I See a Tarot Deck in Your Future...

Well, my future anyway. My tarot deck is already under way. By now you already know that I've always been drawn to art that is rich with symbolism, where you could literally stare at an image for great lengths of time trying to decipher all of the hidden meanings. Each card is like a little puzzle, some decks use triangles and curves to indicate whether the influences are from past or future, other rely greatly on the readers understanding of various mythologies to get their messages across and some are purely whimsical, cool art without much regard to the symbolism.

My first introduction to tarot cards was the Aquarian deck by Palladini my mother brought home one day. Wrapped in a silk scarf, and with a stack of tarot books for reference, she began daily readings....who wouldn't be intrigued?

David Palladini's Aquariam Tarot, still one of my absolute favourite decks

So now having studied several different decks for years, I've begun tackling my own. Each card starts out with my original artwork, then scanned, or photographed, some photoshop magic and voila! A tarot card is born. There are 78 cards in total....I'll keep you posted on the progress and hope you enjoy the process as much as I am. 

Busy, busy, busy

So the good news is that I'm back in the studio today with several "mini psyche's" under way. A bit of a challenge since my studio itself isn't completely unpacked yet, kind of making the whole process a bit of treasure hunt, but very exciting when I accidentally stumble upon just the right tidbit.

Recently got back from New Orleans and now getting ready for ArtFest next month where I'll be teaching a couple of classes on both my layered collage and illustration/painting techniques.

New Orleans was fantastic, well here, see for yourself....the best review of the trip you're gonna get is from my travel partner extraordinaire Michael deMeng. I could tell you all about it, but truly, he does a much better job (and he had the camera...).

I'll leave you with a quick New Orleans voodoo inspired sketch for now, and more from the studio later...

A.

The Mystical Eight of Swords

I may have mentioned once or twice before just how much I adore tarot cards. Beautifully depicted scenes rich in symbolism awaiting mystic and metaphoric interpretation - what could be better? In the course of doing personal tarot card readings (what?! you didn't know I moonlight as a gypsy?) I had noticed the recurrence of the 8 of swords in my readings. Now if you aren't familiar with the 8 of swords, well, it's not the friendliest looking card in the deck; sure, it doesn't strike the same fear in your heart as some of the other cards like "Death" or the "Tower", but it's not exactly what you want to see on a regular basis either.

Essentially, this is a card of bondage and oppression from an outside force, however, spiritually and emotionally you play some fundamental role in your current circumstance. The situation you find yourself in is of your own making and it fear that provides the bondage. You will typically see the eight of swords represented by a woman bound, blindfolded and surrounded by swords that stand guard around her or hold her prisoner depending on your perspective. A tower or fortress of some kind rises up in the background signifying the oppressor, and often the ground appears marshy and wet to show the discomfort and uncertainty. Because she is blindfolded she is unaware of the fact she is in fact surrounded by the very tools that will either prove to be her utter undoing or allow her to cut her bindings and result in her freedom, but the fact still remains that despite the bleak appearance, she does indeed have a way out.

After much reflection, I decided to reintrepret the 8 of swords like this:

Sometimes it isn't what you don't see that imprisons you, but what you don't say. Enough said.