THE TAROT RUG PROJECT: THE LAST RUG...A DESIGN FOR THE BACK OF THE DECK.

This is the twenty-fifth (and FINAL) post in a series on the Tarot Rug Project (also known as "Exploring the Tarot:  23 Artists Hook the Major Arcana"). 

To view other rugs in the series, go HERE to an index of all the rugs (that post will be kept up to date as new photos are published and the show travels).

All of the Major Arcana cards have now been covered, along with the interpretations for each card in a rug by each of 22 artists.  If we were to make these "tarot rugs" into a tarot deck, we would need one final design for the back of that deck. 

This rug is that final design, by Pris Buttler, our 23rd artist.

On the left below, you can see her rug from its "DAYTIME" view, and on the right is the same rug turned 180 degrees for the "NIGHTTIME" view.

VIEWING THE "DAY" SIDE Photo credit: Anne-Marie W. Littenberg. The rug is © 2015 to Pris Buttler, all rights reserved. Please do not copy, post, or pin without permission.

VIEWING THE "NIGHT" SIDE Photo credit: Anne-Marie W. Littenberg. The rug is © 2015 to Pris Buttler, all rights reserved. Please do not copy, post, or pin without permission.

Pris Buttler is an artist in more than one medium.  She is first a multi-award-winning graphic and fine artist and has a webpage showcasing her paintings and graphics HERE, including her bio.  Please have a look at that site and you will see how she honed her talent in this realm before she took up traditional rug hooking.

Here is the rug one final time, "sunny-side up," so that you can see it full-size on the page.

Pris says that she was inspired to create this rug with its African theme because she happened upon a tarot deck based on African animals.  I'm going to take a guess that she may have been looking at this deck, though I certainly could be wrong.  In researching an African-inspired theme for her tarot rug, she eventually came up with a truly original design.  Her borders reflect patterns from African fabric (and don't you love the designs on the women's clothing?), and the Sun/Moon in the center are motifs reflected on the back of many traditional tarot decks.  Here we see them portrayed in Pris's amazing style. 

I love the way the animals only show up at night...

Pris took up traditional rug hooking in the 1990s and has been teaching for at least 14 years.  Her art training immediately made her a standout in this medium, and she has appeared in Celebrations more than once, including serving as a judge on one of the panels that decides who is accepted into that prestigious annual publication.  (I cannot imagine a harder job than trying to judge that competition)  Lately, her rugs have focused on portrayals of women.

A few years back, Pris became well-known for teaching workshops based on the work of Gustav Klimt, the Symbolist artist most famous for his painting "The Kiss," and active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  In the November/December 2011 issue of Rug Hooking Magazine, there is a wonderful article about one of these workshops (you can see a teaser in the link), and the illustrations are just priceless.  In reading the article and looking at the illustrations, one can see that Pris is not encouraging her students to "clone Klimt," but rather simply to be inspired by his overall style.  There are ten color photos of student work in the article and you simply cannot believe how wildly different each of the rugs are.  Clearly, Pris has the magic touch to encourage her students to new heights of creativity and original designs.  If you have the magazine, please re-read this article.

Finally, Pris runs the annual Black Bear Rug Hooking Camp in Georgia and it looks like a lot of fun.  One thing I didn't mention during this series is just how many of our remarkable rug artists not only teach but also run rug hooking camps, a bonus for all the rest of us who enjoy the camp experience.

In concluding this series, I'd like to say thanks for your patience in reading (and ogling), and thanks to all my fellow artists, most especially to Loretta and Michele who conceived of the show.  You two are remarkable. 

If you, the reader, would like to see the show, please look at the FAQ HERE (scroll down that page), posted on 12/7/15, which details where the show will travel.  And remember, you can bring the show to a venue near you (instructions in that FAQ).

Happy tarot-ing, and happy rug hooking!

And now, back to my regular style of blogging...