Today we’d like to introduce you to Stacey Williams-Ng
Hi Stacey, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I am the founder of La Panthère Studio, a small indie publishing house for esoteric books and tarot cards. I’m a professional illustrator with 20 years’ experience, and I go by the “Southern Gothic Oracle,” the name of my first illustrated card deck.
I have illustrated children’s books, music albums, video games, websites and so many other things…. but all that is behind me now and I am designing cards full time, and it’s so fulfilling. I also help other creatives to publish works like this.
How did I get to this…. very weird place? After graduating with a degree in Fine Art from the University of Memphis, I was completely at a loss for what to do for a creative career, but I was resolved not to settle for anything less than being an artist. I started with graphic design, since that was the thing that seemed the most practical. What I really wanted to do, was paint. I was an illustrator at heart.
For years I was a college-level instructor teaching aspects of design and symbolism. Although I love moments in the classroom, ultimately I recognized in myself that I’m a born entrepreneur. Drawing and painting are great, you know, but real creativity lies in being able to generate ideas… something that I have no shortage of! So I have found that I’m happiest and most productive when I am driving my own story forward.
Today, with La Panthère Studio, I have finally found a way to combine my professional knowledge (graphic design, publishing) with my interests (symbolism, arcane history, mysticism), and my strengths (entrepreneurship, curating).
It really takes a lifetime to figure these things out!
PS — “La Panthère” is French for “the panther,” and I bet fellow Memphians will appreciate that this is a secret nod to the mascot of Bartlett High School.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I am very fortunate that I have been able to pursue my creativity for this whole 30-year career. I think it would be unfair of me to claim that my path has been rocky; especially when I consider how many terrible fates I have avoided. But that’s not to say I haven’t had my fair share of fear and pain.
Really, my whole journey was kick-started by tragedy: my father died unexpectedly in his late 50s, when I was only 21. I was about 2 years from graduating college, and at the time I was on a full scholarship that paid my tuition and housing. My family comes from modest means, so with my father dead… for the first time, I felt utterly alone in the world. I have no siblings. My mother was grieving deeply, with career struggles of her own. There certainly was no “inheritance.” All kinds of drama was unfolding around me in addition to my Dad’s death, and I started spiraling. So, I decided to — well, to sort of run away.
I saw a poster at U of M advertising “study abroad in France.” There was some kind of essay contest and if you won it, you’d get a full-ride trip there. I resolved to win it. I focused on it 110%. I wanted out, and this seemed so possible.
I wrote, and re-wrote, and re-wrote, that essay — and I got my free trip to France. I left Memphis for that trip, and I more or less stayed gone for a whole 25 years. I have lived in France, Singapore, Chicago, and Milwaukee. I only returned to Memphis in 2020. The COVID pandemic, and all the other ills of this world, made me yearn for Memphis. I feel so happy, and connected, and grounded now.
My creative work now is focused almost entirely on Southern folklore and magic (Ozark remedies, Hoodoo traditions, cemetery symbols, tarot reading). This comes from having felt both free from my roots, but also inextricably tied to them, for my whole adult life. I kept this thread between me and this city alive for a lifetime, by studying history, by exploring my roots.
So, I like to think of it as “transmuting.” Like the way mushrooms turn rot into new life, we can transmute pain into joy.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I love telling people, “I make tarot cards” and then seeing the look on their faces! Ha. I promise I know how weird it is. I love it when people hear this and squirm. I think they assume I’m some recluse from society, scribbling out weird cards in a dark cave somewhere, but actually this is a booming new niche in publishing, and becoming ever-more mainstream. My Southern Gothic cards are sold all over the world, and they have opened so many doors for me.
I just completed a Memphis music-themed Tarot deck called “The Rhythm & Soul Tarot.” The four suits correspond to four foundational genres of American music: jazz (fire), blues (water), rock (air), and country (earth). All of the painted illustrations are original, and all based on real music history.
Check it out, along with many other decks, at lapantherestudio.com! Support local, living artists 🙂
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Being a working artist makes me happy. Making beautiful things—from thin air—makes me happy. Hearing from people that they love my work, or even better, that my work somehow helped them in their life struggle? That makes me swoon with happiness. It doesn’t get better than that, professionally. I mean, maybe doctors who save lives, okay, sure sure.
But it’s especially rewarding to hear that art has touched or inspired someone, because we artists always have to start with so much negativity. Our families and teachers and society always mumbling from the sidelines, “Why don’t you go get a real job… What are you even doing,” etc. To have your crazy plan work is the ultimate reward.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://lapantherestudio.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/southern_gothic_oracle/
- Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/LaPanthereStudio
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@southerngothicoracle
