Golden Moth Sneak Peeks!

In terms of The Golden Moth Illumination Deck project, the past few weeks have been a time of waiting and recuperation. But now it's time to get busy again! Here is the latest progress:

A couple weeks ago, I visited the Archaic Mess studio to do a press check. Taylor Ball (right) of Parcell Press and Travis Robertson (left) are the duo behind the Mess. Taylor mostly handles the printing and Travis mostly handles the finishing (paper trimming, stapling, etc), though I'm sure both help out in either realm.

A glimpse of the workspace where the magic happens.

Taylor wrote a detailed printing task list!

Out of the contraption and into the stacks - hundreds of golden moths!

Keeping in mind that we are but human individuals with varying schedules working on this project, Travis delivered most of the cards to me a few days ago. "Most" - meaning that there are still some cards that need to be trimmed due to the fact that he needs to get the guillotine blade re-sharpened, but it shouldn't be too long before he can deliver the rest. Check it out some of the cards!
May 21st Update: Everything is now trimmed and ready for me to get crackin' on it!

 

Some of you may notice that I changed the design of the border slightly. I was going to use blue in the border, but decided that it looked too busy.

In the meantime, there is still some work for me to do to get these cards into the hands of my Kickstarter backers, and then to the general public. I have to corner-round the cards:

And I have to hand-cut the boxes and assemble them - this is the step that I think will be the most time-consuming!

Then the cards need to be collated into numbered order for each deck. All of this goes into a package with the Arrow Spread Sheet:

and Handbook!

The Handbook looks really cute, don't you think? For some reason, I was almost more excited about seeing the Handbook than I was with the actual card deck, maybe because I still have to work on the deck but the Handbook was delivered all finished and pretty by Archaic Mess.

I was so worried about writing the book, but once I finally got into it everything flowed well. My aunt and older sister helped a lot with editing. I hope that the Handbook will be helpful and informative to others.

Oh, almost forgot - I also have been working on the mini-art that goes to Kickstarter backers who pledged $30 or more. Here is a sampling of some of the art I have finished:

So now I need to get back to the drawing board and chug away at all the details. I also need to finish the notecard and poster designs, and I will hand screenprint the poster. I am hoping to start sending packages near the end of this month, with the goal of having everything delivered by June. Thanks everyone for your patience! And if anyone in Richmond is interested in helping me out with some of these finishing touches, give me a holler. I can compensate your time with food and artwork!

With the extra money I raised from my Kickstarter campaign (I raised $4,800 when the original goal was $4,000) I decided to up the quantity of decks, spread sheets, and handbook from 250 to 300. I was also able to order a larger variety of postcards.

Thanks everyone who cast their vote on the postcard and bookplate designs. If you are a Kickstarter backer, here is the choice you will get if you ordered postcards:

 And here are the bookplate designs:

For those of you who weren't able to get in on the Kickstarter campaign but would like to order a deck or related products, I will be listing them for sale in my etsy shop, Sprout Head, after I have shipped out orders to my Kickstarter backers.

Until then, you'll just have to wait a little longer!

love,
aijung

Oops, last-minute addition

I forgot to add in one more image among the choices for the bookplate designs (see previous post). #20 is the picture of the moth.

Thanks!

A big THANK YOU! and here is "The Arrow" Card Spread Sheet

Hello!

I'd like to announce that my Kickstarter project "The Golden Moth Illumination Deck" surpassed its $4,000 fundraising goal yesterday! THANK YOU to all who sent their support my way, be it through monetary pledges or spreading the word to other people. It's a great feeling to know that so many people have gone out of their way to support my project. many new and old friends showed me that they care about me and have faith in my abilities, and that means a lot :) I still have a few days left to fundraise more! So please visit my Kickstarter page to check out the card deck and make a pledge.

I just finished up drawing the card spread sheet that will come with The Golden Moth Illumination Deck (it will also come with a guidebook). "The Arrow" card spread sheet is an 11" x 17" sheet of paper with the card positions printed on it so you can lay the cards right on top. The spread is called "The Arrow" because, to me, it resembles an arrow. I made up the spread after looking around www.aeclectictarot.com and combining some of the spreads that I read about into one that I really enjoy using. My favorite part is the "release" and "accept" cards because I think they are quite helpful when trying to figure out the best means of action or a different attitude to take on a situation.

