The Tarot of Bones: A Natural History Themed Deck

LupaGreenwolf

Thank you!
 

LupaGreenwolf

I'm back!!! Here's the next assemblage, Death: http://www.thetarotofbones.com/otw-portfolio/death/

Death is quite possibly one of the most infamous cards in the tarot. While it certainly can mean the impending (or past) death of a person or other beloved being, it also frequently refers to any other sort of major, often sudden, change. I chose a rattlesnake skull for the center of this piece as people often fear serpents more than they really need to, focusing on the venomous fangs rather than all the environmental benefits snakes bring, and the fact that the snake is often more afraid of them than vice versa. The shed snakeskin on the background signifies the positive elements of this card: through change you're able to leave behind old things you've outgrown and can move on to a better phase in your life. Reversed, this card may be telling you that you're unnecessarily digging your heels in when it comes to accepting change. Let things go as they will; you'll be better for it in the end.

This is the longest I've gone without completing a Tarot of Bones assemblage piece since I began back in January, and it feels nice to be back. Part of why I pushed myself earlier in the year to get ahead of schedule was because I knew Labor Day weekend, and the weeks leading up to it, would be entirely dedicated to splitting my art vending booth between two of my bigger events of the year, and I didn't want to fall too far behind. We're just about halfway through September, and this is the 62nd assemblage completed out of 79 (including the Happy Squirrel). That gives me 16 weeks to complete 17 assemblages, so I'm actually still pretty well on target.
 

LupaGreenwolf

Hoo boy–the last few weeks have been seriously challenging! I knew festival season would be busy, but I have had a LOT of work to do outside of the Tarot of Bones even beyond that, and I’ve spent entirely too much time away from my studio space. However, I’m back to work on the Tarot of Bones, and would like to present the Queen of Pentacles, the 65th assemblage for this deck:

http://www.thetarotofbones.com/otw-portfolio/queen-of-pentacles/

The opossum may seem like a surprising choice for this card; however, this animal is a wonderful mother, keeping her babies safe in a belly pouch until they’re too big, and caring for them after as well.

I still fully intend to complete the rest of the assemblages by the end of the year; including the Happy Squirrel there are fourteen left, and ten weeks left in the year. That means completing one a week, plus work on another. I think I’ll be fine, and I’ll keep you all posted on my progress.
 

Tanga

I am rather drawn by your images Lupa, and how you choose to match up the qualities of the animals with
the tarot.
I love bones! :) I if I had the space, and less squirmy family members I'd have a collection.

I LOVE your DEATH card.
And the 2 of Pentacles it too damn cool.
 

LupaGreenwolf

Thank you, Tanga! It's been a really fruitful project, and I have enjoyed meditating with the cards and critters to see who's going to match up with who.
 

LupaGreenwolf

hey, it's me again! I need your help!

Last spring I had a wildly successful IndieGoGo campaign (https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-tarot-of-bones) that raised funds for the substantial cost for the materials I needed to create the assemblages, and cover some additional expenses like paying a graphic artist for the card back art, buying the books to fulfill campaign perks, and starting to stock up on shipping materials.

While over 200 people supported the first IndieGoGo campaign, there were a lot of folks who were unable to do so at the time, or who didn’t hear about it until after the campaign was over. So I’m running another campaign in February-March 2016; this will give folks another chance to preorder the Tarot of Bones deck and book at a lower cost. It will also help me cover the rest of the funding I’ll need to print the deck and book, to pay for perks for both campaigns, and shipping all of the above once the deck and book are out. IndieGoGo is not my only source of funding for this project, but it helps a great deal!

I've opened a survey at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/10yKxmXqHg_gtg5LFUNqpSrUalKjd_PFMKKsW64yyLlk/viewform where you can tell me which perks you’d like to see me offer this time around. IndieGoGo only allows twenty perks, and I want to make sure the ones I offer are ones YOU want to have (plus leave room for a few expansions and international-only options as needed). You can also make suggestions for perks not listed here; however, keep in mind that IndieGoGo only lets you choose one perk at a time, so having a bunch of add-ons like “one pouch” will take up perk space very quickly. Packages including the deck and book in addition to other goodies are a better option.

Thank you for your time; your feedback will help me make the Tarot of Bones 2016 IndieGoGo campaign even better!