Bill's Tarot

Shade said:

Lovely deck, horrible name. I mean Bill's Tarot? Bill's Bait & Tackle I can understand but not Bill's Tarot.

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Hello Shade.

This deck had no name when it was designed.
The little edition of 12 was intended to be a private one, for my friends, who already were familiar with it as a small stack of paintings that at that point had already sat for many years in an envelope in a drawer in my living room.
Comments like, "Bill, let's see your tarot" naturally lead to the name "Bill's Tarot" when it was time to design the box.
Being a simple lot, with no commercial ambition, so no need of a marketing machine, it slipped quietly into print, never expecting to be seen beyond a very tight circle. So now a few have gotten out for you to see, but the original context has been lost.

If I ever finish the minors, and produce a larger edition for public distribution, it will carry the name, "Le Tarot Tournant" among polite company.
But even that is just a title for the people who don't actually know me.

Anyway, that's the story for that...

That makes sense.

Have you ever worked at a bait & tackle shop, though?

See I kinda like the quirkiness of Bill's Tarot. It makes it sound more "real" somehow. You know like instead of it being all posh and snooty with a big fancy name, it's like "Here ya go, there's a Tarot deck for ya."

I'm sensing the words Like it or Lump it coming to mind...

p.s. I don't think you should change it if (when?) it goes properly public.

I also like the name Bill's Tarot.
Makes it stand out among all the more-esoterically-named-than-thou decks

Thanks annabubble and Wolfspirit.

annabubble said:

...."Here ya go, there's a Tarot deck for ya."....

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That sums it up pretty well.

The deck was originally designed as a set of pencil drawings, primarily as an academic exercise.

One major aspect of the subsequent painted version is the exploration of the act of working within the confines of a rigid tradition, as so much early art was.
How much room could be found for artistic expression?

Choosing to pick it up and complete it after 20-something years is a rigorous exercise in absolute folly....

It's interesting to see how much attention and discussion a name can bring to a project.

I was just doing a little idle surfing (as opposed to purposeful scrubbing out of a disgusting fridge) and I discovered this little gem!

Never heard of it before. Have many people here got a copy?

I like the lightness of style, something I wouldn't have thought Marseilles-style images would translate into.

One for the wish-list.

Way, way down the line.

Hi Nisaba,

no I do not own one, but have been patiently awaiting the 78 card version's completion.

I know it will happen, just as I know a commuter Train will pick an Artist up in some remote NY town and take Him home. And maybe a dream will unfold and that Artist might wish to share it.

I'm another one hanging idly about ready to mug the next owner of one of these that crosses my path...

<laughter>

I think three people on AT (besides me) have copies of this deck.
Aside from the original painted one, I only made 12.

It's been about a year since I quietly stepped away from work on the pips for the full deck, but I've just recently picked it up again.
It has not been an easy project.
Now I've scrapped the batons sheet, and have started a fresh one.
If it works out ok this time, I'll continue on directly with cups.

I've also done some thinking about the book to accompany it.
My recent experiences in the tarot history arena have forced a major re-think of my plan.
But anyway, the finished deck is a long way off, so let's not get ahead of the game...