The Hermit Collage

Isolde is a self-taught visionary artist, professionally trained opera singer, intuitive musician and composer, divination enchantress, and devoted steward of sacred service and creation. As a non-binary creator (they/them), their work interrogates and celebrates queer fluidity, weaving personal transitions into a tapestry of liberation and multiplicity. They are presently immersed in their inaugural masterwork: a series of 22 mixed-media collage paintings, each attuned to a corresponding chant composed in Light Language—the ethereal tongue of the stars. These works reimagine the Tarot’s Major Arcana through the lens of gender evolution, subverting binary archetypes to affirm contemporary queer narratives. The collection will culminate in an oracle deck, complemented by an activation guidebook slated for imminent publication. With a storied legacy in music, Isolde was once celebrated as the mezzo-soprano Elspeth Kincaid—a name and form they have transcended in their journey toward authentic selfhood. They garnered acclaim for their operatic prowess on full scholarship at Indiana University’s Jacob School of Music and at the esteemed Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. Their virtuosic talent propelled them across continents, where they shone as a rising luminary in international competitions, including Plácido Domingo’s illustrious Operalia at the Palais Garnier in Paris. Though destiny has charted an alternate course, Isolde harbors an enduring aspiration to reclaim the luminous stage of opera, perhaps reenvisioned through a queer prism. Endowed with an innate affinity for nurturing young minds, Isolde’s profound devotion to children drew them to New York City for over a decade, serving as a celebrity nanny with a singular gift for supporting autism healing. Now a parent to two enchanting offspring themself, they affirm: “Nothing is more profound, exquisite, or transformative than the bond between parent and child.” Certified in Reiki Healing Arts by the New York International Reiki Center, Isolde’s lifelong fascination with the metaphysical realm spans more than two decades of praxis with mothers and children, alongside rigorous inquiry into oracle divination, esoteric spirituality, holistic health, and herbalism.