Golden Tarot

Cerulean

I'm curious about the name that U.S. Games would choose.
If it's the Kat Black tarot, some people might think of a Black Cat. If it's not Golden because there are so many gilded tarots out there....Medieval Magic? Kat Black's Romantic Quest of the Enchanted Tarocchi? The New Olden Golden Tarot?
Forgive the silliness, I'm hoping it's title will hint at it being a treasure trove of historical art.
Mari H.
 

retrokat

Golden Tarot's New Name

I suggested to US Games that we put the Deck Name question to the fans - eg, hold a competition with signed decks as prizes.

Didn't get a response yet.....
 

Pollux

Hey Kat, you will let us know about the competition, won't you?
I am already working on my entry... 8)

;) *LOL*
 

Tarotphelia

retrokat said:
I have *no* idea what it's going to look like in print. My lovely lil bro printed out a copy for my own use on a very expensive high-end printer/plotter on glossy card, and I can't believe how beautiful it looks. The richness of the gilt is so lush, and the dark, sumptuous colours look velvety on the shiny card. It's really stunning (if I *do* say so myself!).

OOOooooo!!! It is so hard to wait, especially after reading that! This could be my favorite deck of all time!

I would love to see a regular & a larger size. But I would also like to cast a vote for a pocket size too, of 3 -1/2". It is a great size for carrying in a purse, & quick shuffling. There only seem to be 3 or 4 decks available that size now, mostly traditional & Thoth.

I think I would buy all three versions if available!!

Tarotphelia
 

darwinia

Queen of Swords

Hi Kat,

I've got a question about your revised version of the Queen of Swords. Are you sure this is a woman? It looks like a man to me, a king in fact. Shortish hair, no breasts, rather portly....it's probably just me since I can't see the detail.

I love the new backdrop and the symbolism though--the arches and the clouds. REALLY good.

Judy
 

retrokat

Queen of Swords

Hi Judy,

So you reckon she looks a bit butch, eh? ;)

Definitely a woman - I personally think her face is very womanly in a dignified, slightly matronly way. Beautiful coiled hair, high cheekbones and the slight double-chin; the graceful hands and sloped shoulders. Certainly, she has a very austere look - which is why I chose her for this card. But she doesn't look like a bloke to me... Hopefully in the larger version of the card, her gracefulness will show a bit more easily. I'll pop a bigger version on the site for you to look at next time I update.

The source of the woman in this collage is "St Clare and St Elizabeth of Hungary"1317 by Simone Martini. I can't tell you if this woman was St Clare or St Elizabeth, but it's supposed to be one of the two. I guess a man could have posed for the pic - who's to say? I suspect a lot of St Stephens were posed by women - they're often FAR too pretty, even for an adolescent boy.

The woman's flattened chest is quite common in pictures of the era - they had a very different view of beauty. Also characteristics that could be construed as sexual, such as breasts, may have been particularly avoided on images of saints? If there are any professional Art Historians hanging around these boards, perhaps they could throw in their two cents worth.

Woo-hoo! I really like this specific discussion on a particular card, gives me a chance to express all the little issues that I thought about as I worked away on each collage (often for days). Things like why I chose this particular woman - it was so important to ME, but I never thought anyone else would even notice, let alone care why! So, thanks for the great question :D

By the way - I suppose you guessed that the Queens were the ones that meant the most to me? heh heh. Queen of Wands is my Significator, but all of the Queens are close to my heart.

kind regards,
 

darwinia

Re: Queen of Swords

retrokat said:
<<So you reckon she looks a bit butch, eh? ;)>>

Definitely!! She looks like your Caesar (I think in the Emperor card?)--kind of that soft, decadent look, reminds me of Nero, or some depraved Roman.

<<Definitely a woman - I personally think her face is very womanly in a dignified, slightly matronly way. Beautiful coiled hair, high cheekbones and the slight double-chin; the graceful hands and sloped shoulders. Certainly, she has a very austere look - which is why I chose her for this card. But she doesn't look like a bloke to me... Hopefully in the larger version of the card, her gracefulness will show a bit more easily.>>

==Yeah, I think had I been able to see the hair better it might have been more obvious. Thanks for stating the reference to the original picture--one of the joys of your deck is going to be all these art references

<<The woman's flattened chest is quite common in pictures of the era - they had a very different view of beauty. Also characteristics that could be construed as sexual, such as breasts, may have been particularly avoided on images of saints?>>

==Well, I've seen this in Tudor times, but I guess because she's rather chubby below the chest it never computed. I suppose the rich were more fleshy than regular folk.

<<By the way - I suppose you guessed that the Queens were the ones that meant the most to me? heh heh. Queen of Wands is my Significator, but all of the Queens are close to my heart.>>

==And I am the Queen of Swords which is why I always check her out first in decks. I always check The Magician, The Chariot, and the Queen of Swords. She's a good 'un!!

Thanks,

Judy
 

jmd

Any more news on suggested alternatives to the title?

I personally think it would be a pity to change it. If the Golden Legend was such a popular compilation of early mediaeval stories of the Saints, how appropriate is the title Golden Tarot to your compilation of various mediaeval and renaissance imagery!
 

retrokat

Good news!

Good question, j-m.

A happy, happy Kat am I! Seems that USGS have come to the same conclusion after considering the issue over the past couple of months. Most recent word is that they're likely to keep the name after all :D They might have a gilt border to reinforce the name - and if that makes the marketing people happy with my original name, makes me happy too!

On the not-so-good news side, there was another (rather lame) attempt at pirating the deck recently. Sadly, by someone who'd been in contact with me to ask when it would be coming out & to tell me how she couldn't wait (errr... so she didn't!). Luckily my vigilant supporters let me know immediately and in droves when it appeared for sale on the web, so USGS got to know about it and take action.

Can't really say any more at this stage, but it seems that ANY level of paranoia I have about piracy seems justified when even a FAN can turn into a thief and try to flog dodgy copies on eBay!!

Thanks sooooo much to all the people who emailed me about it, you guys are just amazing :) :) :)

NOTE: Translation of my slang... "flog dodgy copies" = "sell pirated versions". Mate, I'm such an Aussie yob sometimes :p
 

allibee

You don't know me, I just moved in here *LOL*, but I LOVE YOUR DECK, I WANT IT SO BAD too, but I can wait a bit longer IF I MUST, but have you used digimark to watermark your net images.
It does cost a little, but apart from putting a watermark on the image itself, it also traces the people that save the picture to their files or copy them..... just a thought.
Mind you, just the fact that people are trying to pirate your work must give USGames a lot of faith in your deck!

allibee
*waiting, tapping fingers, waiting some more*