The Dead Girl Tarot (working title)

LadyVervain

It's called the Dead Girl Tarot right now only because I started doodling these girl many years ago, and I showed my dad one of the pictures--he asked, "What is it?" Of course, I said, "It's a dead girl!"

Thus, the drawings became my Dead Girls.
Then, I made a doll or two based on the same idea, and she was called a Dead Girl Doll. I've long wanted to make a Tarot based on these, and I just started the other day. I'm jumping around the cards based on what inspires me--I did XV The Devil first, and second I did XVII The Star, and the next one I do will either be VI The Lovers or the Queen of Wands.

Here is the Devil: http://www.flickr.com/photos/28617772@N02/5382765142/

and here is the Star (mind, she's topless): http://www.flickr.com/photos/28617772@N02/5382162227/in/photostream/

My inspirations for these two are in the description on the flickr page, but here they are again:

The STAR is a card of inspiration, hope, spirituality, and renewal, and this card is inspired by Emily Dickinson's poem, Hope:

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune--without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

Although she is dead (and likely very, very cold), there is some hope for she has in her death let out the star of inspiration, and she is now free from her binding garments. Too, rivers bring change, and birds bring renewing song.



The devil is a woman in a red dress, and whiskey--you're the devil.
She is also inspired by the ladjables, the goat-footed soul-eating devil woman of Caribbean folklore.
Her heart has been cut out, her soul (button eyes) is broken, and she has stolen the souls of her bodiless prisoners--their souls float in the surrounding flames, and the DEVIL is crowned by the reversed pentagram--though a symbol of many things that are NOT the devil as well, also definitely fitting.

Thanks for looking, and feedback and inspiration are of course appreciated and will be taken into account!

All 78 cards will be scenic, although I haven't quite decided what the suits will be. I'm thinking of calling them the traditional suit names but allowing for some variation in the artwork--like calling the suit cups but using vials and bottles and other vessels as well, or calling the suit wands but using brushes et cetera as well as wands, and calling the suit swords, but being open to using all manner of blades, even forks maybe... we'll see. Any feedback is definitely appreciated, though!

I've used opaque watercolor and archival ink on these.

Blessed be,
Vervain
 

rwcarter

Macabre, but I think I like! This is definitely one to keep my eye on.

Rodney
 

LadyVervain

Thanks!
 

Amanda

Cool! Kinda reminds me of that movie Coraline where a young girl has an "Other" family with button eyes, and the mom is really kinda evil.
 

LadyVervain

Yeah, a couple people have said that, most especially my mother. :D I'm a big fan of Neil Gaiman, so although that wasn't consciously part of the plan, it probably creeped in there from that, anyway.
 

Major Tom

Lovely.

It's interesting you mention Neil Gaiman. When I looked at your drawings I was immediately reminded of Chris Riddell's illustrations for The Graveyard Book. Nice. :)
 

Alta

Beautifully creepy! I like your ideas.
 

LadyVervain

Yeah, a couple people have said that, most especially my mother. :D I'm a big fan of Neil Gaiman, so although that wasn't consciously part of the plan, it probably creeped in there from that, anyway.
 

LadyVervain

Whoops on that last post...

(So much for refreshing the page...)
The Graveyard Book is pretty much one of my favorite books ever, although I can't even remember what the illustrations look like at this point...
Anywho, off to do the Princess of Cups!
 

Little Hare

Love, Awesome, WANT, NEED.

err i mean it has a slight neil gaiman feel to it.

You rock I love it!!!!

Button eyes *squee*