Michael recently emailed me with this lovely tarot deck in progress: The Urban Tarot by graphic artist Robert Scott. I emailed Robert and asked him if it was alright that I feature his work on 78 Notes and he graciously agreed.I am not a tarot deck collector. Though I have upwards of 20 some tarot decks I use them all. I have traded or sold or given away decks that, while I initially felt drawn to the art, just didn't resonate with me in some way or another. There are many decks I can appreciate from afar and not feel the need to own. However, if this deck is ever completed, I really think I would like to work with it. These images, while maintaining the traditional symbolism also inject a modern sense to the meanings. Many deck artists do that, so it's not like that's something new, but the way Robert translates the Thoth tarot with gritty city scenes and characters is something that grabs my attention. The graphic style that appears as paper collage is multidimensional so that the images are layers and almost have a 3-D effect. The different parts of the scene will, at different times, appear to move forward and grab your attention. For both intuitive and traditional-meaning style tarot readers, these cards have so much to offer.
I do hope you've been keeping up with The Tarot Connection Podcast, though I had taken a short hiatus from recording segments. I just submitted a continuation of my numbers series, The Eights, for a recent podcast and Leisa has included it on Episiode 58. Be sure to check out the teleclass with Robert Place. (He also has a deck in progress I am impatiently awaiting, TheTarot of the Sevenfold Mystery.) She also has devoted an entire episode to an interview with author Derek Armstrong whose latest book, The Last Troubadour, seems rather groundbreaking in that it is based on accurate historical research and uses the characters from the tarot. Looks to be right up my alley!
