A wonderful thing happened in the gluebooks group this week: the members invented a new art form. Glued Trading Cards, or GTCs—like artist trading cards, but entirely glued, just like our books are entirely glued.

OK, so it’s not a completely new idea. People have been making ATCs of every type for years. Surely, some group somewhere has traded glued cards before.

However, in the context of our happy little group, this was a new idea—that we would take our gluey art form out of books and journals, and start trading it in a smaller format. For many in the group, it will be the first step into making ATCs of any kind, and the first try at swapping work. That’s a good thing. This group, more than any other I’ve put together, is as much about challenging ourselves and breaking out of our usual creative habits as it is about making glued art. We encourage each other to stretch, and cheer each other on with each flex of our creative muscles.

So, we’re happy. We started a swap list, and are happily signing up to send 3 glued cards each all over the place. Lots of happy glue folk getting ready to do lots of happy swapping.

Well, apparently, there was some discussion of our new GTC swapping on another list, and some glue bashing. Some folks don’t like the idea of their precious ATCs being diminished by lowly magazine images and gluesticks. Some other folks simply dismissed our latest passion as something their kids might enjoy.

(And this is where I get to my point…)

Why on earth does anyone think it’s OK to belittle someone else’s method of self-expression? Did someone get crowned the Queen of Aesthetics while I wasn’t looking? Is there an official Keeper of the Legitimate Art Forms around that I don’t know about?

In my world, anything that encourages people to create is a good thing. Anything that excites them and makes them want to try something new is equally good.

Will we see a book from Stampington on GTCs? Probably not. Will they be swapping them in the rubber stamped ATC groups? Probably not. Will it hurt anyone if my happy little group makes and swaps a couple thousand gluey trading cards? Probably not. It might even help a few people. Will I be trying to swap my glued creations in some of the mixed-media groups where I hang out? Probably not—but that doesn’t mean I won’t have fun swapping them within the Gluebooks group.

Along with the very open Gluebooks group, I moderate a very closed, very juried deco group. I regularly receive applications to this group from people who make perfectly lovely decos—and who, for one reason or another, aren’t quite ready to make the jump into our group. Does that diminish their work? Not at all. Every artist is where she is in her development, her skill level, and her mindset. That someone is creating at a different level than I am, or in a different way than I am does not diminish either of our work. It just means that for this moment, perhaps we are better off working in different places.

Now pass me the glue—I have some trading cards to make…