Tarot Deck Launch Party and Gallery Opening

Darklings!

Next year, I am throwing one of the biggest Tarot Parties most of us have ever seen! YOU ARE ALL INVITED! I am framing all of my paintings from the Morbidly Adorable Tarot, constructing half a dozen costumes based on the paintings, making sculptures to be shown with the paintings, having several tarot readers reading for the curious on opening night, having sweets and treats made in the shapes of the tarot, and hiring a videographer so we can live stream and record the event! If you don't live in the area or cannot make it, you can still be a part of this amazing event!

When you help me launch this event, you also help me launch my career! After opening night, the paintings, along with the sculptures, will be on display for the remainder of the month, and the costumes will be set up on dress forms throughout the duration of the show as well. I am inviting family, friends, business owners, and gallerists from both far and wide. My hope is to see this event make it to other cities!

If you're still reading, I bet it's because you want to know how can a "party" cost this much? Well, I'm actually underestimating, but lets get started!

FRAMING

Professionally framing 78 original paintings is about 1/3 of the budget. I looked into various options, and I chose to work with a local framing shop. It costs about $110/frame (taxes included.) The shop has even brought the costs down to wholesale. I will be framing a few with fancier, gilded frames. Throw in those fancy frames, multiply that by 76 (a couple won't need framed), and it will easily be between $8-10,000!

I looked into framing the paintings with less expensive, off-the-shelf options from a box store, but I would still need the canvas sheets to be pressed on foam core. This project needs the delicate handling of a professional.

COSTUMES

My goal is to have seven costumes professionally constructed with dresses, wigs, and even a pair of angel wings! I am asking a great deal from the costumers that I am hiring! I can scale this back to maybe three costumes, but then we risk this not being one of THE BIGGEST tarot parties! This will be about $9000 - the second third of my budget. You may see all the estimates below.

If you are wondering why I am not making the costumes, it's simple! I cannot sew! And I especially cannot sew to this level! I am a painter, a sculptor, and apparently a clothing designer! But a seamstress, I am not! I am going to put it into the capable hands of the professionals.

THE REST OF THE EVENT

Catering, tarot readers, brochures, glass cases for the sculptures, maybe some special swag, and a videographer will round up the rest of the funds. In the event I raise over $30,000, I can add more decorations, more costumes, more sparkle!

THE DETAILS

THE DATE

We will be hosting this event in October of 2025. "WHAT?!! Why is it so far away?!" Well, the deck takes about a year to be published. Plus, I need time to complete all the sculptures, frame all the paintings, and have all of the costumes constructed. Having each costume constructed may take between 3-6 months. Keep in mind, I can only order a costumes as I get enough funding.

I am putting on a production that is the size of the average wedding in the U.S.! It all takes a lot of planning in advance. There are people to hire, down payments to be made. I even started a planning committee to help me organize the event, find sponsorships in the business community, and so much more.

Let me get extra nerdy here for a minute! October 8 is National Octopus Day! And October 8-12 is National Cephalopod Awareness Week! I painted octopuses and cuttlefish in my works. They have a special place in my heart.

Plus, October is the month of Halloween! I am inviting everyone in attendance to dress up as a character from the deck. royalty, in vintage clothing, steampunk, anything deck-themed! Bring an octopus stuffy with you, and I will melt! I would love the event to have a loose costume theme. It's not required, but it sure could be fun!

LOCATION

The event is being held in the Water's Edge Gallery at the Riverside Hotel in Garden City (edge of Boise!) It is one of the few spaces that can host a party of this magnitude!

I have been working with the Art Director who is excited to help me figure out how to display all of this work form the paintings, to the sculptures, to the costumes. Since it is the the lobby and upstairs area of the hotel, we will have plenty of room for all of the festivities! We are working to make a space for the tarot readers, where to put the glass cases with the sculptures, and so much more! Plus, they have lots of parking and space!

Riverside Hotel Lobby - Water's Edge Gallery is Upstairs

F.A.Q.

WHY CAN'T YOU FUND THIS YOURSELF?

I have funded this project creatively. I have worked on my craft for 20 years. I have funded all of the materials to create the paintings and sculptures for the tarot deck. I have purchased all of the materials and supplies, (paints, canvas, brushes, sculpting material.) I have spent 15 years in service to this project. Now, I want to honor it and all of you that have waited for it to be finished!

I work a 50+ hour/week, full-time job just to keep a roof over my head. It is not feasible to take on a second job to pay for this, nor would I have the time to plan it if I did. My hope is that everyone will pitch in a little, and they can show how they helped build this event!

WHY USE GOFUNDME?

GoFundMe is one of the most well-known funding sites. Though it has largely become known as a social safety net for emergencies, it also has a side for creatives! I see filmmakers crowdfund their film shorts, and writers crowdfund their books, and even famous musicians crowdfund new music. There was a period in time when artists were able to paint because they had benefactors and patrons. I want to tap into that same spirit!

WIIFM: What’s in it for me?

EVERYONE is invited to attend! It is a free event! Enjoy the free tarot readings and the tarot-inspired snacks! Look at all the paintings and purchase a signed tarot deck at the event! If you cannot attend, I will be livestreaming and recording the event! Your help will still make it possible to see what the event can do!

If my art has ever made you smile on Facebook or Instagram or anywhere else, if you have ever wanted to support a creative project, if you have ever wanted to take me out for my birthday, if you have ever wished you could support a creative project, if I have donated art to your event or supported your cause, if I have bought gifts for your kids, if I have done any kindness in your life, or maybe you just want to see this ginormous party happen, YOU can help me make it happen through crowdfunding! Think of this as the birthday/wedding/baby shower gift (that no one has ever had to give me!) all rolled into one! Send this link to your friends and say, “Hey! This is awesome! Let’s make this happen!”

I NEED YOU!

I cannot do this without my community of family, friends, and fans, who are also my friends and family! The framing, the costumed models, the new sculptures, the tarot readers, the videographer, and so on are all dependent on funding. I want to throw a community celebration!

The Planning Committee that helps me with this event is providing all of their labor for free! They show up to bi-weekly meetings. They research leads and ideas tirelessly. They will be helping me with a great deal of the event. Like I said, it's a community endeavor.

CAN I SEE SOME OF YOUR PREVIOUS WORK?

PRESS

More Coming Soon...

Video Text:

In my wildest, most outlandish dreams, I'm currently in the writer's room watching as the storyboard of my artwork and writings come together for an animated film.

Let me back up first! My name is Misty Monster. I am a visual artist who painted 78 paintings for a tarot deck called the Morbidly Adorable Tarot. The Tarot Deck will be published by the card company, U.S. Games, to be sold in national chains such as Barnes and Noble, as well as our local treasures like Crone’s Cupboard!

Now that I have finished painting the cards, and the art is being published, what do I do with all 78, yes I said 78, of these 16"x20" paintings?

Imagine a gallery like the old style salons with my 78 gorgeously framed paintings on display up and down the walls. With scenes ranging from animals dressed as kings and queens, to girls with star-shaped hair, to skellies flying planes. Several costumed characters make their way through the gallery looking as though they stepped right out of my paintings. Attendees look at sculptures that I created from the work as they savor cookies and desserts that are made in the shape of the tarot symbols. Several tarot readers are reading for the curious, fans are taking pictures in front of their favorite painting or with their favorite characters. This is all being recorded and livestreamed. Gallery owners that I invited from across the country get to see how art steps right off the canvas to live and breathe in our world.

Imagine the Morbidly Adorable Tarot just had its debut opening in Boise. Which city will be next?