For Americans, international craze Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) first rose in popularity in the Mile High City.

Denver was the first U.S. city to host ATC sessions, according to Jerry Simpson — an artist who leads two local chapters of the loosely organized international club. Swiss artist M. Vanci Stirnemann made the first ATCs in 1997. Today ATC groups meet in thousands of cities around the globe and also online to create, swap and collect miniature original works of art.

ATC members, both professional artists and amateurs, abide by only two rules. The first: All original artworks must measure 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches — the same size as playing cards or professional sports trading cards. The second: No money changes hands in bartering. (When cards are sold, they’re known as Art Card Editions and Originals (ACEO).)

The Mile High City’s first ATC group, founded by Victoria Regina, started trading in 1999. An architect and a paper doll artist, she traded via mail back-and-forth from Switzerland. Billed as a “collective cultural performance,” ATC groups were inspired by the Dada philosophy of “art for art’s sake.”

That philosophy is embraced by Simpson, 83, a retired illustrator and graphic designer who switched from advertising to fine art in 1988. He joined Denver ATC Gathering in 2003.

“The group was meeting at Core, a gallery on Larimer,” Simpson said in an interview. “I went down to visit and watched this group of 107 people: I counted. They were furiously trading cards, and I couldn’t believe some of the artwork.”

Simpson returned the following month with cards he had made to trade.

Currently, Denver ATC Gathering meets on the second Saturday of each month from 10 a.m. until noon in The Art Hub at 40 West Arts District in Lakewood. Traders create and bring to swap either original one-off works or a series of cards created in a similar vein or limited editions of identical cards.

Simpson saves his ATCs in plastic sleeves stored in 3-ring binders.

“I have 60 or more binders. I haven’t counted. I love to collect them,” he said. “I do a lot of line drawings, but other artists produce with any medium: photography, rubber stamps, found objects, paintings, ceramics, glass. It doesn’t have to be flat. There’s no restriction, so you could make it a foot thick, but that would be hard to get into a plastic sleeve.”

ATC groups often riff on a suggested theme.

“We have an unusual box with scraps of paper people have added with themes, and we pull one out,” Simpson said. “The theme is to stir creativity, but we don’t have to follow the theme.”

For artists, ATCs not only stimulate creativity, but also create community.

“The fun part is getting together with artists. I always like people who work with their hands and create things. The trading is a riot,” said Simpson, who said he has traded approximately 24,000 ATCs over the years.

“I trade with everybody. About half are really cool, really nice art,” he said. “A lot of people bring 12 to 24 ATCs.”

Simpson shows up with two, 4-inch-thick binders, each holding a couple hundred cards in plastic sleeves with pockets designed to hold baseball cards. Making ATCs keep his creative juices flowing.

“I am prolific,” said Simpson. “I enjoy creativity. I never get an artist block. Never. Ever.”

Prior to the pandemic, the Denver group numbered up to 30 artists. While ATC trader numbers are down since COVID lockdown, the group hopes to rebound with more traders.

Deborah Williams, a former member of Denver ATC Gathering, took her inspiration international.

“I made and traded little cards almost every month in Denver for at least 15 years,” Williams said in an email interview. “No matter what stress was happening at work or in the family, there was always ATC. For me it was a little refuge of like-minded creatives to just have fun.”

After retiring from her career as a marketing executive with her own firm, and moving from Denver to Mexico, Williams founded Artist Trading Cards Ajijic and Lakeside in her new home of Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico.

“Downsizing is hard, but I knew I had to bring some artist trading cards with me,” Williams said. “Since ATC is international, I was hoping there would be a group here. There wasn’t, but after COVID, I showed a few people the cards I had brought, and they were excited.”

The Ajijic group, formed in February 2022, includes mostly American expatriates along with a few Mexicans.

“In Denver, Jerry was a nice guy who wore a hat, and here I am ‘la reina’ (the queen), and I wear a crown made of ATCs,” Williams said. “I made my crown before we began the group, so it is made with cards done by Denver artists: Jerry Simpson, Bill Kastan, Sue Mellows, Phillip Hoyle, Amy and Monica Kastan. Such creativity! I couldn’t leave it in Denver.”

Williams added that meetings of the group in Mexico differ from the Denver group.

“In Denver we met in the morning and went to lunch, and here we meet at a restaurant at 5 p.m. sharp and drink margaritas,” she said. “In Denver, I recall each person would make a series of the same card. Here, people do all totally different cards. Typically, we will trade about a dozen to 15 cards.”

Williams stores her favorite ATCs in cigar boxes.

“A small cigar box allows casual perusal of 50 or so. As I get cards I prefer, I pluck out the old ones and add them to a big cigar box,” she said.

In Denver, Williams had collected hundreds of ATCs, but packed only about 30 for her move to Mexico.

“I have probably a hundred now made here by my new creative pals,” Williams said. “I love how a dozen different people will interpret one idea in such a small space.”

A big hit with many artists, the small works offer benefits in additional to creative camaraderie. ATCs allow artists to experiment with new techniques, work out ideas as thumbnails that might inspire larger works, curate their own card collections and expand their artistic network. Small works allow artists to use up leftover materials and create works that are economical in that they don’t require as many art supplies as large-scale works.

Moreover, with ATCs, artists can create miniature portfolios to market their work. On the backs of ATCs, artists list their name, website, email address or other contact information, along with the title and theme, creation date, edition number and a signature that puts the finishing touch on their original, if minuscule, masterpieces.

For more information about Denver ATC Gathering, call Jerry Simpson at 303-722-9593 or email jerrysimpson@q.com.

“Or,” Simpson said, “show up for the trade with a handful of cards.”