The Surrealist Tarot: A Mystical Collage Art Workshop

It was October 15 1924 when the veil between this world and the spirit world was thinning. Like every autumn, dreams were shifting into prophecy. Ghosts were speaking through flickering lamp posts. It was this day the poet André Breton published his Surrealist Manifesto spurring an artistic movement in Paris. 

Travel with us one century back in time to a land of melting clocks, floating green apples, giant eggs, and teacups made of fur. Here we will follow the Surrealist tenets to reach a magical trance state of collage making and automatic drawing. We will unleash the unconscious mind, let dreams seep into waking hours and give rise to the absurd, unrestrained imagination! 

Many have heard of the famed male painters Salvador Dalí, René Magritte, and Joan Miró. But in this workshop we will look to the female surrealist artists who secretly engaged with magical rituals, witchcraft, channeled spirit through art, and even painted Tarot cards of their own. 

The Tarot will guide us through this surrealist dreamscape. We will each pull one card at the beginning of the workshop to work with for the duration. We will learn a brief history of Tarot, symbolism and meaning. Do we notice any occult symbols in the paintings of our 20th century mystic artists? 

After a ceremony of rituals and eating, we will be ready to engage with collage as a divine medium of chance, conjuring our own oversized Tarot card to take home. Collage, a favorite tool of the surrealists, is ruled by the same spirit as Tarot— Jupiter, the Wheel of Fortune, the art of chance. We will let the images find us, bringing wildly different pictures into one unified page, playing with the traditional art elements (line, shape, color…) and principles (balance, contrast, rhythm, pattern…) in absurdist and intuitive ways.

Our Surrealist Ceremony consists of three parts.

One part history: What is the Surrealist Movement, who are its artists, and what inspiration can we glean from their work? What is the history of Tarot and how can we interpret basic tarot symbolism and meanings?  Pull a card!

One part ritualistic play: One layer deeper— let’s join the surrealists in practice. We will try artistic exercises, surrealist games, and elevate our art making to mystical levels with sacred rituals.

One part collage making: Once we are immersed, each of us will assemble an oversized Tarot Card using a combination of fine art collage methods and fate.

Menu: (organic produce from our farm)

Burnt Cardamom Carrots-bacon, arugula, goat cheese + onion

Roasted Winter Squash Naan -pepitas, sesame, chocolate mint, date + tamarind chutney

Chopped Kale Salad- radish, pickled turnip, peanut, apple, seared halloumi, roasted garlic + rice wine vinaigrette 

Black Sesame Cake

Herbal Tea

Details:

• Herbal tea will be served but I encourage you to bring water in your own resuable container.
• We will be inside and outside so dress accordingly. Feel free to dress for the theme! 
• Bring some wine if you so desire.
• Don't forget your scissors.
• All levels of art experience welcome. Space is very limited.
• Collage materials, glue, paper, and reference materials are provided.
• Feel free to bring any additional materials of your own if you have any paper items calling out to be cut up.
• Bring a pair of scissors!

Sarah Gallina is a visual artist born in New York. She has studied with Pratt Institute, The Art Students League of NY, Atlantic Theater Company, and holds a BA from Colgate University in Political Science and English. In her art practice, she works as an alchemist—blending many parts into one project. The ingredients often include collage animation, sculpture, drawing, writing, stop motion, live filming, and installation. Her latest interest is carving beeswax into sculpture. Tarot, altar making, ritual practice, and magical objects circle around her studio as she works. Sometimes there is little evidence of her ethereal travels. After all, when an artist is in the midst of a quest, the work might still be invisible to others.  She enjoys making elaborate temporary works that disappear over time.

@gallinaportfolio (instagram)

sarahgallina.com