I started a month long course called “Pull, Pen, Paint”. It is about using the Tarot to inspire your creativity. I’ve always been curious about Tarot, so I decided to jump right on in.
First, let me say, right off the bat, I was confused. The course was for March, I didn’t find out about it until the last few days of March. I watched a live stream in which they were discussing both Tarot and Oracle decks. I didn’t know the difference but loved the idea of either one of them, especially if they could help inspire me in my art or anything I wanted to create. I was confused because I was watching a stream at the end of the course and I didn’t have all the information everyone else had from the beginning of the course.
I took a step back and I began at the beginning. Confusion is slowly being lifted. I purchased “Easy Tarot” which has The Gilded Tarot deck, and I am so glad I did. It also contains a guide book in which the author assumes you know nothing and explains how to use Tarot, how to learn it, and what to expect.
I’m the type of person who once I get an interest in something, I want to dive in deep and not just get my feet wet. If I only get my feet wet then that tells me it most likely isn’t for me. I’m just not a surface dweller as I like to call it.
I grew up with a background in religion, mostly Baptist, so you can imagine the blocks I’ve had to overcome in order to even buy a Tarot deck. Luckily those blocks were breached years ago. I consider myself spiritual, not religious. I don’t associate myself with any particular religion and I don’t believe in the black arts. The only thing black about anything is its color and if you use it for evil purposes. Tarot is a tool.
This is as simple as you can get. Tools can be used for good or bad. I choose to use my tools for good. I don’t use Tarot to communicate with the devil. I use it to help me breach my blocks/walls. If it can trigger within me, a connection which helps me to understand more about myself, then of course I’m going to utilize it. Whether others consider that communication with God or the Devil, I don’t really care. That is their prerogative. I simply consider it a tool.
I spent the day setting up a new handmade journal to use for the Pull, Pen, Paint course. Here are pictures of the journal and what I’ve done so far in it:
The journal is called a Dos-á-Dos style. It has 2 spines. Kiala Givehand has a youtube video about it from her Book-in-a-Day series. I decided to add what is called a tip-in to provide a larger spread for my daily Tarot pull. I whited out the prompts from the course because I wasn’t sure if I could share them. I’m using the daily Tarot pull spread to record my daily pull and to help me become more familiar with the cards in my deck.
The other thing I have been doing is reading through the guide book for my deck. There is a lot of detail on what to do and how to do it with Tarot, and especially on the best way to learn the cards.
So…. as if I don’t have enough to do with all my other art projects I’m working on, I decided to start a Tarot Journal, and a Tarot Diary. This is separate from the Pull, Pen, Paint course. The journal is for me to record what I’m learning about Tarot. The diary is for me to record my experiences with using Tarot.
I’m becoming a journal junky. I have journals for everything. I have a personal journal which I converted to what Effy Wild calls a Sweet Trash Journal (STJ). It is supposed to contain EVERYTHING. Everything being anywhere from hand written journaling, to photo collages, to art journaling and beyond, even notes from classes. That didn’t last long, oh maybe a few months, but I realized, trying to dig through my STJ for something specific could be a bit difficult especially if it is something I’m learning and need a refresher on. For me the STJ will be my daily journal about my life, in which, I may comment about all the things I’m learning and doing, maybe even include some pictures. However, when I want to learn something in detail, then it is time for a special journal all on its own.
Thus, my journal addition now includes:
- Life Book 2017 Art Journal
- Book of Days 2017 Art Journal
- Art Journal for Journal 52 prompts or other prompts in which inspire an art journal page
- My Tarot Journal (for learning about Tarot)
- My Tarot Diary (for recording my Tarot experiences)
- Pull, Pen, Paint Journal (combination of written and art journal, or visual art from the course)
- My Faces Sketchbook Journal (where I practice drawing faces)
- Art Techniques and Test Journal (just what it implies)
- Color Chart Journal (contains color charts for the different mediums I use)
- (Coming Soon – Mandala Journal)
Did I get them all? Not sure. Will there be more? The possibilities are endless. I’m surprised I don’t have a mandala journal, oh wait, I do have one but I filled it and haven’t started a new one (yet).
I also have a 12″ x 12″ photo binder where I store my loose art pages. This is for things like my mandala drawings and ink drawings I’ve done on loose paper and want to keep from getting destroyed if I didn’t protect them somehow.
I think, I got completely sidetracked from what I originally wanted to write about. Thus, my journal addiction is real. I could make several journals a day and never grow tired of it. In fact, I’ve considered making a journal from parchment paper for a handwritten journal. Or making one from grid paper if I could find some good quality graph paper. I am also considering making tiny little journals, small enough to be used in jewelry.
Yes, my addiction is real.
As if I don’t have enough to do, almost daily I find something new. A new class, a new challenge, a new group, and on and on it goes. By the time I go to bed at night, I’ve forgotten to wash the dishes, take out the trash, clean out the cat litter, water my plants, and feed my daughter. Luckily she is old enough to know how to feed herself. Oh, and feed myself.
If you want a journal made, but don’t want to go through the trouble of doing it yourself, or don’t know how to do it. If, you are willing to pay for the supplies and shipping it to you and pay me a bit for my time to make it, contact me. We’ll talk about the particulars and negotiate price. That is if you want to help feed my addiction and have a beautiful handmade journal all your own.
~Patti
Purple Tulip Art Studio 