Anyway, whats up with me? Lots and nothing, all at the same time.  On Monday I had ear surgery to place a tube in my right ear to equalize pressure.  My right ear needs time to heal, but now I find my left ear to be badly pressurized for whatever reason.  I should have had the doc do both ears at the same time.  My hearing is consequently messed up with my left being muffled and my right being clear.  Its like listening in strange stero with fluctuating clarity.  It’s actually making me a little crazy.

I am pretty serious about selling off the original tarot paintings.  I’ve been looking through them and will only retain a couple for my records.  The ones I plan on retaining are:

• High Priestess
• Chariot
• Hermit
• Wheel
• Justice
• Hanged Man
• Death
• Judgement
• Page of Pentacles
• Knight of Pentacles
• Nine of Wands
• Queen of Wands
• Seven of Cups
• Nine of Cups
• Ace of Swords
• Three of Swords
• Knight of Swords

I believe I feel comfortable with everything else being up for grabs.  Buyers will have to sign an agreement not to reproduce the images in any format.  Though they might own the original, I will retain the copyright and license.  At this point, price is still being decided, but I think I will sell the Major Arcana for $750 each, and the Minor Arcana and Court Cards for $500 each.  Each painting will come matted in black matting with a foam core backing.  The buyer can frame them at their pleasure.  If anyone would like to lay dibs now on any image, I can put a tentative hold on the painting.  Buyers wishing to purchase multiple paintings should contact me and I will negotiate a good price for a collection.

I will be teaching at the HK Open House, June 8-10.  I’m teaching the Watcher Angel Tarot class and a Psychometry workshop, and also running merchant tables.  I’ll be staying at the hotel all weekend and can hang out with folks. 

On a final note, Ges and I are running a radio show on Liveparanormal.com, its called “Occult Spectrum: Discussions from the Middle”.  It runs every other Monday at 9 p.m. EST.  Our next show will be May 28.

So there is my update, I’ll post more later!

http://www.spiralfirestudio.com/store/

My birthday came and went on December 1, then of course the holidays.  All this time I have struggled to draw.  I sat at the art desk and nothing came.  No inspiration, no images that just begged to be painted, nothing.  So finally, I started reconsidering the art that I love – the Pre-Raphaelites.  I decided to get some new reference photos, which my friend Becca was so kind to pose for.  Then last night, it happened.  I sat down and found an image and an idea, and I drew it.  Drew the picture, liked it and moved it to the art board.  Yes, tonight I finally painted.

The painting is the first large painting I have done in a long time.  Not since I used acrylics have I painted something this size.  I don’t know why, I was just possessed to use a large canvas.  Do you like it?  It’s only just begun of course, and now I type this while I wait for the canvas to dry.  One thing I’m finding with using a large sheet of paper is that it bubbles up and ripples up worse than a smaller canvas.  I hope this dries flat.  I also hope this doesn’t suck.

This sale applies only to the standard Watcher Angel Tarot.  Use the code TAROT in your shopping cart under “Apply Discount Code”.

Enjoy other holiday price reductions throughout the store!

• Watcher Angel Tarot Collectors Set
• Watcher Angel Tarot Standard Set
• Watcher Angel Tarot Deck

At checkout, enter the code WAT2011 to apply the 15% to the above products in your cart.

If you love the deck and want others to love it too, I invite you to review the deck on the Aeclectic Tarot website (http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/watcher-angel/) and on their discussion forum (http://www.tarotforum.net/), as well as on Amazon.com (the book is available there!) http://tinyurl.com/6hl4zm7

I went to the county fair last night and of course they park you in a field.  Well, coming out of the field to the concrete road, there was a significant dip that I didn’t see with all the grass.  Bam. So, there is a bar underneath my car right behind the bumper that I’m pretty sure is the frame.  That metal bar is bent downward.  And I sprung the bumper on the left hand side.  Fortunately that part wasn’t bad, and I pushed on it and it popped back into place.  But the bend metal is of some concern.  I do not need to tell you, I did not need this right now.  It’s going to be expensive to fix I fear.  I think I might vomit.

That’s really the worst part of the week so far.  Its been a bad week with a lot of angst and stress and crabbiness and other not fun emotional times. 

The tarot proof was sent back successfully yesterday, they should be getting it this afternoon.  I’m very pleased by how beautiful the colors on the cards came out.  Very good color matching to the original paintings.  Even in the smallness of the cards, the detail is still preserved.   So as of this afternoon, the printing company will have the final approval and will start the prep process.  They may start printing as early as next Wednesday.  Turn around time is 4 weeks from the time they receive the approval to the time I have the deck in my hands.  Four weeks.  I can’t believe how close we are.  After five years, this last bit of time is the hardest.  I am patient, I think these 4 weeks will pass quickly.  I do have things I’m doing in the next few weeks, so my brain will hopefully not dwell on the deck and make me crazy.

On Wednesday last week, Michelle and I went over to Christine Filipak and Joseph Vargo’s house and they helped us format the deck into the proper file layout for the printer.  It was amazing to see the deck all put together in the file, but my stomach was such a mess from all the stress.  I swear, I was near to tears when we finished.  It was just all the emotions of the last two years, all rolled up into one big package.  It was release, it was catharsis, and it came with tears.  I called the printer on Thursday and signed the contract and payed the down payment.  That night, I came home and just wandered around the house completely lost.  By Friday afternoon I felt better, and the last couple days I have felt actually happy.  Relieved.  It has honestly been a long time since I have felt… relaxed… I guess that’s what this feeling is anyway.  I feel so much relief.  I don’t have this whole big pressing project weighing me down.  I can do whatever I want, I have free time again.  I wish I knew what to do with it.  Free time.  You long for it when you don’t have it, and when you finally get it you don’t know what to do with yourself.  Like me, I had all these ideas of what I was going to do when I finished the deck.  Well, for the past five days after finishing, I have done nothing.  I wander around, I watch tv, I’ve read some.  For fun I even reorganized my file drawer in my art room.  Sick, isn’t it?  I mean, who reorganizes their file drawer for fun on a WEEKEND??!!  Sheesh.  I’m so lame, filing on a weekend.

I still don’t know what to do with myself.  I need a new project to fill the void.  I don’t like voids.  I really do feel lost and empty right now.  Relaxed, happy, but empty.