The Wind of Change

I love this first card. It's one of those that wasn't much to begin with, but after I had collaged parts of it together and then manipulated their style, intensity, and dark tones, it became something entirely different. I really like how the water has become like thick smoke or dry ice on a dance floor. The broken platform is lost in the dense landscape and held fast, as if in mud.

The second card is one of the first I created for this deck, but it grew from it's own free will. This makes it one of the images from the pack which had no initial meaning. The large face in the sky, which appears to be made of both the wind and the rain looks down on the dark beach. Even though a young and kind face, it seems threatening, due to it's size. It reminds me of the four winds which were painted in The Playing Card Oracles by C J Freeman. You could call this one the wind of change, blowing it's way across the shoreline. In that respect, I would expect some kind of changes to occur for the stuck piece of pier or whatever it is in the first card.

I thought it might be interesting to show a quick snippet of how these cards are born. Since I started doing this, I have built up an archive of useful photos - many of beaches from around the world, storms, and clouds. I have also flipped through fashion sites online and have done general searches for my characters. Take this guy below. I am not quite sure where I found him, but he was probably dug up from one of my searches relating to surfers and surfing. I do have a selection of females in the deck, but as a response to the many, many heavily feminine decks out there, I wanted to dominate mine with men. There are very few decks like this and I miss the more masculine side in most. This blonde guy has been ripped from his car and balloon, and now stands outside his self-built home. The structure, ground and sky are all separate images that I have tried to fuse together as seamlessly as possible. For me, this is a card about self-sufficiency and being proud of your achievements; standing on your own two feet, you might say.




Yesterday started early. My boyfriend and I got up and watched the first stages of the royal wedding while we got dressed. We collected some resources at the shops and then made it over to my friend's house, where we watched the prince and Catherine tie the knot. The bride did look beautiful, and despite the lace, I did like the shape of her dress. I just wish that someone would do something with William and Harry's hair. After the wedding, we were joined by another family and we all walked to a barbecue, where we spent the rest of the day. It was a warm afternoon, regardless of the dour weather predictions, and we managed to sit out in the garden, chatting and catching up. The day was finished off with a few drinks in town. Even though a nice atmosphere there, my boyfriend and I snuck off home many hours before my other friends did.

Today's cards move things along in a gush of wind and change. Things which were stuck are now dislodged and become free to move and dance at their own pace. I am not entirely sure what this relates to but I do feel more open to the future. My parents have organised a meeting here with a new estate agent, after a good six or so months off of the market, so maybe today's cards have something to do with freeing us from this place where we feel trapped.



Illustrations from The Dark Beach Oracle by Prince Le Normand