Over the next couple of years, as I waited for the deck to be finished and available, I bought several more of the Sakki-Sakki miniatures, all of which still grace my home and office to this day. When I needed some commercial artwork done in short order, I remembered Monicka's style and emailed her to see if she could help. We began a blended business relationship and friendship based on our interest in the creative process and respect for each other's approach to it. Because I lived in Rhode Island and Monicka lived in New York and Israel, our conversations took place mostly by email, occasionally in colorful vegetarian restaurants or wine bars in Manhattan. We talked about our lives, and the place of our creative efforts within them. When it came time for this book to be written, I couldn't imagine not working on it. Monicka and I had developed that seamless type of creative partnership where the goals of the project are so clear, accepted, and implicitly understood, that it would be hard for either of us at the end of the day to say with which of us an idea or a turn of phrase had originated. And of course, it all originates in the great Realm of Ideas, the territory of symbols and meaning. The Artist simply channels it, letting it flow through the pen or the brush, or the keyboard.

The Name
CAB: Sakki-Sakki! I see your name in it, but I've often wondered how you arrived at the doubled version for your ventures?

MCS: The name of my Tarot deck, as well as the name of my whole creative-design/business venture, is Sakki-Sakki. For the parent, as much as for the artist or a business person, naming a "baby" is a challenging task, and a lot of thought and consideration is put into it. It took me months to come up with this name. I went through endless lists and various brainstorming sessions, I looked through dictionaries and opened magazines randomly. I wrote down every word that seemed to have a possible association for me—not to mention the piles of books I put next to my pillow, hoping that by some kind of "dream osmosis" I'd pick up an idea in my sleep.

In the end, I found out that I'd become just like The Fool in the Tarot. When he undertakes his journey, he starts from his position in the deck, number zero, and tours the other archetypes, gaining tools, skills and wisdom from each of them, only to complete a full cycle and become the Fool again—right back to "zero" base. I became the Fool, who looked for, asked, wondered, researched, collected and brainstormed names everywhere, only to realize, that what I was looking for, was waiting for me at home.
Sakki is my last name, and Sakki-Sakki became my home-run.

Most Tarot decks are named after their creators, and the deck name usually consists of two names: the author's and the artist's. In my case, I was both, so the double use of my name as the name of the deck seemed appropriate.

The Sakki-Sakki marketing brochure reads: "The first Sakki stands for the pure inspiration with which the art is created. The second Sakki is for its down-to-earth realism and productivity." This description also says that in the process of my creations, I wear two hats: that of an artist—who breathes life and form into the raw materials—and that of a designer, who takes these living, meaningful elements and makes sensible, finished products out of them.


The Logo
CAB: Can you tell me about the Sakki-Sakki logo?

MCS: Many people have asked me whether the motif of the Sakki-Sakki logo is a flower. Unlike the business name, which was born after a long labor, the logo was just "there," and to this day I'm not sure myself what it is—but I don't mind that people think it's a flower. Truth is in the eye of the beholder. (It might indeed be a flower, by the way, I really don't know.)

I call it "amoeba," a single-cell organism. The complexity of the image may not connote "singleness," but that's exactly the point. Even though we may think that we are alone, we are not; just like a single cell, we'll always be a part of something bigger. The shape of the Sakki-Sakki logo is like a mandala, and thus connotes the psyche of everyone, and the connection to the whole.
Someone once told me that my logo looked like the birth canal from the eyes of a baby looking at twelve doctors waiting for him to get out. Considering it, I actually agree. I always refer to it as the "amoeba," though. That is the name it asked for, and the name I'm comfortable with. But it can also be a flower, if you wish...

CAB: I myself got interested in the Tarot because I'm a writer. I wanted inspiration for characters, so I got a deck that appealed to me (The Herbal Tarot by Michael Tierra) and started drawing cards and making up stories about the individuals and other elements on them. It wasn't long before I got interested in the story that the Tarot tells through its timeless sequence and organization and rearrangements—the great, unitary story and infinite number of little stories. How about you? What brought you to the Tarot?

MCS: What drew me into the Tarot in the first place was the art. I loved looking through different decks and observing my impressions and reactions on the different styles. I never really considered creating one of my own—it always seemed too large of an undertaking. Then "one day," just as in every sweet fairy tale, I asked a friend to write a story for me so I could illustrate it with my new style. He never finished it. I got tired of waiting, tired of needing words so that I could create around them "something to publish." Fed up, I grabbed my two decks (The Aquarian by David Palladini, and Thoth by Aleister Crowley), and started looking at them. It suddenly made sense that every big project can be broken down into small little ones, and off I went. The journey had begun.

CAB: The cards in the Sakki-Sakki deck are visually rich—layered, really. How did you create them?

MCS:The creative process for the deck was based on the use of “found objects” from the Sakki-Sakki Visual Library–-a digital repository of my raw art. This art retains a pure quality, bearing the inspiration and freedom with which it was created without any need to be productive or meet the requirements of a client or a specification.

All the images have a carefree, energetic personality. Most of them were created when I scribbled in my sketchbook while talking on the phone or listening to a lecture. Thus occupied, my mind agreed not to interfere with my doodling.

