Creating “Treasure Island Tarot” wasn’t anything in my plans for 2025, but the idea and the inspiration for the deck came along at a time when I most needed it. One of the first card concepts that came to mind was the infamous one-legged pirate, Long John Silver, as the formidable King of Swords. I set to work creating precisely the dastardly but personable figure for the card.
I couldn’t have completed this deck without the assistance of Steve Champion, and I want to acknowledge his contributions. At first, it was a gentle offer to help. Hearing about my impaired vision and seeing a few little AI “mishaps” on images I shared, he kindly asked if I’d like for him to look things over and make little fixes. Oh, Steve! Thank you so very much.
I wasn’t planning to create a deck, open an Etsy shop and sell Treasure Island Tarot. That all came later. I just wanted to create the deck, to immerse myself in the creative process, and to come away with something meaningful. After a while, though, as people expressed interest in the deck, thoughts of actually publishing the deck came to mind and with it a need to be even more watchful about the images created.
After working to create my King of Swords card, I was quite pleased with Long John Silver, except for one thing. He had two legs. Oops! Now, you might think that it’s simple to use AI to create anything you want. Trust me, it’s not. Getting a one-legged pirate was impossible! It seemed the only way forward was to call in the services of a surgeon who could successfully “amputate” the unwanted leg. Steve Champion to the rescue!
Amazing what work this man was able to do. He not only amputated the leg — the right leg — but then noted that in the actual novel, it’s the left leg that Silver is missing. So back on with the right leg and off with the left. Yes, that was merely a matter of “flipping” the image, and in the end Long John Silver as the King of Swords was everything I dreamed he could be.
He’s fierce, yet he’s friendly. He’s charming in his own way, yet he can be a deadly foe if crossed. And yes, he’s one-legged, thanks to the surgical skills of Steve Champion. So the next time you shuffle this deck and Long John grins out at you, take a moment to think of his little creation story.
The message: Keep trying. You can get it right even when you face challenges.
