The Tarot Project

Saturday, April 19, 2025 – Sunday, May 18, 2025

The shuffling of the cards is the earth, and the pattering of the cards is the rain,
and the beating of the cards is the wind, and the pointing of the cards is the fire . . .
the meaning of all process and the measure of the everlasting dance.

– The Greater Trumps by Charles Williams, 1932

Anyone familiar with my work might wonder why an artist, long devoted to crafting her own fantastical worlds, would suddenly step into the dreamscape of tarot–a realm I’d never seriously considered. Still, I jumped in and I am surprised to find myself spending months immersed in this mystical system, bringing its vibrant symbols to life on canvas. And although I’m not a tarot reader, I deeply respect the profound intuition required to interpret the cards.
The same is true for illustrating them.

I created not just one, but two versions of the Major Arcana and numerous associated paintings. In doing so, I uncovered a new understanding of the rich archetypes that define tarot’s essence.
The Major Arcana consists of 22 of the 78 tarot cards, known as the “Greater Mysteries,” each representing fundamental archetypes of the human journey. Card by card, I traveled that path, one brushstroke at a time. Some of my first 22 paintings closely resemble the designs of the traditional Rider-Waite-Smith deck. I had vowed not to lean too heavily on existing work, aiming to paint from my own perspective. Yet, like many tarot artists before me, I found myself captivated by the allure of certain cards, their imagery too compelling to ignore. These Rider-Waite-Smith influences are easy to spot.
When the first set of cards was complete, I thought I was done. But an idea wouldn’t let go: what if I explored this journey again, through a more personal lens? An autobiographical Major Arcana.

I almost talked myself out of it until I discovered, hidden in my storage closet, exactly 22 identical pre-primed canvases. It felt like the universe itself had flipped the green light on, beckoning me to paint now.
I began to paint, now reinterpreting each tarot card through events from my own life. Having wrestled with these concepts in the first set of paintings, I found it easier to see the tarot’s patterns reflected in my personal history and was surprised how often these archetypes mirrored my own experiences. The second set took shape quickly, feeling more dynamic, more immediate, and occasionally sparking multiple visions at once. There were several cards that seemed disconnected from my life at first–but, after deeper reflection, even those archetypes found their places in my story.
In addition to the paintings, I also ventured into 3D, crafting small tarot-themed sculptures. They are all clay whistles, one per archetype.  Shaping whistles by hand is a craft I learned from my mother and it has been an obsession ever since. They became a way to translate complex emotions into simple, tangible forms.