The Saint John's Bible

When I was a nine-year-old, desire led me to copying ancient scripts and decorated letters. I loved the fell of the pen as it touched the page and the breathtaking effect of the flow of colored ink as its wetness caught the light.

Those sensations, which I still feel as I work, oftentimes seems to select the shapes and colors of my designs or words. The quill, rather than my conscious thought, makes the choice.

The continuous process of remaining open and accepting of what may reveal itself through hand and heart on a crafted page is the closest I have ever come to God. Now, I am led to the making of the Bible as a celebration of the Word of God for the twenty-first century in modern scripts and I realize now it is the thing I have been preparing for all my life. The Bible is the calligraphic artist's supreme challenge, my Sistine Chapel, a daunting task.

So, the pursuit of closeness to God, a lifetime's dream commission, a fearful challenge. What better reasons can there be for starting a journey?

-Donald Jackson

Reflections from the Greater Community

Abbot John Klassen, OSB
What Scripture Means to Us
Homily from the Celebration of the First Volume

Eric Hollas, OSB
Director, Hill Monastic Manuscript Library
A Voyage of Discovery and Rediscovery

Patrick Henry
Executive Director,
Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research

Christopher de Hamel
Director of Western Medieval and Oriental Manuscripts and Miniatures,
Sotheby's, London

Dr. Evan M. Maurer
Director and CEO
The Minneapolis Institute of Art

Rabbi Barry D. Cytron, PhD
Director,
Jay Phillips Center for Jewish-Christian Learning

Dolly Fiterman
President/Owner
Fiterman Fine Arts, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Rutherford Aris
A Prayer for The Saint John's Bible

Testimonials from Friends and Sponsors


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