Revamping Playing Cards as Personal Oracles

room

Partly as a result of Little Baron and Phoenix Rising using Deborah Leigh's Personal Prophesy book, which I have on order, and partly because I just like to make things, I am revamping an old Bicycle deck as an oracle.

LB mentioned this in another thread regarding revamping playing cards:
I didn't necessarly want to plan it. Just draw, straight out, with a biro and see what came. May still do this. And the great thing is that you can buy so many sets that you needn't worry about ruining one. I am much more interested in this kind of thing. Before, I agonised about how things should be. Now, I examine every way that they 'could' be. You have me inspired again, room. I might have a little go at one of those cards at some point.

I was inspired in such a project by finding my old Bicycle deck that was too grungy to be attractive for use, but I used to play hours of solitaire with that Bicycle deck, and wanted to reconnect with my love of playing cards. I have also been making fancy bookmarks with some extra cards I bought.

I am also a quilter, and I love textiles and design and the history of textiles. I wanted to buy some elegant wrapping paper in gold and black and then use snippets of fabric and wallpaper patterns. To my shock, everybody seems to use decorated bags and fancy tissue paper instead of wrapping paper these days and I found a few things but not exactly the colours I wanted--I had to switch to scrapbooking paper.

More challenge. I still haven't gathered all the materials--still have to print a few more textiles from Japanese, Batik, Indian, and William Morris clip art I have and get my court cards scanned in from Italian fresco books.

Here's a sample of my current aim. I too don't want to overplan things. My usual approach to design is get the colour scheme and go. So that's what I'm doing. I tend to be perfectionistic to the point of freezing up so this is good for me to work this way.

The ivory and tan acanthus leaves wrapping paper will probably go on the back of the cards. The other 4 patterns will be the background for the suits, upon which I shall collage other patterns.
 

Little Baron

This sounds like a lot of fun, room. And I think it will also be a great growing process for anyone that takes it on.

I very much like the idea of not being too precious about it. I can also be very perfectionist about stuff and I think it would do me good to go with the flow.

The patterns you have shown look really interesting. I hope you keep us updated. At the moment, I cannot imagine completely how you are going to do it, so it is a very exciting prospect.

I may still try my biro drawings. I hope others take up such a project.

LB
 

room

Little Baron said:
At the moment, I cannot imagine completely how you are going to do it, so it is a very exciting prospect.

It's very exciting for me as well.

Basically, I treat it like a painter's palette. I do this with beads and silk ribbon and thread and fabric and whatever I'm designing with. Get everything together, which admittedly can be a bit overwhelming, and then break it down by main colour, shades and tints.

Then you've got the 4 backgrounds, and you mix and balance and coordinate things to meld the whole.

Some of the samples I print don't work, but until I get into the detail work I don't know that. Also, as I go along, I may find that something is missing. Sometimes a colour wheel will pinpoint this, sometimes it's more a shape I'm missing or a physical balance between shapes. That's what I do, but you have to work it, you train your mind for it.

With four suits you are balancing so that the whole works together as well. You juggle form and colour until it works.

This is not an instant project, but I never like to do easy things anyway. It's time-consuming and then the technical work of gluing, doing paste-up with the brayer, varnishing etc. comes and that can be extremely tedious.
 

Sheri

I dearly love it when you do projects and share here, Room! I am in the process of learning how to gild the edges of decks I have trimmed and plan on using playing cards to help me work out my process. Who knows what I will end up with?

I can't wait to see this project progress - or see how others are inspired by you!

:love: valeria
 

room

This is a small booklet from Leisure Arts on using playing cards for various things including Artist Trading Cards. It's not available in Canada so I don't have it--think it's close to being OOP.

I do not have any interest in ATCs but I like the examples off the cover of this book. Most of them have the indices showing, which still makes them identifiable as playing card suits.

Seen together like this, you can see how the decoration or pattern can be done pretty much any way you want with careful colour choice and the indices showing.

My further need to keep them identifiable as suits is leading me to use the same background on each suit. I won't be able to shuffle them, but that lends some cachet to the oracle for me.
 

Mariana

Just curious: do you add any extra cards for the majors, or do you do without them?
 

room

Mariana said:
Just curious: do you add any extra cards for the majors, or do you do without them?

No, I am using an oracular system strictly for playing cards. I did decide to turn the two Jokers into male and female significator cards though, similar to European fortune telling decks.

I don't find it less of a deck without the Majors actually. Similar to the way some people collect Majors-only tarot decks and use them quite effectively for readings, divinatory methods using playing cards Ace to ten plus court cards, are equally effective.

You get used to the method and meaning with practice and familiarity.
 

room

I don't intend to do a step-by-step account of these, but since some people were a bit confused about the process, I will put up a couple more pictures, ending with the finished significators.

I've just finished my cardboard templates. This is my "palette" of papers and the layout for the two significators.

The gold/cream is the back pattern, and the green is the front. This green is different than the main green, it's like a shade of the main green, so the two significator cards will tie-in but obviously be special cards.

I had been aiming for a Spanish Court feel, but due to changes in fashion and colour I couldn't scrounge the exact colours up in paper. Most of the palette is light-medium, mediums and darks because lighter colours looked glaringly modern.

I will trace and cut all the backings and fronts to have the largest part of the prep work finished. Then I'll fiddle with some sample adhesives to make sure I've got the right one, and hopefully have the two Jokers to show in a couple of days.
 

Little Baron

A great pallette room! And I love the templates - the colours have a nice antique feel to me.

I really enjoy watching you work, and will continue to look in on this thread. Your 'eye' is always an inspiration.

LB
 

room

Little Baron said:
Your 'eye' is always an inspiration.

Thanks! Would you believe I have put about 7 hours of work into this already? I am so fussy.

I think they're going to feel nice in the hand. When I'm done I will collage all the leftover bits on the backs, probably in the same pattern on each card but different snippets. After varnishing they will be quite stiff and feel special.