Deviant Moon Tarot

WolfSpirit

I agree, where has this deck been all the time - it seems to be suddenly there !
It looks fantastic. It reminds me in spirit of decks like the Phantasmagoric or the Tarocco Bizarro, but the Deviant has better artwork (just my opinion of course) and then there is also the bits of photos in it, truely unique.

Will there be a book for the deck as well ? I for one would like to know where all the bits of statues and gravestones etc. came from. And it would be nice to know of course what inspired the creator to make a card the way it is.
It looks like these cards will have some stories to tell !
 

Moonboy

Thank You!

I am very flattered by the response to the Deviant Moon, thank you all for your support! It can be very nerve-racking to finally unveil a project so long in the making: only one other person beside myself knew the cards existed before I sent samples to USG. (I tend to work in a vacuum, lol). Being around SO many creative spirits here on the board is what pushed me to try to get this work published...I would have happily made the deck, left it somewhere on my hard-drive, and moved onto the next thing (as I all too often do, unfortunately.)
But being around so many inspiring souls pushed me to take the next step, and to the members of the Aecletic Tarot Forum, I am forever grateful! Thank you!

To answer some questions.....

Tarot of the Deviant Moon will be featured in INATS east in January...so I assume the deck will be released by then, at least...

I found the deck listed on a few sites as pre-orders, quite accidentally, so I figured now would be a good time to show a few samples. I must humbly say the rest of the deck will far surpass anything I have shown thus far. The best is saved for later..:)

I have no idea as to the final size...anywhere from 2.5 to 3 inches wide..I hope for the latter...there is SO much detail in these cards; I don't want too much to get lost.

Each suit has its own realm....

Swords are angst ridden beings set in a medieval world....

Cups are people comprised of fish parts as well as gravestones....

Wands are folks with a tribal, peasant mix, whose bodies are blended with insects and leaves...

Pentacles are based on decayed industry...circa 1890's ish......


YES..EVERY card has a story! I could never create something that did not tap into my spirit somehow. Many of the cards are "reworks" of artwork I have created in the past...ideas that I had abandoned found a home in the deck!

Sometimes, I had to MAKE objects I could find no photo for. As an example, the ten of cups features an old king playing chess with his son....I sculpted an entire chess set for one photo..lol....and there are several spots where I used clay objects as "props".

As far as photos go, there are three major abandoned insane asylums here on Long Island, all only a few miles apart (they have recently demolished one to make way for a Wal-mart...sad...).....the main one I used is Pilgrim State Asylum. I have wondered at its looming structures since a child, as it was near my house, and would often think of the things going on there in the night. I knew it as "Boogie-man Island" and its mystery fed my imagination for many years, so it was natural for me to go back there and try to capture some of its energy and put it into my work. At first, I would take outside photos, but soon enough I would find my way in its long winding corridors alone....very fun!....

As a child, my friend and I often played in a church cemetery. We knew almost every stone. Long Island has many cemeterys with the winged death heads...hard to come across in the rest of the USA., but I'm sure my european friends are familiar with them. For the deck, wings became pants, hats, robes, ect....almost everything is comprised of tombstone parts, using my favorites from childhood.

I finished the deck over the summer in a push to get them ready for USG. I did the entire suit of pentacles in two months...usually 14 cards would take about 6 months....when it was done, I felt my "eyes" were broken....I bent my art spirit!....but now, I am already designing the next deck, hehe. The tarot is just so compelling!

Thank you again so much for your responses and comments!

Your friend,
Patrick Valenza
 

IndigoWonders

Amazon lists the estimated shipping date as January 4th, 2008. Gee, I guess I'll have to wait! :) Seeing as I have no choice. :( Yet another countdown begins.
 

TheSpanishCaptain

Your deck just made me come out of my lurker's closet, Moonboy :). Congrats... you nailed down what I love to see in a deck.
 

Sphinxmoth

Moonboy said:
. I must humbly say the rest of the deck will far surpass anything I have shown thus far. The best is saved for later..:)

Your friend,
Patrick Valenza

*jumps up and down with excitement, clapping hands and making little "eep"
sounds*
 

Durant Hapke

handle...

Moonboy,

I thought I posted on this thread, but perhaps I've drank to many breakfast beers.

Your images are very disarming, nice funky Jack bird action.

I sense a circus theme.

Are you familiar with the work of artist Mike Mignola?

If not, perhaps you should be.

Durant "I have a pick ax" Hapke
 

Arcana XV

Patrick, your deck is breathtaking. The artwork is so interesting and different. I looked at those first images and was mesmerized instantly. I absolutely love the surreal world you've created. I showed the pictures to a friend of mine and she called them "hideously gorgeous!! exquisitely ugly!! I WANT IT NOW!!"

I'm just so glad you didn't leave this masterpiece hidden away on your hard drive and that you decided to share it with the world. I can't wait to get my hands on this one. I will be in the US in January and hopefully the deck will be available by then.

Well done, well done!!! *claps madly*
 

Lithargoel

This is a seriously cool deck, from what I've seen.

I like that you've actually used textures from gravestones and the insane asylum. It really does contribute to the "energy" of the deck (even though I don't believe in such a thing, I'm just using it as a figure of speech.)

Wish I could afford to buy a copy! Good job.
 

6 Haunted Days

I had asked Jeanette at Tarot Garden about them getting this deck in...pre-order or otherwise...and she said USG has never mentioned it...well I just got an email from her as she heard back from USG regarding her questions about the Deviant Moon....sad to say it doesn't look good.....

Just heard back from USG (on a Sunday... interesting). The report is that the Deviant Moon, and also the Sacred Art Tarot, are "not at the printer, and still some months away from release."

So guess we'll have to wait :( That totally sucks!

As always a huge thanks to Jeanette for keeping me (and us) informed though :)
 

MeeWah

Very much looking forward to this deck!

It reminds me a lot of Tim Burton's movies, from "Batman" to "The Nightmare Before Christmas". Also, The Beatles' "Yellow Submarine", but with a twist.