THE LOWBROW TAROT PROJECT

17: The Star

In the Tarot deck, The Star card represent many positive things; it's a generally hopeful card. It is also the link between the real world and the subconscious. Traditionally, the card is illustrated by a nude woman who has one foot on land--land being the symbol of reality, and one foot in the water--water representing the subconscious. In my version, I used many different nature elements to symbolize the different aspects of the card. Starting from the background: the red sky with a blurred hint of the horizon symbolizes the real world, the blue water is the subconscious; the flock of doves in the sky is a symbol for generous love; the lotus flowers rising from the water is representative of the awakening of new life. In the foreground: the nude female figure is the star itself; in her hair, the conch shell is the symbol of fertility or new life; the robin's eggs are symbols of hope; around her neck, the snake in a circular shape represents the infinite cycle of man; and the bared breast is my own symbol of femininity and motherhood, which can also translate into new life or new hope.

Originally from Shanghai, China, Danni Shinya Luo moved to California in 1995. She fell in love with art in grade school and after a few years of private study (and an apprenticeship with Chinese watercolor master, Ding Ha) was accepted into Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, where she majored in illustration and graduated with honor in 2006. Shinya has assisted artists Gary Baseman and Karl Handael, and has exhibited in galleries throughout North America. Her works have appeared in magazines like Bust and Initiativa, and in books like Eye Candy, and Break the Ice –the latter of which is her recenty published collection of watercolor and digital art. She has done character designs for Nickelodeon's Neopets, and covers for Marvel Comics. Shinya loves to support other talented female artists, and has been a member of Girls Drawin' Girls since 2006.