MEGAN GONINAN

My Fool's Journey
Digital Print on Photo Paper

When I originally started my capstone, I was interested in doing illustrated works around fortune telling. That's how I came across tarot cards. As someone who does not practice nor had a lot of knowledge about tarot initially, I had a lot to learn. But, I did have a resource that I used to design my cards. I used The Big Book of Tarot by Joan Bunning, who has practiced tarot for many years. In her books, she breaks down the meanings of the cards as well as goes over tarot spreads. One of the decks that she based her book on was the Rider-Waite tarot deck, which was made in 1910 and was designed by Pamela Coleman Smith, which was my main inspiration when designing the major arcana.
For this body of work I express the moods of the individual meanings of each card through my own unique interpretations as well as based on cultural and historical origins of each major arcana card through uses of symbols based on what I have learned about tarot cards. I took the approach of using the shape and pen tool on illustrator as well as vibrant, bright colors to make 2D designs to try to mimic the historically hand drawn tarot sets. For my display, I chose to do various spreads which reflect how each tarot card applies to different moments in my life. I want to show how tarot cards can work as a form of visual narrative about our lives. Although each card is designed as an individual piece, as a set it serves the purpose of being used as a tool for self reflection as well as spiritual healing and guidance.