Posted: 11/7/06
Monumental bible has Houston County connection
The St. Johnís Bible has seven volumes; five have already been completed. The volumes are: Pentateuch; Historical Books; Prophets; Wisdom Literature, Psalms, Gospels and Acts, Letters and Revelations. Donald Jackson will letter and illuminate the entire book of Revelations by himself. The Bible is hand-written on vellum (calf skin) with quills using inks from the 19th century. The inks are in a solid form, and are mixed with egg yolk to create fluid ink. The black ink is made from lamp soot, and the colored inks are created from natural materials; for example the green from malachite and the blue from lapis lazuli. Precious metals such as gold, silver and platinum are used in the illumination. When complete, the bible with have a total of 1,150 pages and 160 illuminations. Each page is 16 x 24 inches. It will be used for liturgical purposes at St. Johnís in Collegeville. The version used for the commission is the New Revised Standard Version. That version was chosen because it the most widely accepted among Christian Churches. The bible will be available to the general public in several forms. Each completed page is scanned for reproduction in various forms, including reprints, posters, prints and notecards. A limited number of full-size reproductions will be available as well. St. Johnís Bible has been funded entirely through private donations at a cost of $4.5 million. For more information, visit www.stjohnsbible.org. |
By Jane Palen
Managing Editor
The St. Johnís Bible is said to be the most significant creation of religious art since Michaelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel in the 16th century.
Among the select group of calligraphers and artists who were chosen to work under the world-renowned artist and calligrapher, Donald Jackson, was Hokah native Diane Von Arx, the daughter of Rita and Walter Von Arx. Diane was on hand on October 25 when a presentation on the St. Johnís Bible was made at St. Maryís Church in Caledonia.
Appropriately enough, it was Dianeís education at St. Peterís school in Hokah, where she spent 11 years, that led her into design as a career. The nuns would hand her a Speedball book and she would copy the letters to create school bulletin boards. Those small paperback books taught her the basics of creating good, strong forms. Little did she know at the time that one day she would be come a contributor to the Speedball lettering books.
After completing a two year program in commercial art, Diane moved to Minneapolis and worked in an art studio until 1977 when she started her free-lance career. She furthered her education at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design where she took classes in life drawing, painting and calligraphy.
Diane created the Count Chocula and Frankenberry characters and lettering for General Mills, and taught lettering in the United States, Australia and Japan.
It was through her work in calligraphy that she met Donald Jackson, Senior Scribe to Her Majesty Queen Elizabethís Crown Office. Heís the person responsible for lettering all manner of royal documents and decrees.
Jackson taught a class to Dianeís calligraphy group, and in 1982 was a guest at the worldís first conference for calligraphers at St. Johnís Abbey and University in Collegeville, organized by Dianeís group. Diane had a connection with St. Johnís because she had done work for them.
Since he was a young boy, Jackson had dreams of hand-lettering a bible. Those dreams began to gain a foothold in reality when he attended Mass at St. Johnís during the conference. When the priest walked in holding the bible aloft, Jackson felt that the volume was not grand enough. He approached the Monks of St. Johnís Abbey and asked if they would consider commissioning a hand-written bible.
After a number of months, years actually, the monks reached a consensus and commissioned the bible. It is the first hand-written, illuminated bible commissioned in the past 500 years. Work on the bible began in 1998.
Jackson assembled a team of scribes and artists to work on the enormous project. Only two on the team are from the United States, and one, of course, was Diane Von Arx. She and her husband, Greg Anderson, traveled to Wales to visit the scriptorium where the writing of the bible would take place.
As for her part of the process, Diane was responsible for illuminations for four passages in the bible.
The process of illumination
There are two types of illumination, Diane explained. One is interpretive, which requires input from a Committee of Illumination and Text (CIT) at St. Johnís to ensure that the interpretations are theologically sound, and the special treatments, which draws attention to selected passages. Diane said Jackson described them as ìturning up the volumeî on those scriptures.
Diane was asked to do special treatments for four passages: Job 19:25; Sirach 6:14-22; Sirach 39: 13-15 and Ecclesiastes 11:1.
Dianeís process includes creating color sketches, scanning them and then e-mailing to Jackson in Wales. His office manager then sets up a time for a phone call for the two to discuss her work. Itís as close to being an apprentice to Jackson as she can get, and she said she is grateful that he is sharing his gift with her. It is, she said, a ìgreat honorî to be working with someone of his stature.
ìDonald must be guided by the Holy Spirit,î she said. ìI am amazed and in awe of him.î
Diane had a moment of self-doubt when it came time to put quill to vellum. For a while, she was ìfrozen,î unable to start. But she overcame her paralysis when she realized that she had the trust and confidence of her mentor.
Diane said she enjoys the feel of the ancient materials used in her artwork. Although the computer is an important part of her graphic design business, even when she works on commercial projects, she goes to her drawing table, not her computer.
When she completes a project, she scans in into her computer to make a vector image, and then is able to provide the files to her clients in the format they require.
Working with ancient tools
Making mistakes is a huge worry, but vellum, which is made from calf skin, is forgiving, Diane explained. Mistakes can be scraped off and carefully sandedóbut you are very careful not to make mistakes in the first place.
Diane completed her work for the bible last year. In April of 2005, Donald visited her studio and gave her valuable input on the final treatment. The other U.S. artist on the project, Thomas Ingmire, also visited her studio and provided valuable advice. The last treatment, she explained, is particularly challenging because the illumination goes across two separate pages. It is for the scripture that begins ìListen to me my faithful children...î from Sirach.
Diane sent the finished pieces back to the scriptorium on May 19, 2005.
The illuminations were not Dianeís only contribution to the project. She also designed the logo for the traveling exhibition, and will work on the eighth volume which will include the names of all those who worked on the project, as well as the contributors.
Creating artwork for the St. Johnís Bible has been an honor and a challenge, said Diane. She has found inspiration, she said, in the richness of the text.
ìItís a great honor,î she said.
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