On New Years Day 2012 the artist felt a communication from one of her guardian spirits; extra dimensional beings, friends. They've been present all Zola's life. Their advice is unfailingly wise, kind, pragmatic and timely. Over the decades, she's learned to listen when they speak. They don't show up often; just when needed or when they choose.

He said:

“You have the opportunity to access a MAC with photoshop on it. Start teaching yourself that program.”

So, she began to go in every morning at 6:00 AM before the business opened, when another artist was there to let her in. Sitting down at the computer, she would open photoshop and begin working with it, trying to make sense of it. That was a long and difficult struggle as she had to work for the most part in isolation with minimal assistance. Mon-Fri at noon the manager would arrive, Zola would have a small list of specific questions: How do I? I want to do this...HOW? He would give her short answers, she'd write them down and then continue to struggle on alone. Later, after earning her own keys, she began to pull all nighters instead, working alone from 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM.

And so it went. Eventually she was comfortable enough with the program to be able to create a portrait of her primary guide and guardian. She printed his image in color and carried him around in her pocket. That first image wasn't done for anybody else but herself.

Then, one day she was alone in the space. Pulling his image out, Zola was sitting studying it when his presence was suddenly there, lounging against the table close by. He said:

“You should create a tarot deck with images of all of us (Daemons) in it.”

The idea came from him. He told her she could do it. Which card does he represent for? The Knight of Swords.

But this project began years before the tarot was even suggested, which happened around july 2015. While one of her guides told her New Years Day 2012 start learning photoshop, at the same time she was producing an enormous amount of paintings, sculpture, jewelry, applying for art exhibitions, artist call outs, etc. Never realizing all this effort was actually destined for the tarot which entailed yet more years of countless revisions, redesigns and yet more work as new information presented itself. For instance, Zola didn't decide where the Daemons ended up in the deck, they did. She waited to hear from them while working on ones she knew where they would go. Information kept coming right up to the end. There were many attempts by negatives and their proxies to sideline the project and add interpolations but these were eventually all recognized and dealt with (revisions, re-designs, corrections, a re-write and just sheer persistence to soldier on).

A few weeks after the suggestion to create a tarot deck was communicated, an opportunity to apply for a project grant from the Canada Council for the Arts 'coincidentally' appeared. Zola decided to apply. Securing a Federal grant is no small accomplishment; it's like the artists version of the olympics. To be a recipient is considered very prestigious. It's difficult to qualify, a LOT of professional artists apply. It goes without saying the competition is fierce.

Zola managed to secure a grant. Taking this as a positive omen, she began designing the original tarot and worked over the following years to realize her dream of publishing. And somewhere along the way the original tarot turned into many tarots. The First (original) Edition blossomed out on it's own. There are four tarot decks at present: First Edition, Ivory, Gold and Portrait Editions. The Fine Art contained within (each deck is uniquely original) combines old school techniques: building stretchers, gallery boxes, stretching canvas, priming the surfaces, painting landscapes, drawing, collage, plus new: photography, digital painting and more.

All the tarot cards are printed on 12 point 320gsm black-core matte card stock, providing terrific color quality, sheen, and snap back. They have a protective UV coating and linen finish. Each deck contains a mini manual of card meanings including upright AND reversed. This is a tiny version of the book which will be released at a later date in which zola will cover everything in greater detail.

The Ivory and Gold Editions feature the same card back design; one is dark oriented and one is light (from darkness comes light). These can be combined to create a unique individual tarot for the purchaser. Meaning you can mix and match. The Portrait and First Edition can also combine like this.

These super collectable works of fine art are the result of a lot of blood, sweat and tears. It's been an odyssey full of wicked highs and low lows. The journey here was a rollercoaster; but at last it's complete; the fruit is here for you all to enjoy and share. I myself am honestly not sure which deck I prefer! They're all stunning.

I'm proud of my work and so happy to finally finish! I hope you all enjoy them as much as I do.

Best,

Zola