Today, some friends and I went to see 'Illuminating the Word, The Saint John's Bible', at the Mobile Museum of Art. This was such an interesting and beautiful exhibit. And breathtaking. The talent and patience that went into creating this handwritten and illuminated Bible amazed me.

Saint John's Abbey and the University of Collegville, MN, commissioned this historic undertaking. It was conceived with the purpose of an expression of faith relevant to the modern world. Calligrapher and illuminator, Donald Jackson, along with scribes, artists and theologians wove together, word and image for the Bible of the new Millenium, as it is called. They used ancient methods, materials and tools to create this masterpiece. The preparation of the vellum-calfskin-pages and the fashioning of quills from turkey, goose and swan feathers takes place in rural Wales. Other traditional materials used: inks, pigments hand ground from minerals and precious stone and gold leaf. The entire bible was illustrated, designed by hand. It is still in creation and is planned to be bound in seven seperate books.

As pictures were not allowed in the exhibit, I googled the exibit and have included a few pictures of this amazing Bible.

After the exhibit, we went to eat at the Olive Garden. Oh my, it was good. We lost our Olive Garden in Hurricane Katrina and so far it hasn't been rebuilt, so we really enjoyed that too.

Last, I heard from my wonderful editor today, I should be getting the final galley to approve and then Saje goes to production and gets a release date. I'm so excited. As soon as I get the info, I'll post the information for you.

Ya'll take care and until later,

Deb