Debra
Melissa's Lenormand--even better than you thought.
I won a 36-card "proof" copy of this deck. I am totally delighted and grateful to Melissa for the chance to have this deck, and to cardlady22 for helping to organize the drawing. Thank you, thank you!
The deck came today and I'm happy to be the first (am I the first?) to offer a review.
It came in a stunning envelope-style hand-made bag. I'm not sure if Melissa is offering these on her web site. If she is, get one is all I'll say.
And the deck.
Summary: Stunning and surprising.
Details: The cards are playing-card size on nicely-finished playing card stock, with narrow white borders and a thin black line outlining each central image. The borders frame each card exactly appropriately. The diagonal design backs are quite lovely and add a feeling of mystery to the deck.
Not that the deck needs special backs to give it mystery. In the hand, these cards are even more interesting than in the scans.
Some visual elements, like color and tone and the use of writing "underneath" the collage images, are obvious in the scans. Others only became clear to me when I laid them all out on the table.
For example, the deck shows a terrific sense of composition. The cards are not all composed the same (one figure in the middle of the card) nor is each card's composition completely unique (as in some collaborative and collage decks). It's a perfect balance, with just enough similarity among cards to unify the deck , and just enough variation to make each card visually distinct.
Another surprise is that the writing on most of the cards, which I wasn't motivated to decipher on-screen, becomes compelling when you hold them in your hand. I find myself picking out words and phrases from the text on the cards; the text enriches the cards well beyond the (stereo)typical simple Lenormand images.
Some words are large and easy to read. My favorite of this type, due to its its hilarity, is the choice in Path between "study and cleanliness" or "cigarettes and self-abuse."
Many of the cards have the same cursive text in the background (perhaps from a letter?) but because of the placement of the foreground images and shading, some words are clear and others obscured. "Quietly" in Hearts and "quietly" in Snakes reads and feels not at all the same.
I had chosen "Ship" and "Letter" for the contest without looking at either with my own reasons why these two concepts came to mind. Having the Ship and Letter cards in hand, however, I see more. Ship includes a wrong-side-up "This Side Up, Handle with Care" label. Letter shows the sweetness of correspondence, but also discipline and training (see for yourself when you get the deck!). These elements surprised and enlightened me well beyond what I would see in a typical oracle deck picture of a ship or letter.
In other words: layers and depth, not just visually, but also for reading.
I won a 36-card "proof" copy of this deck. I am totally delighted and grateful to Melissa for the chance to have this deck, and to cardlady22 for helping to organize the drawing. Thank you, thank you!
The deck came today and I'm happy to be the first (am I the first?) to offer a review.
It came in a stunning envelope-style hand-made bag. I'm not sure if Melissa is offering these on her web site. If she is, get one is all I'll say.
And the deck.
Summary: Stunning and surprising.
Details: The cards are playing-card size on nicely-finished playing card stock, with narrow white borders and a thin black line outlining each central image. The borders frame each card exactly appropriately. The diagonal design backs are quite lovely and add a feeling of mystery to the deck.
Not that the deck needs special backs to give it mystery. In the hand, these cards are even more interesting than in the scans.
Some visual elements, like color and tone and the use of writing "underneath" the collage images, are obvious in the scans. Others only became clear to me when I laid them all out on the table.
For example, the deck shows a terrific sense of composition. The cards are not all composed the same (one figure in the middle of the card) nor is each card's composition completely unique (as in some collaborative and collage decks). It's a perfect balance, with just enough similarity among cards to unify the deck , and just enough variation to make each card visually distinct.
Another surprise is that the writing on most of the cards, which I wasn't motivated to decipher on-screen, becomes compelling when you hold them in your hand. I find myself picking out words and phrases from the text on the cards; the text enriches the cards well beyond the (stereo)typical simple Lenormand images.
Some words are large and easy to read. My favorite of this type, due to its its hilarity, is the choice in Path between "study and cleanliness" or "cigarettes and self-abuse."
Many of the cards have the same cursive text in the background (perhaps from a letter?) but because of the placement of the foreground images and shading, some words are clear and others obscured. "Quietly" in Hearts and "quietly" in Snakes reads and feels not at all the same.
I had chosen "Ship" and "Letter" for the contest without looking at either with my own reasons why these two concepts came to mind. Having the Ship and Letter cards in hand, however, I see more. Ship includes a wrong-side-up "This Side Up, Handle with Care" label. Letter shows the sweetness of correspondence, but also discipline and training (see for yourself when you get the deck!). These elements surprised and enlightened me well beyond what I would see in a typical oracle deck picture of a ship or letter.
In other words: layers and depth, not just visually, but also for reading.
