After seeing sneak peeks and behind-the-scenes pics from some of our favourite tattoo artists taking part in ‘TAROT the art of Tarot’ we couldn’t help but be intrigued!
We caught up with Holly Astral, the woman behind ‘TAROT the art of Tarot’ and Gravity Tattoo Studio to find out more about the project and how you can get your own piece of it…
What inspired you to start the ‘TAROT The Art of Tarot’ project? It all happened spontaneously! The shop’s girls love to read tarot and we began talking about how much fun it would be for us to create tarot cards together. Since I took the keys to the building, that is. Gravity Tattoo Shop I’d always said I’d like to hold an art exhibition in the ground floor reception area, and this seemed perfect!
You’ve taken part in exhibitions at galleries across Europe and America, was this part of your motivation for the tarot project? Totally! Before I became a tattoo artist, my background was as a toy designer and I also owned my own line. I also hosted a few art shows in London and Los Angeles during that time. Each showcased toys that had been customized by other industry designers and were so much fun. My main motivation for this show and those that I’ve organised in the past is to showcase the talent of those around me – I figured I’d put on the kind of shows I’d like to attend.
What message are you trying to spread? I’m interested to get the conversation going about tarot cards, and how people view them. I’m relatively new to the concept having only dabbled in it as a teenager. I had a rough start to the year, but I got back into the game because I was searching for answers. I don’t believe in divination or mediums, rather my take on tarot is that whatever you latch onto within a reading is your subconscious trying to tell you about a part of your life you need to look a little deeper at, or maybe an answer that you already know and need permission to bring to the surface. Tarot reading, like all activities, can help us discover the answers within ourselves.
The Tarot project aims to raise funds for Hula Animal RescueDoes that charity matter to you? Absolutely! They raise money throughout the year and held a flash-day to raise funds last year. Gravity Hula, a small charity dedicated to animal welfare, is our vegan tattoo shop.
You’ve brought together 78 individual artists for the tarot project – how did you pick them? Well at first we were going to do just the 22 major arcana from the tarot deck, so we asked some friends if they’d like to design a card for the show and it just got bigger and bigger! Before I knew what, the entire deck was being built. We were just overwhelmed by the response.
Do you think there are many styles, mediums and interpretations available? It was amazing to see all the artwork return for the show. We left it up to the artists how they wanted to create their cards – any medium was okay, the only proviso being that it needed to fit in an A4 frame for the show layout. There were paintings, drawings and digital artworks. We also had a few embroidered pieces. Seeing how everyone interpreted their card’s meaning has been so fun to see, with so many unique and interesting designs coming back to us. All the pieces they’ve created for the show were available to purchase for £100 each (a steal!)
They will be sold at the show only. Everyone who attends the party will get first dibs on artwork purchases from the show (August 24, 2006, 6-9 pm). Any remaining artworks will be sold on the internet within the following weeks.
Do you think tarot set will be available for purchase? We can’t wait to do a reading with them! Yes! Pre-orders are now closed but were available through our big cartel: gravitytattoo.bigcartel.com/product/tarot-cards.
Will the tarot Project celebrate the art, design and creativity in tattooing? Nope! Tarot is only a one-night event.
You used to create your own plush toys ‘Cavey’ and even exhibited at ToyCon, was this integral to deciding to create a physical product from the exhibition? My background in product and the toy industry definitely helped, and I also recognised that not everyone can afford £100 for an artwork and wanted to make an item that everyone could afford, so they can still contribute to the charity. The deck of cards was a brilliant idea and a great way for all the amazing art to be displayed. To make the cards as beautiful as possible, we enlisted the assistance of local printers.
This is your first show at your studio. Gravity Tattoo ShopHave you found a new passion for curating tattoo art exhibitions after the Tarot Project? Absolutely! We’ll be doing another, different show, next year!
Don’t miss the launch of ‘TAROT The Art of Tarot’ On August 24, at Gravity Tattoo Shop Leighton Buzzard, 6pm-9pm. Follow over Instagram Get more information
Interview by Amber Carnegie originally posted to the Barber DTS Tattoo Supplies blog.
