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Author Topic: The Braided Oracle - my current project  (Read 5045 times)

keen

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The Braided Oracle - my current project
« on: May 18, 2018, 08:45:15 pm »
So this is what I've been working on for a while now. I initially started this project as just another tarot deck, but it became increasingly clear that I wanted something else, so I turned it into an oracle system. Going into this, I wanted it to be highly structured, with a lot of cross-pollination in symbolism between the cards - basically, something meaty enough to have the potential to give very complex readings.

I have several categories (or "arcana") of card. I also have a set of symbols, as well as a few planetary/elemental associations that I use consistently to aid in readings, as well as a limited color palette.

The cards so far are, by category:

- Pips 0-10
- Dawn, Day, Dusk, Night
- The General, The Hostess, The Captain, The Poet, The Doctor, The Soldier
- Home, Triage, Play, Alchemy, Memory, Blood, Balance
- The Current, The Cord, The Cable
- The Jewel, The Ring, The Crown
- The Cup, The Bowl, The Well
- The Blade, The Knife, The Sword
- The Rumor, The Mountain, The Star, The Anchor, The Boot, The Key, The Bead, The Blanket, The Lamp, The Shadow, The Shell, The Machine, The Wreath, The Dice, The Bottle, The Harvest, The Nail, The Pen, The Medal, The Bead (or The Mark, still struggling with this one)

Here are some cards I've done so far that I'm proud of:







Ultimately, I hope to do this as a Kickstarter campaign. Not to make any money, but because I want this deck risograph printed for myself, and print run minimums are 50+ per master. Sigh.

Here's two versions of Triage. I'm going with the right one:



More to come later!
rotwork: on devotion to lesser-known and un-known gods, transplanting genus loci, art, and modernity

Sefiru

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Re: The Braided Oracle - my current project
« Reply #1 on: May 21, 2018, 07:55:53 pm »
More to come later!

These are really cool! *warning, incoming art nerd-out*

I like the design and color schemes, too. Reminds me of Cubist and Futurist work, is that deliberate? What medium/media are you working in? In the "Rumor" card, is the color registration supposed to be like that?

I like the "eyes" design for the Triage card, especially if you're going for a broader meaning than the strictly medical one.
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keen

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Re: The Braided Oracle - my current project
« Reply #2 on: May 28, 2018, 08:33:19 pm »
These are really cool! *warning, incoming art nerd-out*

I like the design and color schemes, too. Reminds me of Cubist and Futurist work, is that deliberate? What medium/media are you working in? In the "Rumor" card, is the color registration supposed to be like that?

I like the "eyes" design for the Triage card, especially if you're going for a broader meaning than the strictly medical one.

Thanks a lot!

Looking at some of the designs now, a lot of it seems to be coming from my love of Klee; Triage has a bit of Miro in there tho!

I'm hoping beyond hope to get this Kickstarted just enough to do a proper risograph run. If you're interested in printing technologies, look into it! It's one of my favorite methods of printing... it can make ANYTHING look good lol.

Here's some riso stuff:



One of the very fun things about riso is that perfect registration is impossible, so it becomes part of the medium. So even where I've done proper registration, those cards will all be off just slighty. With the Rumor card, I was trying to get a 'plurality' vibe going; sort of "many" mouths all working together in a sort of chaotic unison to injure one's character.
rotwork: on devotion to lesser-known and un-known gods, transplanting genus loci, art, and modernity

Sefiru

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Re: The Braided Oracle - my current project
« Reply #3 on: May 29, 2018, 04:21:33 pm »
Triage has a bit of Miro in there tho!

I was thinking that too LOL.

Quote

One of the very fun things about riso is that perfect registration is impossible, so it becomes part of the medium. So even where I've done proper registration, those cards will all be off just slighty. With the Rumor card, I was trying to get a 'plurality' vibe going; sort of "many" mouths all working together in a sort of chaotic unison to injure one's character.

Neato! I'm into more manual types of printing - I do woodcut and lino cut, I like the tactile work of carving the blocks. I'm guessing the "retro" feeling of the colors also comes from the riso process?
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keen

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Re: The Braided Oracle - my current project
« Reply #4 on: May 30, 2018, 10:40:46 am »
Neato! I'm into more manual types of printing - I do woodcut and lino cut, I like the tactile work of carving the blocks. I'm guessing the "retro" feeling of the colors also comes from the riso process?

I've done quite a bit of block printing in my day too. Lino was a favorite, but I wouldn't mind transitioning over to wood at some point. (I have the tools to do it, just no space and truthfully not much in the idea department.)

Riso isn't tactile, unless you consider color separation tactile, but it is similar to screenprinting in that the machine makes a "master" that each color is printed from. The colors are transparent inks sourced from the manufacturer, and I think they only produce about a dozen different colors altogether... many of them as bright as your typical spot colors! I think that's actually because pf the transparency, though; print neon pink on yellow and you get a pretty normal red, for example.

Glad I've found a fellow art nerd around here!
rotwork: on devotion to lesser-known and un-known gods, transplanting genus loci, art, and modernity

Sefiru

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Re: The Braided Oracle - my current project
« Reply #5 on: May 30, 2018, 05:56:25 pm »
Glad I've found a fellow art nerd around here!

Join me, and we can rule together!  ;D

Quote
(I have the tools to do it, just no space and truthfully not much in the idea department.)

