CARD-SHARKS… STARLINGS… Happy NEW MOON!

Truth be told, there are usually months between my newsletters- they’re so much work! BUT I’ve got a case of so excited/ just can’t hide it. I’VE GOT BIG NEWS that won’t snooze ✨

🔮 COUNTING TO INFINITY: STELLE SCOPA DECK OF CARDS is LIVE on Kickstarter

Here you can pre-order the original deck of 61 cards I created for playing games AND reading meaning (my first deck of cards 🫢). And, because it’s part of a larger body of work I’ve built between Boston, Nashville and Venice (IT), there are lots of cool rewards that grew from this layered concept about the Italian card game Scopa (meaning “Broom” or “To Sweep”).

Be sure to give my project video a watch- a high speed mini lecture about playing + Tarot cards. It all begins at the bottom of the Adriatic Sea and ascends to the “Sweeping Stars”. I’d be so grateful if you also share my Kickstarter with your magical, card-loving friends. (images below show us playing with hand-cut prototypes.)

See below for the full set of 6 suits set against Italian Cosmatesco floor mosaics. These images are available as sets of postcards and 11x17” risograph prints through Kickstarter.

And take note- Early-bats who support at $35 or above, can add a free risograph poster/print from the Suit of Wells or Labyrinths to their order! Offer runs through this Friday 11/25. And if you follow me on Patreon, at any point during the campaign, your purchase comes with a *free poster AND e-mailed 3 card reading.

*Kickstarter requires charging $1 + shipping for the prints, but they’re normally $25

Some of my personal fave Kickstarter rewards + add-ons

(Besides the DECKS obvi)

STAR + SEA BALL UPDATES!

I’m happy to share that the Boston Art Book Fair went very well! AND there are still many SEA and STAR balls left. I just updated their prices to be SLIDING SCALE and added a special DOULE DRIBBLE deal for both balls! Can you imagine a more exciting gem to put under the hoop this season? You know there’s a wonderful weirdo in your life that is (GASP) a little sporty AND creative, magical, into astronomy, astrology or originality.

Check out these ridiculous videos I’ve made to entice you:

A GIFT FROM HEAVEN / AIR 2 STAR BALL / LUCKY STAR

MY BALLS come with tons of goodies including signed, editioned court stickers, zines and the classic Net Works PDF. And if you’re not in the market for a ball, the Senda/ Sedna zine that pairs with STAR BALL can be purchased on their own. 13% of sales from the STAR BALL & Senda/ Sedna zines will be donated to a rad Inuit organization called Inhabit Books, through Winter Solstice- 12/21.

And tune in TODAY 11/23 at 1:30pm (est) on Instagram Live where Abigail Smithson and I will read excerpts from our essays in the Senda/ Sedna zine!

Senda/Sedna expands upon the ball’s concepts via 2 essays written by myself and Abigail Smithson- about Senda Berenson (founder of women’s bball) and Sedna 90377 (my favorite Trans-Neptunian Object). As Senda thought basketball was more than a game, STAR BALL is more than a ball!

WHAT ELSE IS IN MY STORE? A few more favorites:

P.S. I recently increased my Patreon followers store discounts for the holiday season. Besides discounts, supporters get all kinds of goodies including creative writing, glimpses into my research, global travel tips, studio process, access to private video artworks and lectures, artwork giveaways, seasonal card readings.

GEORGE FIFIELD

Many of you in the Boston art community have already heard of the passing of George Fifield- our grandfather wizard of Boston Cyberarts who has warmly and boldly supported so many groundbreaking art initiatives and young artists. To lose him in the same year as my late neighbor and incredible artist Danielle Abrams is immensely tragic.

I’m grateful that I recall the last time I saw George. He’d invited me over for dinner to read his Tarot. He said something about being around all these tech geniuses and really trusting my spiritual knowledge as its own technology. What a gift to receive such words and perception from him. His layered passions transcend art, tech and spiritual boundaries.

I solute George via this aerial video (click the image below) that he so excitedly volunteered to shoot of one of my first basketball courts. I imagine his spirit launching off into the stars with a similarly gorgeous aerial view of all that he accomplished and unlocked for artists and worlds of art in his recent time on Earth. My deepest condolences go out to his family and friends, particularly my close friend and colleague Allison Rodriguez who played a key role in stewarding his soul and legacy into the next phase. 

CLUB Q- Queer resilience, chosen family and change

I know many of you, like me, are devastated by the recent acts of violence targeting a Queer club and community space in Colorado Springs. Thankfully my close friends who are part of that community were not present at the event. It’s hard to know how to express the range of emotions I/we feel right now. But, for what it’s worth, a couple things are on my mind.

One- however you plan to spend the upcoming “holiday” which has roots in colonial violence while also the capacity to bring together chosen family via “friendsgivings”, many people may find themselves in social or family dynamics that are difficult, even unsafe. If you have Queer people in your family, please consider ways to make them feel loved and seen. And take this opportunity to open your mind or educate yourself regarding internalized (or externalized) homo/queer/transphobias you might be holding. It needs to be healed. If you’re a Queer person within a conservative family, do what you can to prioritize your own well-being and know that I commiserate with the struggle. And all of us who benefit from colonial injustices- may we unpack how and why we honor this holiday, educate ourselves, make donations to the people whose lands we live on, change the traditions that have become habit, but don’t serve healing or growth- this might look a bit different for everyone. 

Second, I’ll say that I feel so proud of the bravery and resiliency of Queer community - that individuals present at Club Q were able to take action to protect their own, shutting down the gunman safely and affectively, thus preventing further injury and death. It shows people in this country whose methods for protection are really working and whose aren’t (ahem, officers who repeatedly fail to protect the vulnerable from loose cannon conservative bigots with assault weapons, even when they have a record of violence.)

However you spend your time over the next week, I hope it is generative, reflective and nourishing. Please take care of one another!

Thanks so much for following along and being interested in what I’m up to. You can always unsubscribe or let me know if you want to opt out of my newsletters.

With love under the stars,

❤️‍🔥 Maria