Playing Cards

Diving into this project, my goal was to explore the profound themes that circle around life, death, and the essence of nature. I wanted to create something that goes beyond just pleasing the eye—it’s a piece that invites you to really think, to ponder the contrasts and continuities that life throws at us. It’s about seeing the connections between all things and recognizing that change and new beginnings are always within reach, waiting for us to grasp them. To bring this vision to life, I hand-drew each of the cards and then used Photoshop to make them look like printed cards. I used a mix of line thicknesses and cross-hatching techniques to give the artwork a kind of depth and texture you can almost feel. It’s about creating visual harmony that speaks to the unity of the themes I’m portraying. To finish off this project, I’ve designed specialty box packaging, taking the concept full circle. And there’s a personal touch: each card has a little piece of my family’s memories and history that have shaped me. For instance, daylilies, featured on a few of the cards, fill my grandparents' backyard every spring. My grandparents would bring us vases of flowers from their garden almost every week, typically daylilies or daffodils. This project is deeply meaningful to me, and I hope it encourages others to find the beauty in life’s tapestry, the ebb and flow of existence, and the personal stories that connect us to the past and future.