Golden Tarot

retrokat

Compliments are fine in context...

Hi Molly,

*Grin* You're welcome to compliment my deck and my sitebuilding skills as much as you like! The only time I get creeped out is when people compliment *me* rather than my work. I don't find it so scary if it's about my work. Although...

Funny story - I was once life-modelling for a friend's drawing class, as her model had failed to show & she was in a real jam. I'm no exhibitionist - I'm really quite shy and I hate being nude, even at home. But I feel strongly that people should have the opportuity to learn to draw from life, so I have occasionally done the modelling thing 'for art's sake'. Anyway, so I was standing there nude in front of all these super-cool art students in an inner-city Sydney class, and one guy says "Hey, aren't you Kat Black, the artist? I LOVE your work!". Hmm, thanks. Can we have this conversation sometime when I'm not naked in front of 20 strangers???

Luckily, getting recognised isn't something that happens very often to an artist. Or tarot author hopefully! :)

But somewhere safe and private like here... compliment me as much as you like ;)
 

Riversea

Great story! Actually made me laugh out loud. :)

People can have odd ideas about when is a good time for a compliment.

While it's never happened to me in a such a situtation as that, it has happened while in front of another person whose feelings might be hurt because they are not also recieving praise. I hate that! Instead of just being able to accept the compliment, I feel all squirmy. Sigh...

I love your deck, too! And I will eagerly look forward to its release. :) Wonderful job!
 

Maan

I just looked at all your cards one by one and there so gorgeouse.
I will certainly be a customer when your deck come's out!!!

I fell in love with this kind of art when i was visiting Florance and for me the deck has the same feeling :)

Love and light
Maan
 

toysgirl

Thanks for the update, Kat. Yours is one of 3 'online only' decks that I have been lusting after for some time--glad it's going to be in print! ;)

I was curious to know if you were going to be getting decks from US Games to distribute yourself--I always prefer to buy a signed deck from the artist when they are available to purchasing from a general retailer like US Games or Amazon.

It's nice to know that you'll have US Games to help support & disseminate your work & prevent further theft. I understand US Games can be very aggressive in enforcing copyrights.

Best of luck with this and thanks again!

~Stasia
 

retrokat

Signed Decks

Hi Stasia,

Thanks for your support :)

I will get some decks off USGS to sign and sell through my site when it's published, but considering that I live in Australia they will be more costly for US buyers than if they buy through Amazon, USGS or actual stores due to having to be posted internationally twice.

I've been considering other options:

1. Perhaps getting people to just send me their box or the 'extra' card to be signed for the cost of return postage if they want an individual message, or

2. Signing batches of boxes for decks sold through one of the specialist US-based sellers (such as the fab Tarot Garden) - that way it would probably be possible to keep the price at RRP for a signed deck, even though I don't live in the US.

Any other suggestions welcomed!
 

toysgirl

I live in Australia they will be more costly for US buyers than if they buy through Amazon

*snip*
other options:
1. Perhaps getting people to just send me their box or the 'extra' card to be signed for the cost of return postage if they want an individual message, or

2. Signing batches of boxes for decks sold through one of the specialist US-based sellers (such as the fab Tarot Garden) - that way it would probably be possible to keep the price at RRP for a signed deck, even though I don't live in the US.

Good point--I completely forgot that you're in Australia! I would definitely either send you a card or buy through Tarot Garden.

And, FWIW, it's very easy to be supportive of someone's work that is as excellent as yours. :)

Thanks for taking the time to respond!

~Stasia
 

Cerulean

I really like the new versions of the cards.
I checked out the differences between the old version of the cards and the new deck for distribution. I understand how you needed to change it. My classes on early to high Italian Renaissance topics showed lots of art examples people would consider grim.
I've heard the National Gallery in London and a few other museums have glorious examples and replicas of world art, so I'm eager to know if your art sources can be found in London---or if they are probably from worldwide collections or local to you? I found online examples for my self study on the net through international collections.
I was especially glad that your site said that you will list the sources. A recent and enjoyable find for me was Tarot de Paris, which also lists the source of its historic sculpture found in Paris. The book has an appendix with the page number, the character title of the sculpture and last known location.
Wouldn't it be fun if I could tell people that I toured the art history of museums of Europe using tarot cards?
Best wishes as we get nearer to seeing the cards in print,
Mari Hoshizaki
 

retrokat

Golden Tarot Tour

Hi Mari,

Ah yes, it's a dream of mine too - to visit as many of my sources as I can. I've never even been to Italy! About 75% of the material for Golden Tarot is Italian, and I'd love to tour Florence, Assisi, Naples, Milan, Verona etc. I'm happy to offer my services as Tour Guide ;)

A fairly large percentage of my sources for GT were (and thankfully still are) frescoes on walls of cathedrals. As you'd know they're from a period before portable art was widespread, so the ones that are in Galleries in other places have usually been chipped off walls, or if on wood, panels broken into segments. That's kinda sad - although I suppose at least they still exist, survived WW2 etc.

My King of Coins is from the Wilton Diptych, which is in the Sainsbury Wing at the National Gallery in London. It's one of the few of my sources that I've seen myself 'in the flesh' and it's gorgeous. The whole Sainsbury Wing is a stunning experience.

US readers can see a few too - Death's skeleton is a Jan Van Eyck from the Met in NY and two of the angels' faces are from a Masolino Da Panicale in the National Gallery of Art in Washington.

I'm so excited that other people are interested in my sources and want to visit the original artworks. Love of Medieval & early Renaissance art was my main motivation in producing the original GT - so if it encourages more people to visit the paintings for real I will have succeeded beyond my dreams!
 

Trogon

Re: Signed Decks

retrokat said:
I've been considering other options:

1. Perhaps getting people to just send me their box or the 'extra' card to be signed for the cost of return postage if they want an individual message

Retrokat;

I would think this should work out quite well for most people... at least those of us here on A.T. ;) Yours will likely be my next Tarot purchase and I wouldn't think that sending just the box and/or the extra card or even the LWB, to Australia and back to the U.S. would be terribly cost prohibitive. I'm planning to any way, as long as you're offering... :)
 

retrokat

A release date! Or month at least...

Hi all,

US Games have just told me that the edit process of the publishing of Golden Tarot will start in November, and that they're aiming for a release date of September 2003. A bit later than I'd hoped, but I guess it will pass quickly enough.

They're talking about changing the title, too, so keep in mind that it may not be called Golden Tarot when released. Of course I'll let everyone know the new name on my site, so that people know it's not just another dodgy pirate version!