Isn't that always the case? I've often wanted to try lithography, but that would need access to a real printing press, I believe - my wood blocks are all less than 6 inches and I just use my hands to apply pressure. Also, I'm not in good enough shape to haul around slabs of rock!
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keen

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Re: The Braided Oracle - my current project
« Reply #6 on: June 01, 2018, 03:40:25 pm »
snip

A few more I feel are done:







Will definitely need to go in an standardize all the "type" but, yannow...
rotwork: on devotion to lesser-known and un-known gods, transplanting genus loci, art, and modernity

Waldhexe

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Re: The Braided Oracle - my current project
« Reply #7 on: June 02, 2018, 02:10:40 am »
A few more I feel are done:

(...)
Those are really good!!!  :D

keen

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Re: The Braided Oracle - my current project
« Reply #8 on: June 27, 2018, 03:05:43 pm »
snip



And this one is The Ritual. I've since given up writing the titles on each card as I draw them because the consistency is so off, so I'm going to write them all on one sheet and paste them in. Blegh.

rotwork: on devotion to lesser-known and un-known gods, transplanting genus loci, art, and modernity

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Re: The Braided Oracle - my current project
« Reply #9 on: June 28, 2018, 07:08:00 pm »


That looks like the kind of ritual that many people can relate to.  ;)
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keen

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Re: The Braided Oracle - my current project
« Reply #10 on: June 30, 2018, 02:09:08 pm »
That looks like the kind of ritual that many people can relate to.  ;)

Yup, and by design!

All of the cards that depict tangible things I wanted to be as universal (for my target demographics at least) as possible, relatable, and predictable in its potential interpretations.

So, a to-go coffee cup - a potent, easily recognizable symbol for starting the day, suggesting a small, regular habit that strength and energy is derived from. But caffeine is also addictive, and it could be holding you back in important ways. Or the shotgun shell - shotguns aren't tools for skilled marksmanship, they're for killing; messily, but with a high chance of success. The spent shell means that the gun's been fired, and there's no putting the shot back in the casing to undo what's been done.

I've been browsing instagram to get a sense of what other oracle decks people are using, looking at the imagery, and it's astounding how bland most of these cards are. I saw a reading someone did where two of the cards were "The Fish" and "The Rider"; there were no contextual cues for how the images were supposed to be interpreted, and they were so universal that my intuition was all over the map. So I saw fish and went, "ok... sustenance? emotional aptitude? is this a flashy reef fish or a schooling fish? Is this a prey or predator species? it looks small, does that mean anything?". Lo, in the comments it was revealed to be a "positive" card, somehow. Oy. I'm thinking of another oracle deck I own, Professor Pam's Urban Oracle Deck that's more art than oracle. It's gorgeous and fun to use, don't get me wrong, but I can tell that the symbols she chose weren't rigorously tested. "The Condom Wrapper", for instance, could go SO many different ways depending on who you are and what your life experience around safe sex is - to me, the majority of oracle decks are about pretty pictures or witty visual puns to be of any real spiritual or metaphysical use.

So, yeah. For novice readers, my intention is to give them enough to make them think that their intuition is doing most of the work, when in fact the symbols are (hopefully) straightforward enough to actually get them in the correct ballpark anyway. Unless of course, for those occasions where a card like Triage refers to a literal hospital stay or something.
rotwork: on devotion to lesser-known and un-known gods, transplanting genus loci, art, and modernity

keen

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Re: The Braided Oracle - my current project
« Reply #11 on: July 17, 2018, 01:08:23 pm »
snip

Well nerts. In going through my riso print samples from the shop, I think the ink will not be suitable for this project. Grrrr. It's not that the ink rubs off on the fingers much, it's that, in a deck, the ink would rub off onto the other cards.

A risograph-printed front and a silkscreen-printed back would be ideal, but that would take FAR too much time. I may just need to suck it up and print them like normal cards...
rotwork: on devotion to lesser-known and un-known gods, transplanting genus loci, art, and modernity

Sefiru

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Re: The Braided Oracle - my current project
« Reply #12 on: July 17, 2018, 06:27:19 pm »
Well nerts. In going through my riso print samples from the shop, I think the ink will not be suitable for this project. Grrrr. It's not that the ink rubs off on the fingers much, it's that, in a deck, the ink would rub off onto the other cards.

A risograph-printed front and a silkscreen-printed back would be ideal, but that would take FAR too much time. I may just need to suck it up and print them like normal cards...

Have you considered card-protector sleeves (the kind used for Magic The Gathering and such)? Or is lamination an option?
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keen

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Re: The Braided Oracle - my current project
« Reply #13 on: July 17, 2018, 08:24:39 pm »
Have you considered card-protector sleeves (the kind used for Magic The Gathering and such)? Or is lamination an option?

I personally cannot stand handling plastic when I'm doing anything even remotely magical (specific things grudgingly permitting). And on a low-volume mass scale, laminating would be a nightmare anyway.

I think what I'm going to do is 1. blockprint my own backsides with a more durable ink, and 2. see if I can't spray fix the fronts. I'll do some tests on the samples the shop sent me to see how it looks and feels. That would probably mean that I'd have to cut and trim all the cards myself (a deck fits on 4 sheets of paper) to make spraying easier, but... I've done nuttier for the sake of art. :U
rotwork: on devotion to lesser-known and un-known gods, transplanting genus loci, art, and modernity

sevensons

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Re: The Braided Oracle - my current project
« Reply #14 on: June 14, 2019, 08:18:21 pm »










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