CAB: How does your "found objects" approach relate to the use of personal symbolism in the Sakki-Sakki deck?

MCS: When in search of an image or element, I dove into the library to see what pieces there might work for what I needed to indicate. Although this process may seem limiting, it's an excellent springboard for unexpected solutions.

The use of personal symbolism is a layer added to the traditional elements and symbols of the Tarot. For example, in the Seven of Cups, I needed something to express Fear. I used a cockroach (yes, I had it in my library). In the traditional Tarot, there are no cockroaches, but as these insects are one of my greatest sources of anxiety and turmoil, I found the image suitable. Consciously, I didn’t try to symbolize something new, but to find in my own elements something to interpret the underlying idea or message. Although unexpected solutions, such as finding the cockroach image, may seem accidental, my experience has taught me that there are no accidents.

This process has continued during the writing of this book. I have discovered in the cards many significant elements that I was not aware of before, or that I had added originally only for decorative purposes. The optical scanning of each card and the need to explain verbally as much as possible made me come up with new insights and interpretations for some of the images. Symbols are generative and regenerative, so the process of new discovery within images can continue indefinitely.

The Colors
CAB: What is the significance of the colors in the Sakki-Sakki deck?

MCS: The colors in the Sakki-Sakki deck were chosen intuitively, and combine a very vivid palette with pastels. Although the whole deck's palette is very colorful, I applied a limited set of colors to each card. There are no specific interpretations for each color, but it is clear that the yellows of The Sun make the card very bright and optimistic, whereas the blacks and reds of The Tower show a more dramatic face. Sometimes I used friendly colors to make a difficult issue look more approachable, as in The Devil, for example. The lively pink in the background can make this card seem happy; till you look more closely, of course. This is not to hide or cover anything, but to allow confrontation with things that are usually beneath the surface. Every card, like every situation in life, is one we will eventually have to face. Why not get a nice invitation for it?

The least-colored card is Death; it's mostly black and white, but still, small hints of color warm up the chilly atmosphere. Purple is the champion color for spiritual cards, such as The High Priestess, The Hanged Man and The Moon. Cards that have muted color combinations, such as The Five of Swords, The Five of Coins, The Nine of Swords, and The Ten of Swords, do portray a troublesome situation. Nevertheless, the only two cards that bear absolute black are The Fool and The Artist, which call for personal interpretation. The black here is a void that allows us room, not only to fill up, but to move around in as adjustments are needed.

The Sensitive Inks
CAB: What about the pen-and-ink elements, and the grayscale watercolor effects you've put into the cards?

MCS: Another element in the Sakki-Sakki art is The Sensitive Inks. These are grayscale abstract ink paintings, which I incorporate as backgrounds in the cards. They were done randomly with no specific intention, but chosen and placed in each card with much consideration. Sensitive Inks suggest new layers of meaning and feeling—sort of an under-deck—acting like a black and white movie in tandem with the colored images. When I first tried this combination of flat, vivid colors against black and white, it just felt right.
Insert here sensitive inks art

The Better Artist
CAB: How was the work of developing the deck for you, overall?

MCS: The framework of a Tarot deck is a very demanding one, because each card needs to be different, to activate a different mood and convey a variety of symbols. But still, every card is a part of the series and needs to conform to some basic guidelines. The process paid attention to composition, color, character, and symbolic riddle. Some cards came easy, some caused problems, and a few remained a struggle till the end, when the deadline decided they were ready. Creating the cards, although under the specific restrictions of the Tarot framework, afforded me a space of total creative freedom. At every step, there was the need to re-evaluate what to take for granted and what I could bring in that was new.
The creation of the Sakki-Sakki Tarot made me a better artist. During the long process and hard work on a Tarot deck, the Artist continually changes and evolves. Not only the understanding of the images and symbols, but also one's personal sense of color and composition become more precise. Add to this a continually enriched connection with each card, with the work itself, and with the Self altogether. There are those times when you have done enough cards to have explored the style to your own satisfaction, and you risk losing interest. Sticking with it will prove beneficial eventually.

Traces from the Past
My academic studies on Symbolism and the Psychology of Art led me to investigate my own artistic history. Looking back, I was in for a surprise. The Sakki-Sakki Tarot as a formal creative project spanned three years, but it had been going on inside me, beyond the realm of conscious awareness, for some time. Many of the themes connected to the Tarot, as well as my bold "head cropping" and vivid color palette, appeared first in works done years before. By examining my creative efforts of the past 15 years, I found clues that pointed to the future, including a series of paintings on the Joker (asking questions about life) and two full sets of playing cards.

The recurring appearance of elements and symbols led me to see the connection of all my art work, and to see it as one path with different way stations. Each creation leads to another as a river flows from eddy to pool on its long and winding route to the sea. Some elements stay the same, some new ones are added, all of them flowing into new creations. Whatever the Artist produces while being faithful to self, is One Truth. This is the Truth that comes alive as the Artist explores. Extensive searching, experimentation and differing forms of expression all lead to a better definition of the artist's message.

Interview © 2005 Carol Anne Buckley & Sakki-Sakki Artist.
Images © Sakki-Sakki. All Rights Reserved.
Extracted from Playing with Symbols.