Alchemical symbol as a path of personal growth. Transmuting lead into spiritual gold.
I paint the stages of change.
I also read the cards — and those readings arrive in your mailbox rather than your inbox. I draw them, write your reading by hand, print the actual cards that came up, and mail them to you. A reading you can hold is a different thing than a reading you scroll past.
The medieval alchemists filled their manuscripts with strange drawings — bottles full of symbols and creatures, mapping a process they believed would turn lead into gold. What they were really describing was inner transformation, reflected back at them in their laboratory work. They called the whole of it the Great Work. Centuries later Carl Jung recognized it for what it was: the long, unglamorous business of individuation.
I started painting these cards because I wanted a way to recognize those stages while I was in them — becoming the witness in the laboratory of self-awareness, taking notes on the ever-changing energies inside the proverbial experiment. moving. It turns out having a visual picture for the mess in the middle makes the mess considerably easier to sit in.
There are over 90 illustrations in the series now. Every one is painted by hand on a 5x7 panel. Nothing here is generated or printed from stock. The prints in this shop are scans of the actual paintings — you can still see the brush.
This shop is where the deck comes out into the world, one card at a time. Soror Mystica, the mystic sister who tends the fire, is the first. Eventually this 54-page deck will be sold as a published deck with guidebook. Look for this this winter!
A little about me: I'm an artist and symbolist passionate about creativity and energetic archetypes as a tool for mental health and self-knowledge. I painted the Groundbreaking Girls portrait series, another long series based on women of history, I host the Art & Alchemy Lab podcast on Substack, and I am also a voice-artist. Most famously, I was the original voice of Dee Dee on Cartoon Network's "Dexter's Laboratory." (as Allison Moore)
Everything is an experiment. And change is the only constant! Thank you for dropping by the laboratory. I hope this project inspires and encourages you.