Deck of Cards

At the start of this year, I boldly (and somewhat thoughtlessly) announced on Instagram that I would be painting a full deck of 52 cards for the 52 weeks of 2024. By powers totally out of anyone’s control, the initial post went (I guess what people call?) viral, and the interest in my new challenge delighted and then honestly kind of scared me as I panicked about coming up with new ideas to paint every week, and finding the time in my studio schedule to make these weekly paintings happen. 

As you may have gathered by now, I ended up completing the deck a few months early so that we could try and print some playable decks before the end of the year. As we open up pre-orders for these decks, I wanted to first and foremost, say “thank you” for encouraging me to paint week after week- I have loved hearing your favorites/ideas for cards/how you’ve painted your own cards by yourself or with your students- and it’s made me feel so connected to each one of you.

This project has been so many things for me, but most importantly, this project has taught me to challenge myself by setting goals I’m not sure I’ll be able to reach. At 35, I’ve found that one of the greatest blessings as I age is the ability to discover something new- in myself, in other people, in the world in general- and I am realizing that the only way to do that is to stay curious by continuing to seek out that unknown- the “will I be able to do this?” It was a small, silly goal, but I am so proud of myself for accomplishing it- if nothing else, I am better at painting tiny things with acrylics than I was in January!

When I am writing thank you notes to customers, I often say that I hope that their new piece of art will bring joy to their home- and that is exactly how I feel about these decks of cards! I think of each one as fifty-two little pieces of artwork, and whether you plan on gifting your deck to the card player in your life, or keeping yours for family game night, I hope that it makes you smile. This project really was a joy to work on, and it’s such a privilege to be able to share it with you!