Wednesday, October 14, 2015

A New Deck Project for Mickie and Dan!

I have a big announcement:  I have a new contract to illustrate and co-author a brand new tarot deck for Llewellyn! Who is my co-author? Some of you might be familiar with him, Dan Mueller, the new member of the Llewellyn family of authors! 

Contracts for a new Tarot deck, one for me and one for Dan! 

Many of you know him as my husband, or as the craftsman who produces, manages, and ships my art products, but many people don’t know, Dan is a hell of a writer.  He was writing short stories back when I met him, and we even worked together briefly on several test pages for a graphic novel style adaptation of one of his stories.  With tons of AP English and creative writing classes under his belt, his wordsmithery had remained previously unreleased, but not for long.  When the concept for this new deck came about, we spent hours brainstorming ideas, pouring over the concepts for cards, and the next thing I knew, I had a writing partner! Happily, after they reviewed our sample art and text the good folks at Llewellyn agreed, and we’re now joining forces on this new project. Wonder-Spouse powers unite!! 

Lighting up the night like a mirror in the sky!
A deck of 78 cards takes about 24 months to complete, so hang in there.  The subject and title is top secret at this point, but I think you guys will be really pleased with this new project we’re teaming up on just for you! I know you're wondering what the theme of this tarot deck is going to be. well, it's kind of innovative, so I can't reveal it's secrets at this time, but we will let you know as soon as we can. For those of you who know Dan personally, no, it's NOT a J.R.R. Tolkien Tarot deck, nor is it a Dune deck! 
A spectral snake conjured out of thin air.

Dan and I have a great mental shorthand, he describes things and I totally get it. He can interpret my roughest sketches to know if I'm getting what he's describing, so it's working out to be a great partnership. 
Smudge to purify your space.
He and I dug through tarot symbolism and meanings together like mad and came up with a great deal of the concepts for what each card will look like already.  Most of the first chapter is done, so that leaves me currently working through the art for the major arcana while Dan and I write through the text for each one as they're completed.  He's doing the lions share of the writing at this point which leaves me time to work on the art. I've included a couple detail shots of the cards for you to get the tiniest glimpse, we will keep working diligently so that hopefully we can have this project completed for you as soon as possible.
This one should brighten up your day!


I hope you enjoyed this really sneaky sneak peek!

Blessed Be!
Mickie




2 comments:

  1. I am so excited for this new project! I am in love with your Voice of the Trees Oracle deck and use it not only for personal but professional readings, but am working on completing my collection of your alter collection.

    I am such a huge fan, and am so looking forward to seeing what comes next! Many blessings to you both!

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  2. I came late to the Mickie party and don't have any of your older decks, just the newer Mystical Cats. I very much like it though, so will take an interest in this one when it's published.

    You must have phenomenal discipline to get your artwork done for publications regularly. I find that inspiring. Art is like writing, you have to sit down and do it. I know many writers sit in rooms for many hours per day and plug away at it. Art is like that, I often think people imagine art as an inspiring, spur-of-the-moment thing when it's hard work and discipline once you get the inspiration. Yes, you make lovely art, but your tenacity in getting things done is something I respect so much.

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