Giving Voice grinding to reveal the mokume on the metal cover
Giving Voice metal cover in profile during photo shoot. Eastern repousse patterned mokume gane – copper, shubuichi, and sterling.
The ‘calligraphy brush’ Brody Neuenschwander made and gave to each student at the 2013 International Calligraphy Conference. It’s made of foam core, a piece of dish rag, and duct tape. I devised a way to use it with Japanese sumi ink to create Giving Voice’s mountain-like brushstrokes that thread their way throughout the book.
I thought you might be interested in a touch of behind-the-scenes for Giving Voice. It has been such a marriage of ancient and digital processes! If, when I began the illuminated manuscript in 2013, I’d had any idea how much time I’d spend grinding mokume gane, how much software I’d have to learn, or how many sleepless nights I’d spend worrying that Apple Books wouldn’t work with the animations, or that my indie publishing company would try 4, (yes 4!) different book printers before one got it right (I love you BookMobile!), I’m not sure I would have had the tenacity to see this baby through its elephantine gestation.
But I did. One could say, when it comes to mammoth projects, I tend to persist. I’m a” hell or high water” kind of person. My husband frequently reminds me that, together, we’ve never failed. True. Humbling, daunting. But true.
Post it note for the ‘how it works’ page in the Apple Book edition
My gaken dish for indigo colored Japanese stick ink. This dish lived next to my iMac for 2 years so my assistant Uduak could match the book’s blue inks in the digital images.
Recording day with composer and pianist, Roddy Noll, for the Apple Book edition. Roddy created the soundtrack for all the animations and part of the voice overs, which is more than fitting, since he figures prominently in the book’s story.
Late night working on the ‘Papyrus Calligram’ page spread in my dorm kitchen, hanging with my roomies at the 2013 International Calligraphy Conference