For those unfamiliar with tarot readings, the querent (or person seeking advice through the cards) asks a question to gain insight into a situation, and the cards are shuffled and picked out. the reader will lay the cards into the appropriate positions and then "read" what the cards are saying. Just as important as the cards themselves are the positions they are placed. The placement can change the meaning quite a bit. Say, for example, that this card shows up in the "Accept" position:

Normally, I would look at this card and think it had something to do with the querent feeling trapped, restrained, and possibly unhappy. But if it appeared in the "Accept" position, I would interpret this card as saying that the querent should accept a period of feeling confined or restrained. Perhaps the querent would usually deal with the situation by running away or breaking obligations. This card would advise that it would be beneficial for the querent to remain in the situation. Upon further thought, the querent might also decide to change his or her attitude towards the situation - instead of seeing the restraint as something bad, they could see it as an opportunity to practice their focus and discipline. Perhaps the period of restraint is trying to teach them something important.

That's all for now. More updates to come in the next couple weeks as I continue to finalize the artwork for the project. whew, it's nice to know that the goal has been reached and it can only get better from here!

thank you everyone for your amazing support!

More Completed Symbols!

Here are 15 completed symbols for The Golden Moth Illumination Deck. I've drawn more, but this should give you a better idea of what the finished deck will look like.

I can't believe the fundraiser will be over in 6 days!!! I HAVE UNTIL SATURDAY, MARCH 10TH TO RAISE THE REST OF THE FUNDS - $190 to go before I'm completely funded for this project! So if you want to pledge but still haven't yet, by all means GO TO THE KICKSTARTER PAGE NOW!

it has been very exciting to check my inbox and see that someone has made a pledge. i'm bowled over by everyone's generosity to the project, and i truly hope that everyone will be happy with it once it gets into their hands. it has been fun but also a bit stressful to be simultaneously creating the artwork while also trying to promote my fundraiser. but it's a neat way to show people my progress on this project.

I should be posting more artwork in the coming days, so keep an eye out. and what are you waiting for? make your pledge now and get some cool rewards like the card deck, notecards, postcards, bookplates, posters, and original artwork! Thanks!

IT'S HERE! The Golden Moth Illumination Deck!

IT'S HERE! a very special project that I am excited to tell you about. For almost 3 years, I have been giving readings to people (similar to tarot) with a deck of symbolic cards that I illustrated. I am now launching a Kickstarter campaign to raise the funds to get my card deck printed and available for anyone to use!

You can learn about the project here by watching a video, reading more about it, and deciding if you want to pledge a donation! There are all kinds of neat rewards at different pledge amounts, so check it out. YEAH!!!

The funds I raise will be used to print the deck and a bunch of other reward incentives (such as notecards, bookplates, and posters), as well as covering the cost of shipping for people who pledge to back the project. If you're not familiar with Kickstarter, it is a fundraising platform for creative people. The creator of the project collects pledges from people, and different pledge amounts bring different tangible rewards. But part of the reward is knowing that you are supporting someone in their artistic endeavor and making their dreams come true!

My fundraising goal is to collect $4,000 in 30 days. It is an all-or-nothing deal. I have until March 10th to collect this amount (or more), otherwise I do not receive any of the funds that have been pledged. However, if my project goal is successfully funded, backers of the project will be charged their pledge amount on March 10th and I will receive the funds to finish this project! You will have to register for a Kickstarter account (which is free, and doesn't take long to do), and you will have to go through the Amazon checkout process in order for your pledge to be recorded (but remember that your credit card will not be charged until March 10th if my fundraising goal is successful). 

This project is really important to me. Creating and using the cards has been a great learning experience for me and a way to connect with other people on a deeper level. Your donations are much appreciated - I realize these are tough financial times for most. And if you can't donate personally but still want to support the project, please spread the word!

It's Coming...

whew, i've been hard at work on my Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for a very special project called "The Golden Moth Illumination Deck." i am so excited about this! a blog post for the campaign launch will follow shortly (like TODAY!)

for now, here's a teaser:

Mother's Day Cards

A belated post - some Mother's Day pop-up cards I made. The first was for my mom. I cut up some old prints I had made and collaged them into the pop-up card. The second and third for my boyfriend's mom and grandma. Evan painted the woodland card with the rabbits :)