The Fool's Journey: The Empress by Sidse Carstens

The Fool’s Journey is a group exhibition gathering 22 internationally acclaimed artists working in different media. Each have been invited to interpret a tarot card from the Major Arcana, which is comprised of 22 cards within the tarot deck that depict the main stages or events that can happen in one’s life.

The card The Empress was pulled for artist Sidse Carstens. The Empress motherhood. She is the need and desire to nurture, love and hold endless compassion. She gives abundantly and remains full. She is Mother Nature. She calls for you to be kind to yourself, to take care of yourself, to get in touch with your sensuality, so you can attract beauty, happiness and joy to your life. 

"Working with watercolour on very wet paper, you are never fully in control. You work in a very limited time frame before the water dries up and the colours set; fully developing the image. On one hand you must let go and on the other you have to pay very close attention every step along the way, directing the colours to create your motif. It is a precarious balance working that way, wet in wet. It feels like a peek into another world – like watching a portal open – or a dream you’re trying to remember. Through this portal you can sense the contours of a creature – a creature you must encapsulate – but if you try too hard, she (it) will vanish"

- Sidse Carstens