Touchstone Tarot by Kat Black

Alta

wow, this is wonderful news Kat. Your new deck is so expressive, and I am happy to hear that you have a publisher who understands how much the author/creator can affect sales. Sounds like an excellent partnership. I'll be buying a copy.

Marion
 

raventepes

Excellent. :)
 

easternsunrise

I'm so excited to see this deck!
 

The 78th Fool

Congratulations !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's wonderful that you're in the 'Kunati Stable' as well now!

Chris. xxx
 

retrokat

The 78th Fool said:
in the 'Kunati Stable' as well now!

Isn't it great that Kunati's deck choices are so diverse? From New Age to Old School extremes :) I think that's a really promising sign, that they understand and support such different approaches rather than having a House Style.

Thrilled to be sharing a chaff-bag with you, Chris! It's so nice that they also encourage a fellowship of their authors mutually supporting each other too. And none of their authors has a negative thing to say about them - I felt really good about signing on the dotted line, it was like being welcomed into a family. I love Business 2.0, hail the Long Tail! (that will only mean something to geeks...)
 

Troubadour

Speaking for Kunati, we were thrilled to have an opportunity to work with Kat and Touchstone. Regardless of publisher, I think this will almost certainly become one of my favorite decks (alongside Quantum Tarot), which is saying a lot considering I use Golden Tarot almost daily. Touchstone is beyond expressive and beyond beautiful with an elegance that stays with you. I see this as a daily use favorite rather than a lovely art collectible, although it will be both.

Production values will be very high indeed. All of our decks will have permanent, elegant boxes and high production values. For Touchstone, we plan a "cigar box" style hinged reusable box with a perfect bound book enclosed, gilt edges, very high production values all around, yet the price will be in line with most mass produced decks on the market. It's all very exciting. Lucky me. I'll be the first to have a real deck in my eager little hands. The deck is planned as a spring 09 launch in mass distribution, and will be available in all of these countries:
• USA
• Canada
• Overseas U.S. Military Bases
• United Kingdom and Continental Europe
• Australia
• New Zealand
• Hong Kong
• Most African and Middle East Countries
• Latin America
• The Caribbean
• Venezuela
• Argentina
• Bermuda
• Mexico
• Central and South America
• India
• Singapore
• Malaysia
• Indonesia
• Brunei
• Thailand
• Philippines.
 

HearthCricket

Thank you for all that information, Troubadour! I am really looking forward to this deck, as the Golden is one of my all-time favourites! I have been eyeing it since Kat started showing a few clips of the process and can't wait to get it into my own greedy hands! Thank you for taking such good care of a lovely deck and artist! :)
 

easternsunrise

I am just so excited! This sounds like a very special deck done by some spectacular people!
 

retrokat

I am getting very close to finishing the deck - working on final versions (the whole deck is done, but a number of cards need tweaks).

Just update http://touchstonetarot.com with some of the completed cards, one major arcana and one from each suit - so you can see how I have used portraiture throughout the deck, not just in Courts.

I have also linked to a bunch of movies that I've found really inspiring while working on the deck (eg Elizabeth, Girl With A Pearl Earring etc). I figured that others might also share an interest in those if they like the Baroque era images.

Once the deck is finished, I will start work on the Companion Book. This will include basic card meanings, but also a bit of background about some of the characters in the cards where relevant. Hence the tagline '78 friends you hold in your hand' - these aren't designs with esoteric symbolism and hidden secrets, they are real people who want to offer advice and support. Every face has been chosen because I felt they were someone I could know, relate to, understand, talk to. I know that's not what a lot of tarot traditionalists will want, but hopefully it will work for some people :)
 

6 Haunted Days

Those new cards are stunning!! I am awed with The Hermit, wow!

This looks like it could be a new favourite, the colours, faces and images are so vibrant and clear.

Seeing those few new cards, I am now extremely excited to get this deck in my hands! While I love the Golden, this deck looks much more my style.

And all those movies etc. you have listed are all personal faves, and I own them all ;). If those were among the things that inspired you while working on this magnificent deck, no wonder I am fawning over it!