The Art of Collage: Inside The Pocket Textured Tarot - Part 3

Creating The Pocket Textured Tarot required a delicate balance between honouring the original deck's essence and adapting to a smaller format. Today, I'd like to share a glimpse into my creative process and the various elements that come together in each card.

Layered Complexity

At its heart, each card is a digital collage crafted in Affinity Photo. I've drawn from my existing library of textures, pen drawings, and watercolour paintings that formed the original deck, but with some significant additions. The cards incorporate machine embroidery from a needlecraft course I completed and snippets of textile art photography, adding unique textile elements that bring depth and tactile quality to the images.

For example, the Guide V

This layering process is particularly evident in the clothing figures wear throughout the deck. By photographing my embroidery work and then digitally extracting shapes, I've created garments that carry the authentic texture of handcrafted textiles.

Bringing It All Together

Sometimes, the collaged elements need additional connecting elements to create cohesion. I often use digital pen work or brushstrokes to blend sections, creating a seamless whole from disparate parts—the smaller format required even more attention to these details.

I apply a subtle unifying texture layer to create visual harmony across all 78 cards in each completed design. This helps maintain consistency while honouring the earthy, natural colour palette I prefer—muted tones that feel grounded rather than artificially bright.

Facing Challenges

One particular challenge in creating the pocket edition was maintaining clear facial features at a smaller scale. The original Textured Tarot used collaged elements for faces (rather than just pen and paint), including photographic elements. I've used various techniques for this edition to achieve the right balance, including some AI-generated elements that I extensively modify and integrate into my handmade compositions.

These tools provide starting points that I transform through my artistic process, much like using found photography or stock images. However, they allow me greater flexibility to achieve what I need without the prohibitive costs of purchasing multiple images when I might only need small fragments.

Colour Stories

Each suit in the deck follows its own subtle colour story. This intentional choice helps readers intuitively recognize suits while maintaining the deck's cohesive aesthetic. I've always gravitated toward earth tones and natural hues that evoke the organic world—colours that feel like they've gathered from forest floors, twilight skies, and mineral-rich soils.

The result is a deck that, despite its smaller size, carries all the textural richness and thoughtful detail of the original – a pocket-sized world of layered meaning, ready to travel wherever your intuitive journey takes you.

The Soul in the Details

What emerges from this layered process is more than just a collection of beautiful images. Each card carries pieces of my creative journey - snippets of embroidery from quiet afternoons, textures gathered over the years, and colours that reflect the natural world that draws me. This intricate layering creates cards that feel alive with story and possibility despite their pocket size. When you hold these cards and notice the textural details, I hope you'll feel the care and intention woven into each one. The Pocket Textured Tarot may be smaller, but it carries the same invitation to connect with your intuition through art that honours both craftsmanship and the beautiful complexity of the human experience.

That's all for my musings this time. Read more about my new deck here and here. Sign up for my Newsletter or follow me on social media @lisamcloughlinart for details about the pre-order launch on Etsy. I have settled on #pockettexturedtarot as my hashtag.

With gratitude,

Lisa xxx