These days, a lot of people are downsizing their lives, and "voluntary simplicity" by choice seems to be slowly replacing the rampant opulence and consumerism that has been prevalent since the late 1970's.
The "tiny house movement" seems to be gaining momentum and more and more people are replacing their "McMansions" with much smaller-- often quite upscale and sophisticated-- RV's.
Among younger generations, more and more people choose to keep all their worldly possessions in a backpack or suitcase... made possible by technology that allows people to work from wherever there is an Internet connection and a place to charge their laptop.
Limited Edition ACEO print by Teal Newcomb
Welcome to the World of ACEOs!
ACEO stands for "Art Card Edtions and Originals." They were originally created by artists as a form of "trading card" allowing them to share work with each other.
An ACEO always measures 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" (about 6.5 x 9cm) and are typically miniature original works of art. I have seen watercolours, oil paintings, drawings, pastels and even some mixed media pieces.
On occasion. ACEOs will be done as prints in small limited editions.
Although some ACEOs by sought after artists can run in excess of $200 for a signed original, the majority of originals sell for somewhere in the range of US $12-20; with limited edition prints generally running in the US $4-12 range.
Because Art MATTERS...
Just because we are moving towards small spaces and portable lifestyles doesn't mean that we have to give up having art in our lives.
Original watercolour painting in ACEO format by Laurel Geyer
Art matters; art enriches our lives.
The beauty of ACEOs is that they are tiny and lightweight-- there is room for them in "tiny houses," as well as in your RV. And for those of you who carry your entire lives in a backpack or suitcase, you can also carry your art with you-- a small photo folder can house an entire collection of original art.
ACEOs at The Red Dragonfly
We just recently added some ACEOs to the mix at the gallery. Shown in this article, an original watercolor painting by Port Townsend artist Laurel Geyer; as well as a limited edition print ACEO by digital artist Teal Newcomb.
We have a number of other pieces now available in the gallery.
The Red Dragonfly is an independent alternative art gallery located in Port Townsend, WA; showcasing edgy and unique contemporary art & handmade crafts by local and worldwide artists. All images are our own, unless otherwise credited. Artist images used with permission.
You are right, art matters but its worth keeping in mind one of the very basic principles of rational collecting which says that one should avoid collecting things which are intentionally made for collectors if long term value of the collection is of any importance.
Of course collecting is highly irrational by definition and one can collect whatever one wants/likes but collectibles produced and marketed as such statistically do quite poorly as long term investment.
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@pibyk, thanks for your comment!
My dad was a pretty passionate art collector... his principles for collecting were simple... buy the very best you can afford and buy it because you like it, not because it's "valuable," "popular"or anything like that.
In this particular case, the term "collectible" was used to emphasize that ACEOs have "gradutated" from just being seen as "silly nonsense" to something many people are taking seriously and actually collecting.
Other than that, I totally agree with you that so-called "collectibles" typically are anything but.
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Your dad was very right - I follow more or less the same principles while building my own collection :-)
I would say that almost any art is collectible by definition be it the one perceived as silly nonsense or the one widely recognized as serious stuff so extra labeling is not necessary but that's just my own perception which does not have to be shared by others.
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