Playing CARDS

A few years ago, I was approached by an artist by the name of Gale Fulton Ross. She said that she wanted to write a book that could serve as a guideline for artists who wanted to make a career of their craft. She called the book Artists Must Play CARDS, the anagram representing the five things that the professional artist needs in order to be successful.

Commitment

Ambition

Resourcefulness

Dedication

Solitude

I will be discussing these elements more in further blogs as I find the Solitude to work on my own art. But suffice it to say that I marveled at the idea and was almost instantly drawn to how her concepts (minus the Solitude) aligned with the four cards of the regular playing deck.

Spades

Clubs

Diamonds

Hearts

Furthermore, I was engrossed in the idea of how these aligned with the four elements of material being.

Air

Fire

Earth

Water

I began to see how these four concepts further aligned with the four aspects of humanity

Mind

Spirit

Body

Heart

I was drawn back to the concept of cards. Though it recommended that I fear and shun it as a young Christian, the deck of the Tarot cards have been a source of much wonder for me. Though there are many different styles out there, I've tended to stick with the classic Rider-Waite deck. I find the artistry in the cards very telling, the way they interpret both the numberology and the meanings of the suits.

Swords

Wands

Coins

Cups

Looking into the many self help gurus and business consultants, I began to see more of this occurance. For instance, Wayne Dyer has his Pathways to Mastery.

Wisdom

Surrender

Discipline

Unconditional Love

Stephen Covey discusses the four modes of creativity

Pathfinding

Modeling

Aligning

Empowering

As well as the four styles of leadership...

Directing

Coaching

Supporting

Delegating

And the four human desires...

To Live

To Love

To Learn

To Leave a Legacy

These four principles, in whatever words describe them, are the basis for The McAllister Code. Go to www.themcallistercode.com now to be a part of the adventure.