Dublin so I took the opportunity to do a few chores this morning and then start on the garden furniture in the afternoon.

After dropping some WEE reccyling to the centre in Rathmines and dropping in some old clothes to the Oxfam charity shop, I stopped in to the hardware in Ranelagh and brought black spray paint.

Here's pics of the furniture as I started and progressed to finish. I am happy with the result and they certainly look "refreshed".  They currently sit in our front garden and will be great for another Summer!