Art-only Decks

[McFaire]

I have a few trimmed decks that have only the art, where I was able to trim away all letters and numbers. I find I really like working with decks with only the images. It causes the brain to use different circuitry when there are no language cues present, and causes the brain to internalize patterns in new ways that simply don't occur when letters and numbers can be seen. Even after working with tarot for 20+ years, I find myself "seeing them better" with art only.

 

However, trimming presents other issues. It's time consuming, and I'm not a pro at it. My trimmed decks are beautiful but they don't shuffle quite as well as commercially cut/edged decks. And even when borders are trimmed off, some decks have the words or number written directly on the art, where you can't trim away.

 

As far as I know, the only art-only tarot deck that is commercially available is @reall's self-published RWS.

 

Do you have any art-only decks? Do you feel your mind reacts differently to them? Do you prefer the language cues? Do you think an art-only deck is commercially viable for publishers (ie would enough customers want to buy one)?

[FLizarraga]

1 hour ago, McFaire said:

I find I really like working with decks with only the images. It causes the brain to use different circuitry when there are no language cues present, and causes the brain to internalize patterns in new ways that simply don't occur when letters and numbers can be seen. Even after working with tarot for 20+ years, I find myself "seeing them better" with art only.

This describes to a T my own process with most decks. I'm a compulsive trimmer, and I prefer to keep just the art whenever I can. The only deck I have trimmed and intentionally kept titles on has been the Mary-El, because it's just too idiosyncratic, I haven't had a lot of time to study it, and I wouldn't be able to recognize many of the cards. I would definitely buy a borderless, title-less deck.

 

(Though the compulsive trimmer in me feels cheated every time I buy a borderless deck... )

 

You mention that some of your trimmed decks don't shuffle well. Is it because of rough edges? I find that using long, very sharp scissors can prevent them, and gently sanding rough edges with fine sandpaper smooths them down. (Emphasis on gentle.) Edging them can also make them easier to shuffle, for some reason I cannot fathom.

[McFaire]

24 minutes ago, FLizarraga said:

This describes to a T my own process with most decks. I'm a compulsive trimmer, and I prefer to keep just the art whenever I can. The only deck I have trimmed and intentionally kept titles on has been the Mary-El, because it's just too idiosyncratic, I haven't had a lot of time to study it, and I wouldn't be able to recognize many of the cards. I would definitely buy a borderless, title-less deck.

 

(Though the compulsive trimmer in me feels cheated every time I buy a borderless deck... ) 

 

You mention that some of your trimmed decks don't shuffle well. Is it because of rough edges? I find that using long, very sharp scissors can prevent them, and gently sanding rough edges with fine sandpaper smooths them down. (Emphasis on gentle.) Edging them can also make them easier to shuffle, for some reason I cannot fathom.

Ha ha, I'm exactly the same with the Mary-el. I had to keep the titles on that one! One day maybe I'll take the time to live with it enough to not need them anymore.

 

With my trimmed decks, I used a craft a trimmer that folks were recommending back on AT, and Ranger ink pads. But I didn't sand them before edging. I like to riffle with eyes closed while visualizing the question/positions, and there's just that feeling when the cards are kind of "coming to order." It's hard to describe. But there's a fluidity in how the cards move that feels like they are falling into place.

 

9 minutes ago, FLizarraga said:

(Though the compulsive trimmer in me feels cheated every time I buy a borderless deck... )

Ha ha you are compulsive!

[TheFeeLion]

@McFaire I don't know if you've seen it yet but I've been using the True Black deck and, while not a true art-only deck, it's titles are VERY unobtrusive. They're done with gloss ink on matt black so if the light is right they dissappear altogether 🙂

[stephanelli]

Another deck with minimal borders and no titles is the Triple Goddess Tarot - it just has a symbol for the suite and the number (or a symbol for the courts) and in the majors just the roman numeral.  My favourite deck at the moment!

[reall]

@McFaire Thank You for awesome topic!;D I was surprised how big difference absence of small numbers make?x,x images become totally immersive & scene got full space! That's Exactly why I plan publishing my own Tarot as Art edt as well(it's easy with pod where you don't need to invest in printing in advance!;D personally don't think there would be much demand as people prefer clear text & not to guess card name especially with minor arcana!:D but imo good art could make it recognizable!;D

Edited July 2, 2019 by reall

[McFaire]

8 hours ago, TheFeeLion said:

@McFaire I don't know if you've seen it yet but I've been using the True Black deck and, while not a true art-only deck, it's titles are VERY unobtrusive. They're done with gloss ink on matt black so if the light is right they dissappear altogether 🙂

Thank you! 🙂

[McFaire]

7 hours ago, stephanelli said:

Another deck with minimal borders and no titles is the Triple Goddess Tarot - it just has a symbol for the suite and the number (or a symbol for the courts) and in the majors just the roman numeral.  My favourite deck at the moment!

It looks like there are two decks with this title? -- which is your fave? ty

[McFaire]

5 hours ago, reall said:

@McFaire Thank You for awesome topic!;D I was surprised how big difference absence of small numbers make?x,x images become totally immersive & scene got full space! That's Exactly why I plan publishing my own Tarot as Art edt as well(it's easy with pod where you don't need to invest in printing in advance!;D personally don't think there would be much demand as people prefer clear text & not to guess card name especially with minor arcana!:D but imo good art could make it recognizable!;D

Yes, it's surprising the huge difference it makes without the numbers. You don't realize how much you rely on them until they are taken away.

 

I would love to have an art-only RWS with soft colors like the PCS Commemorative (hint hint!)!

[stephanelli]

1 hour ago, McFaire said:

It looks like there are two decks with this title? -- which is your fave? ty

Didn't realise there are two decks with this name!  This is the one I love: http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/triple-goddess-tarot/

[McFaire]

18 minutes ago, stephanelli said:

Didn't realise there are two decks with this name!  This is the one I love: http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/triple-goddess-tarot/

Pretty!

 

(Apparently the other one isn't a full tarot.)

[bookshop]

Hi! I recently got an art-only deck via Kickstarter — the Anthony Apesos deck. And, well, it's a handful. He spent several years designing every image to be specific to his version of the tarot deck, but got so intuitive he forgot to tell the rest of us what any of it meant, so i'm left mainly with a bunch of pictures of rocks and trees and stuff without having any way of distinguishing them, really. It's effectively a very intuitive oracle deck, ahaha!

 

 

Edited September 6, 2019 by bookshop

[reall]

umm, my idea of *Art Only was exactly that Art Only No Text or Anything but This is definitely Art Deck!;D & I'm sure you'll got awesome fun readings once you figure how it works best for you?;D lol