Help Misty pay for a Tarot Art Gallery & Deck Launch Party!

MORBIDLY ADORABLE:

THE EVENT!

Tarot Art Gallery and Deck Launch

Next year, me and my Team, are throwing the largest art gallery and tarot deck launch currently known! YOU ARE ALL INVITED! You will be able to see all 78 paintings in the same place, models in costumes made from the characters in the paintings, sculptures based off the paintings, 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 let's get started!

FRAMING

Professionally framing 78 original paintings will be over 1/3 of the budget. Each painting is 16"x20". I looked into various options, and I am working with three local framing shops. One frame shop is giving give me a steep discount to move their stock of voluptuous black frames that have been discontinued. It costs about $110/frame (taxes included.) Unfortunately, they are only able to do 60 of the 78 frames. I would need to find alternative framing for a minimum of 18 frames, but more likely 30+. Why over 30 frames? It is too difficult to curate the series down to only 18 of the paintings getting a different frame. A lot of the images needed to be done as a set. For example, all of the Court cards in each set should have matching frames. The Sun, Moon, and Star should have a similar style of frame. Certain images look better as sets. Without the generous framing discount, the average price of frames for this size of painting is $250. The total cost to frame all 78 will easily be around $13,000.

AS OF 9/29/24: 26 paintings have been framed! 1/3 done! We are waiting on more funds to do more!

AS OF 1/15/25: 37 paintings have been framed! Almost halfway!

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 onto foam core. Plus, off-the-shelf frames cannot be hung in galleries. Galleries require paintings to have wire hangers and D-rings for hanging. Trying to install this hardware onto ready-made frames destroys the frame. After being in the art business for over 20 years, off-the-shelf frames do not hold up the same as professional framing. This project needs the delicate handling of professionals.

CUSTOM FRAMED TAROT PAINTINGS

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 events. This will be about $9000 - the second largest portion 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. As of 9/29/24: We have had several updates on the progress of the Sun costume! We are still waiting on the final update!

1/27/25: Sun costume is almost done!!

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 2026. "WHAT?!! Why is it so far away?!" 1) I need a lot of time to raise this much money! 2) The tarot deck takes about a year to be published. 3) I need time to complete all the sculptures, frame all the paintings, and have all of the costumes constructed. The first took almost a full year due to its intricate wig.

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

PREVIEW: We will have an early preview of big the event at Water's Edge Gallery at the Riverside Hotel in Garden City (edge of Boise!) We will be showing the Sun Costume along with at least half of the paintings!

I have been working with the Art Director who is excited to help me figure out how to display all of this work from the paintings, to the sculptures, to the costumes. Since it is 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?