Today I had the unexpected pleasure of discovering Niki de Saint Phalle. After one small thing my dad said today I realised I had always been aware of the name but didn't know what she did, turns out (among many other things) she created this incredible sculpture garden in Tuscany. Why is it that everything I discover lately seems to make me need a holiday?!
Anyway, the thing that really struck me was that the garden depicts the 21 Tarot Cards of the Major Arcana, you know the drill - the Empress, The Devil, Death, all that stuff. I've been fascinated by tarot since my early teens and I don't think my mind will ever be peaceful until I have created my own design of cards, even though my many attempts over the last 10 years or so haven't ever seen the light of day! Niki's artistic interpretation of the cards is amazing, and I love the simplicity and every day language of the personal notes which accompany each one - too many writers get all ethereal when writing up the meanings of the cards!
I think I would be pretty happy to also explore Queen Califia's Magical Circle which Niki created in Escondido, California, but I would be like a kid in a sweet shop going around the beautiful Tuscan Tarot - Il Giardino Dei Tarrochi - bellissimo!!! Ooh, it's like Salvation Mountain but more pagan, ace!
