This is one of my favorite artworks from this year. In fact, I finished it today. It’s been sitting on my desk waiting for the moment when I felt brave enough to tackle the gold leaf.
In the autumn, I audited an online class about divination, Prediction X: Omens, Oracles & Prophecies. It was fascinating overview of many ancient forms as well as some still practiced today like tarot and tea leaves.
It made me think about all the ways I use divinations in my daily life. I’m not reading the livers of sacrificial sheep, but I might see something in the clouds or notice a repeating pattern on the page of a book or “pull a card” from one of my oracle decks. Of course I create art intuitively and then look for hidden meanings. Sometimes a song comes on at just the right time to deliver a message.
I was inspired to make this little watercolor collage that depicts a problem with divination: when earnestly petitioning for an answer, you may receive a YES many times over, but the answer you focus on is the single NO.
Today, when I woke up, I knew it was the right day because the song “Saved by Zero” by the Fixx ran through my head. Two Xs? Maybe I’ll win (the fight with the gold leaf).
