The Oracle of the Rose,
Mixed Media On Paper

1991

As teenager in the early 90's I embarked on a spiritual quest: to study the tradition and mysteries of the Tarot Cards. It became the object of my meditation and focus of my artwork. I would go into a dark room and lay down at midday, waiting for images and thoughts to come into my mind. These visions and insights took shape in a collection of sketches and writing that filled many notebooks.
 
At length the Major Arcana came to me in a very personal style, so I took to drawing the finished versions with inks and pencil on paper. Each card was the product of a whole day, from morning until night I would sit at my mother's studio and work until it was done. I felt it had to be in such a way: no hesitation, no delay. A ritual of inscribing ineffable signs, one day for each card or no go. While she painted her monumental canvases and tableaux, we kept company and enjoyed our time as friends and fellow artists, I will forever cherish the memory of those days. I cannot put into words how much of her teaching and guidance helped me to accomplish this. She has always been my greatest Maestra!