We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Starla Yilmaz. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Starla below.

Hi Starla, thanks for joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

The most meaningful project I have worked on is ‘The Butterfly Wisdom Tarot’. Cross-stitch has always been something that has been there during intense healing phases of my life, and shortly before I started that project, I learned a significant health issue of mine had been misdiagnosed for almost twenty years. One reason I felt drawn to butterflies, then, is that I was going through an extreme healing and transformative period myself. When I started the project, I had no intentions to publish or share my artwork, I was just focusing on rediscovering who I was after my symptoms were managed for the first time since my misdiagnosis and learning how to navigate life without dealing with these almost daily non-epileptic seizure-like events. I did see a therapist to deal with that emotional trauma, but I also turned to this 78-card cross-stitch project to help deal with everything as well. After stitching about six or seven cards, I wondered if it would resonate with others, and started submitting it.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I have been reading Tarot for over 20 years and cross-stitching even longer. An avid writer with numerous short publications, I am a two-time winner of the Prepublished Maggie Award for Excellence for my work in romantic fiction. Writing has been my main drive and passion for a long time, but cross-stitch has always been there too. I think part of the problem was that I could never see myself making any kind of career from cross-stitch, so I never pursued it as more than a hobby and instead put most of my focus on writing.
Part of what makes ‘The Butterfly Wisdom Tarot’ is that it combines both of my art forms and takes them both to a level I never dreamed of achieving. Every stitch in the cards is put there intentionally to communicate the cards’ meaning, and for the guidebook, I have written allegorical short stories to not only entertain but to give the reader something to mull over and digest as they work on interpreting the cards.
I hope that readers find themselves supported and uplifted during life’s toughest moments with my deck and guidebook. There are also six patterns and writing prompts intended for the readers to incorporate cross-stitch and writing alongside professional, medical help in their own healing journeys.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Support them! Engage and share creators’ posts on social media, leave reviews on retailers’ websites, and of course, buy directly from them wherever possible or from legitimate places. Don’t use AI generators or engage with content that has been generated by AI, and don’t buy knockoffs or download “free” content that you should be paying for. Fake/copied decks are a huge problem in the Tarot industry, so always make sure the deck you are buying has an ISBN and a guidebook. If it has a QR code to scan for a PDF guidebook, it’s fake. Another red flag is the price. If the publisher or Barnes and Noble lists it at $30, but you found some random website like Temu or something selling it for $7, then it’s a fake. I know we all like to save money, but by buying knockoff decks or illegally downloading things, you are hurting creatives.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I think the most rewarding aspect of being an artist/creative is when your idea actually comes together and becomes real. Ideas are cheap, everyone has them, and not every idea is a good one. Sometimes something seems like it will work, but it’s only when you start creating it that you realize it’s rubbish. When an idea does become real and it works like how you imagined it, that’s a pretty exciting feeling.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://starlayilmaz.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/starlayilmaztarot/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@starlayilmaz
• Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/StarlaYilmaz

Image Credits

Aaron Romano for the headshot.
REDFeather MBS for the Tarot deck covers.
I did the photos for the cross-stitched pieces.