At the gracious invitation of Tim Ternes, Director of HMML Programming & The Saint John’s Bible – a group of eight led by the Colleagues’ Board made a road trip to Collegeville on Friday, July 14th.
Tim had been interested in reconnecting, as the Colleagues and SJU have quite a long and important relationship that spanned the 1970’s calligraphy revival in the US – all the way through the completion of the St. John’s Bible. We agreed that a small gathering focused on the Bible itself might be a good place to begin our ‘reconnect’. Starting out bright & early on a beautiful summer morning, our three cars arrived easily at the entrance of the Alcuin Library for our 10:00 am guided tour.
Tim is a gifted tour guide, and has been a part of the SJB ‘journey’ since 2004. His intimate knowledge and enthusiasm for his topic is both amazing and inspiring. He travels extensively throughout the year (over 150,000 air miles annually!) - offering presentations and educational programs supporting the SJB and the HMML collections. FYI: Best to book him for a tour in the summer, as he is on the welcoming end for visitor/scholars traveling to Minnesota at that time.
We started in the Public SJB Gallery. ‘The Book of Honor’ by Diane Von Arx (CoC Charter Member) was right near the gallery entrance. It is a masterclass on how to organize and create a fitting, beautiful calligraphic tribute to the diverse & varied contributors this project had had over 15 years. It is a stunning, veritable eighth volume...
Tim described how he designs the unique display apparatus for the various presentation needs of the SJB. Still unbound – original Bible folios travel separately and extensively for exhibits (and are ‘rested’ under wraps for five year intervals after exposure). And, yes – this all must be tracked... In the Vault, it was fascinating to see all of the museum grade storage protocols put in place and how they are meticulously followed. There were pieces & parts of other exhibits in the room as well – it is easy to feel engulfed by the unending, various collections (total books/ manuscripts ALONE approaching the one million mark!).
*Note: The sheer volume of administrative and cataloging work involved in managing the SJB and HMML collections is humbling in and of itself...
Our group consisted of: CoC Board members Anne Kaese (Workshops), Patricia Paolella (Treasurer), Alyssa Tuma (Membership). CoC member/MCBA book artist Lin Lacy, Emily Hilgers and Susan Sigurdson (Moorhead calligraphers), Carol Evans-Smith (former Sr Designer @St. Kate’s (Communications) as well as long-time designer of The Basilica Magazine, and Gary Summerville (former Director - Capital Planning and Project Mgr./U of M)... SJB enthusiasts, ALL. (And as discussed, the CoC will follow up with a larger group tour next time (optional overnight!?), specifically tailored to the Colleagues)...
So, Tim - as you explore the options for the final ‘binding stage’ of the SJB and plan the 25th Anniversary celebration event in London later this year – we thank you for the wonderfully personal walk through of this amazing, once in a lifetime project! And we appreciated your pointing out – to the credit of all involved - ‘they finished it’.
*Some additional thoughts from Jean Formo – longtime CoC Member and Maker U Instructor:
I did think of all of you exploring HMML, the Alcuin and the campus... FYI - on my last trip 2 years ago, I worked with Dr. Matthew Z. Heintzelman (Curator of Western European & Special Collections) and saw the large collection of William Morris Kelmscott Press books they have as well as the Minnesota Manuscript Initiative collection - previously owned by the Colleagues and now owned by SJU. You may remember that it originally came to us through the efforts of our former president, Pam Shilling Johnson. I always request to see it on my study days at St. John's. Included is Ann Hechle’s amazing Creation piece... bought by Colleagues in the 1980s or 90s for $10K. Hopefully I will be able to go on the next trip.- Jean
