As I sit writing meanings

    My first run (and possibly some of the subsequent runs) of the Ellis Deck is without the little booklet that comes along with a lot of tarot decks. The main reason for this is I'm fortunate enough to have been able to afford the 100 I've printed to this point for the show 78 On Deck I'll be doing with friend and fellow artist Phillip McVean. This did not leave me the revenue for additional printing.
    My solution is that on the back of each tuckbox my Tarot Decks are packaged in, is a referral to my website for card meanings and techniques for reading.
    What that meant, is that I'll be writing 78 meanings to go with my cards. This started as kind of a dry process. I spent time writing words, and symbols that come to mind when I thought of each card. As I had enough done to review, I felt like this has been done. There are plenty of websites covered in card meanings, and that I would have been better off recommending one of those sites. After a walk, some coffee, a few conversations, and a trip back to my desk for the day, I had a new plan.
    I had a story in mind while I was creating the Major Arcana cards for my deck. It went along with the basic tarot story, but I put my own accents on it, and wanted to make it a little meatier than what had come in the booklet with decks I had collected in the past. Now, the process has gone from standard definitions, to short story paragraphs and has become a lot more fun to do. As the show gets closer and the printing of the posters is being done and the mockup of the gallery is coming together, this has become a wonderful second project to let me feel creative even during this left-brain period of the process.