ACEO's

ACEO's or Art Cards, Editions, Originals are the latest craze sweeping the online arts and craft world.... miniature works of art you can collect and own. The artwork measures 3.5 x2.5 ins and are made in a range of media from paper and paints, to mosaics, textiles and yarn crafts. There is an excellent website here that explains ACEO's in great depth.

Aceo's are attractive for a variety of reasons including:

• They are an inexpensive way to own original art work
• They enable artists to explore their ideas on a small scale
• They encourage experimentation
• Buyers are inspired to want to own bigger pieces!
• They are a personal challenge to produce something small and unique
• They allow creativity to flow
• They can be displayed on the wall, on mini easels or stored away in albums

Personally I love creating them because they are relatively quick to make, they challenge me to make something tiny and exquisite and give me the opportunity to try out techniques to use on larger items in the future. I like my makes to be seen though, whether knitted, crocheted or sewn and think all art deserves to be seen - so not sure if I like the idea of hiding them in albums really.

I've been experiementing recently with filet crochet and free form and scumbling and want to take it forward into knitting too! So ACEO's are proving an excellent way for me to play and try out ideas. Idea's that can eventually grow and develop into wearable art perhaps... I have a pile of scumbles hiding in a dark corner somewhere and my next step is to hunt them down and see whether I can stitch them into some inventive ACEO designs.

The first ACEO I've added to my Folksy Shop is a combination of a filet lace framework and border, with surface crochet. The ACEO challenge on Folksy this week is to create something on the theme of blue and as my hook was wandering a pattern of intertwined chains appeared, reminiscent of thick undergrowth in a forgotten corner of a garden. A few fluffy white blobs made crocheted in a fleece yarn made for some little white flowers. And then from the tangle and confusion rose a winding green stem, complete with leaves. And the beauty from the chaos began to develop, topped off with a startling blue rose! And "My Blue Garden" was born

My Blue Garden ACEO - Bits and Bobs Crafts

  Other "Blue Artists" can be seen on the Folksy Forum.

And here is a selection from the February listings groups "The Valentinos"

Welsh Mountains -  Maxine Veronica

Bridge at Keswick - Uniquely Yours

Mermaid Water Colour - Dottery Pottery

Fabric Art ACEO - Lilipopo at Glass Mountain

Mosaic Spring Tree ACEO - Diana Jane Designs